COPENHAGEN and BERLIN — Milestone Systems has acquired Berlin-based technology company brighter AI, effective April 1, according to a joint announcement.
Milestone’s latest addition provides anonymization solutions for video data based on state-of-the-art deep learning technology to protect people’s identities in public.
“The advances of artificial intelligence raise concerns around data privacy across the world,” according to the joint announcement. “One of the biggest challenges in developing AI solutions is finding and accessing sufficient data that can be used. Without data, there are no AI models to train, which are essential for existing AI technologies such as ChatGPT and Copilot.
“This challenge is particularly significant in video data, where it is even more difficult to find data that does not contain sensitive personal information. The solution lies within regulatory-compliant data and this is exactly what brighter AI’s anonymization technology brings,” the announcement says.
Why Milestone Systems Acquired brighter AI
The acquisition of brighter AI “also opens up a range of new opportunities with anonymization capabilities and privacy enhancement, which protects data and enables full data privacy,” according to the joint announcement.
The addition of brighter AI “significantly strengthens Milestone’s offerings for video management software, video surveillance as a service and video analytics and fuels the company’s ongoing growth journey in and beyond security,” the announcement says. Additionally, brighter AI’s anonymization technology “serves as a cornerstone of the recently announced data library and AI model training tool Project Hafnia.”
The privacy-by-design tool developed by brighter AI “further solidifies Milestone’s position as a leading Responsible Technology company,” according to the joint announcement.
“Combining two European tehch leaders with a focus on taking a responsible approach to AI development will be a significant contribution to making Europe the leader in the global AI and tech landscape,” the announcement says. “It is a testament to European innovation and strengthens the continent’s competitiveness whilst protecting individual citizen’s privacy.”
“brighter AI is a perfect match for Milestone,” says Milestone Systems CEO Thomas Jensen in the joint announcement. “Their proven technology is top-notch and will give us a wider offering to existing and future technology partners and customers.
“The anonymization tool for video technology will also enhance our focus on responsible technology. Even more important, our two company cultures are highly compatible. Having known brighter AI for a while, as we have an established collaboration on Project Hafnia, I have complete faith that this will be a great benefit for all. I am indeed very pleased to welcome our new colleagues to Milestone,” he says.
Founded in 2017 by Marian Gläser and Patrick Kern, brighter AI serves companies across various sectors and offers an anonymization solution for video data based on artificial intelligence. For the solution Deep Natural Anonymization, which automatically detects a personal identifier such as a face and generates a synthetic replacement, brighter AI was named Europe’s Hottest AI Startup by Nvidia.
“brighter AI was founded with the mission to make visual data usable in a privacy-preserving way,” says Gläser. “Joining Milestone Systems marks an exciting new chapter. Together, we can scale that mission to a global level out of Europe.
“Milestone’s leadership in responsible video technology and their vision with Project Hafnia align perfectly with our own values. We’re proud that our anonymization solutions will become a core pillar of a platform that’s set to redefine how compliant, high-quality video data is used to train AI. We’re ready to shape the future of visual AI—secure, ethical, and transformative,” he says.
Milestone Systems’ acquisition of brighter AI “significantly contribut[es] to strengthening European competition power and innovation.” according to the joint announcement.
“By combining two European tech leaders with a dedicated focus on responsible AI development, Milestone contributes to making Europe a leader in the global AI and tech landscape,” the announcement says.
brighter AI employs 24 people, who will continue their work as part of a separate business area within Milestone Systems.
