Sentinai· 2 min read
Why We Started Sentinai
From false alarms to real trauma — the untold gaps in school security and why we couldn’t wait any longer.
School security today is broken. Not because people don’t care — but because the tools are fundamentally reactive.
We’ve seen too many stories where schools had cameras, had alarms, had procedures… and still, something got through. A weapon. A threat. A tragedy.
Most school safety systems are like car mirrors: they only show you what’s already behind you. Sentinai was born from a refusal to accept that.
A Personal Frustration Turned Urgent Mission
The idea for Sentinai started when our team looked at what schools were using for “safety” — outdated cameras, siloed alerts, and human-dependent monitoring that no one had time to actually do.
Some of us have siblings in school. Some of us mentor younger students. And too many of us remember being in lockdown drills where no one knew what was going on.
It hit us: in 2025, every student has a phone smarter than a school’s entire security system. That’s unacceptable.
We Asked: “What Would a Military-Grade Safety System Look Like… If It Were Built for Students?”
We didn’t want more surveillance. We wanted real-time intelligence.
That meant:
- Cameras that don’t just record, but understand context
- Maps that don’t just show layouts, but threats in motion
- Alerts that don’t just notify — they direct next steps
- Systems that work even without internet
- AI that respects privacy while saving lives
We Didn’t Want to Wait for a Tragedy
Too many security startups are built after something happens. We decided to build Sentinai before that moment — for schools that want to act, not just react.
Our team includes engineers from Google, Roblox, and Twitter, and advisors with 30+ years in school safety. But Sentinai isn’t a résumé project. It’s a response to a broken system — and a belief that we can do better.
This Is Just the Start
Sentinai is now entering pilots. We’re building fast, but we’re building carefully — in partnership with schools, not on top of them.
In the coming posts, we’ll break down:
- How our detection works
- What our AI actually does (and doesn’t do)
- Why we treat student privacy like life support
If you’re reading this and thinking “our school needs this” — reach out.
We started Sentinai because we were tired of waiting.
Let’s build the future of safety — together.
