Tuscaloosa Company Using AI to Detect Blight Secures $2 Million Seed Money

Investors are seeding $2 million into a Tuscaloosa company that captured headlines for their plan to feed images from cameras on garbage trucks into powerful AI tools that detect blight in cities.

The company is called City Detect and was founded by Erik Johnson, an assistant professor of economics at the Culverhouse College of Business described as a renowned urban economist and AI pioneer and Gavin Baum-Blake, who is an ex-Army signals intelligence veteran and seasoned entrepreneur with a background in startup law

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Longtime readers may remember the buzz created by the project that ultimately led to creating City Detect, when the city of Tuscaloosa and the University of Alabama announced a partnership headed by Johnson and the city's Chief Operations Officer Brendan Moore.

The program saw Johnson and Moore attach cameras to Tuscaloosa's garbage trucks to capture pictures as they drive around the city. Those images are then analyzed by artificial intelligence looking for factors such as graffiti, excessive litter or illegal dumping, potholes and externally obvious violations of municipal building code.

Finally, the City Detect software takes the data generated by analyzing those pictures and video into heat maps, giving city officials a clear visualization of hard-to-quantify issues like blight.

"We’re dedicated to empowering city leaders with data they can trust," said Baum-Blake in a release. "Our technology isn’t just about identifying problems—it’s about providing actionable insights that allow cities to proactively address issues before they spiral out of control."

"Our AI doesn't just see problems; it quantifies and qualifies them in ways that allow cities to respond effectively and efficiently," Johnson added. "This means better resource allocation and smarter decision-making for local leaders."

Proof of concept was enough to see City Detect expand outside Alabama and deploy their tech in Atlanta, Birmingham, Greenville and Columbia, South Carolina and Stockton, California.

That growth is poised to explode, City Detect said in a Monday press release, thanks to $2 million in seed funding from Las Olas Venture Capital, Knoll Ventures and Atlanta Seed Company.

"City Detect’s leadership team is second to none," said Dean Hatton, Founding Partner at LOVC. "Gavin’s strategic vision and Erik’s technical mastery position City Detect as a game changer in the urban analytics space. We’re thrilled to support their mission to make cities cleaner, smarter, and more sustainable."

The company said this cash infusion will go toward enhancing their platform and enhancing their customer base, bringing City Detect cameras to more municipalities across the country.

For more news out of west Alabama, stay connected to the Tuscaloosa Thead.