Ascento wins CHF 150,000 to accelerate innovation in autonomous outdoor security patrolling
23.10.2023
In a global security market plagued by low profitability, cost growth due to high labour costs and recruitment challenges, Ascento addresses the critical need for cost-effective and efficient security services. The startup was awarded CHF 150,000 by Venture Kick, winning the third stage of the program.
 Ascento's team: Dominik Mannhart (Hardware & Design), Alessandro Morra (CEO), Ciro Salzmann (Electronics & Software), and Miguel de la Iglesia Valls (CTO)
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The USD 263 billion global security industry faces profitability issues with a mere 3% net margin and sluggish growth. This is mainly due to the high labour costs, which account for around 80% of total sales, and the challenges of recruiting and retaining security personnel, resulting in a shortage of guards that established providers struggle to overcome. To tackle these issues, Ascento offers Ascento Guard, a Robotics-as-a-Service (RaaS) solution for autonomous outdoor security patrolling. The Ascento Guard offers cost-effective 24/7 patrolling with the Ascento robot, a cloud-based support centre for mission monitoring and manual robot control, and advanced security analytics driven by AI and machine learning. This innovative solution facilitates proactive security issue detection and tailored reporting for customers.
Since its November 2022 launch, Ascento has rapidly transformed from a research project into a thriving startup, achieving notable growth. With plans to onboard over a dozen clients in Switzerland, diversify across various security companies, establish their first international hub, and secure financial stability for the coming year. Ascento plans to produce 25 robots next year to fulfil these plans. The startup will invest CHF 150,000 to increase its business development efforts, including the first international deployments.
The project started as a focus project at the Autonomous Systems Lab, ETH, and continued over five years with multiple follow-up projects on improving technology (robot design, autonomy, control). The founders are Alessandro Morra (CEO), Miguel de la Iglesia Valls (CTO), Dominik Mannhart (Hardware & Design), and Ciro Salzmann (Electronics & Software).
“Venture Kick placed an early bet on Ascento before the vision was clear. They helped increase visibility in the Swiss and international ecosystem which was not easy at the beginning. Lastly, the deliverables are lean and pragmatic, which is a testament that they understand what a startup should focus on,” said Alessandro Morra.
Since its November 2022 launch, Ascento has rapidly transformed from a research project into a thriving startup, achieving notable growth. With plans to onboard over a dozen clients in Switzerland, diversify across various security companies, establish their first international hub, and secure financial stability for the coming year. Ascento plans to produce 25 robots next year to fulfil these plans. The startup will invest CHF 150,000 to increase its business development efforts, including the first international deployments.
The project started as a focus project at the Autonomous Systems Lab, ETH, and continued over five years with multiple follow-up projects on improving technology (robot design, autonomy, control). The founders are Alessandro Morra (CEO), Miguel de la Iglesia Valls (CTO), Dominik Mannhart (Hardware & Design), and Ciro Salzmann (Electronics & Software).
“Venture Kick placed an early bet on Ascento before the vision was clear. They helped increase visibility in the Swiss and international ecosystem which was not easy at the beginning. Lastly, the deliverables are lean and pragmatic, which is a testament that they understand what a startup should focus on,” said Alessandro Morra.