Celantur

At Celantur we developed an AI-powered software that automatically anonymizes faces, license plates, persons and vehicles on images and videos.

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Celantur, as an idea, was first created to fill a gap in the software market after the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) changed the law around data protection in Europe. Alexander Petkov, one of Celantur's founders, explained that his background as a software engineer and volunteer firefighter were the roots for understanding the necessity for an image anonymization solution. "Documenting our operations at the fire station with photos, had us struggling with privacy concerns even before the GDPR was introduced." He explains, "We were looking for a software solution to blur faces and license plates years ago in the fire department."

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These two factors, combined with Alexander's eagerness to found his own business led him to quit his job and fulfill the need for such a product in the market. In the summer of 2019, Boyang Xia joined Alex as CTO: "Boyang and I share the same circle of friends. He committed to the project really fast, and we were able to move into our first office at JKU Open Innovation Center, and build the first prototype." At the same time, things started to kick off: the idea got traction when STRABAG, one of the largest construction companies in Europe, showed interest. This has allowed Celantur to reach new visibility with clients and partners, paving the way for expanding the business.