Base Operations: security, no matter where you go
When I think about the world of the near future, and what kinds of businesses and services will prosper, unfortunately, there are many new and severe challenges to address. Certainly the effects of climate change are one area—rebuilding our coastal cities to be more resilient, dealing with forest fires and excessive flooding, disaster relief, and more, will all require new ways of doing things because the old, reactive ways are no longer practical or economical. Personal security is another inflection point, be it cyber security, online privacy, or our physical security as we travel.
I was very pleased to invest in a company called Base Operations when they were chosen as part of the first cohort of companies for our new Techstars Impact Investment Fund in Austin. Base Operations has a unique, user-friendly approach to enhancing personal security while traveling in many of the cities which may be less secure than we would like. At once, Base Operations gives small fries like me the same type of decision-making information which was previously reserved for only government officials and big wigs. Pretty soon, we can all have the very latest security “intel" on our smart phones the same way the Wayze app tells us which of the roads on our way home are the least congested road. Read more about Base Operations below to get the scoop.
—Ray Brimble
Base Operations, An MIT SecureTech Startup, Aims To Protect Fortune 500 Companies Abroad
Written by Frederick Daso | Originally published by Forbes on April 2, 2019
For employees of Fortune 500 firms or travelers on vacation, safety is of the utmost importance when working in parts of the world where social and political instability is a common theme of life. Unfortunately, gathering and accessing accurate information on the ground to prevent tragedy from occurring is difficult in these regions of the globe. These blue-chip companies shell out millions of dollars to security firms to ensure the safety of their workers abroad. Cory Siskind, 30, started Base Operations in the spring of 2018 to help security professionals protect a company’s workers in a foreign country and provide up-to-date security info to travelers in the area. Base Operations combines various sources of information and presents this aggregated data to security operators in the field who are protecting workers of a particular firm. The Washington D.C.-based startup has recently completed Techstars Social Impact Accelerator in Austin, Texas, and has gone on to raise their pre-seed round from Good Growth Capital, Magma Partners, Spero Ventures, Underscore VC, and Glasswing Ventures.
Cory Siskind, founder of Base Operations.
According to Reuters, the global physical security market is projected to grow to $127 billion by 2022. The main driver behind this industry’s growth is globalization. Several large-scale firms (e.g., Fortune 500) are expanding their presence in developing countries by setting up manufacturing plants or new offices for support and logistical operations. These physical assets have unmet safety needs that are lucrative opportunities for traditional security firms.
However, protecting a company’s assets, whether it is infrastructure or people, is challenging in real-time. Crime heat maps are useful, but not complete enough on their own to give security professionals the full range of information they need to make the best choice to protect their charge. Having informants or trusted sources on the ground is invaluable, but information can take time to be communicated and verified. Base Operations aggregates information using artificial intelligence algorithms such as natural language processing and clustering from four main sources: crowdsourcing, social media, government statistics, and data from collaborators. Once this information is cleaned and organized, Base Operations presents the combined intelligence report on a sleek, accessible interface on desktop and mobile phone devices so security teams can have reliable information anywhere they travel in areas known for danger.