In 2018, appliance conglomerate Bosch created a startup, Security and Safety Things (or “SAST” for short), whose stated mission was to develop a platform to help developers create software for AI-equipped cameras. SAST was to host a moderated, vetted “app store” for internet-connected cameras that would allow developers to build software on an open standard — software mainly focused on security and “business intelligence” use cases.
SAST successfully launched the app store in 2020, later rebranding it (and itself) to Azena and opening a headquarters in Pittsburgh’s Strip District. But after tens of millions of euros in investment from Bosch, SAST — now Azena — apparently never quite achieved the success that its parent company hoped it would.
TechCrunch has learned that Azena is shutting down its external operations and pivoting to internal projects at Bosch. In a statement, a Bosch spokesperson said that partners and customers have been informed and that Azena will...
