Bluebird
portfolio deal
Bluebird AI - Deal Memo
Status: Invested Stage: Seed Thesis: AI + Camera infrastructure play
Summary
One-liner: AI-powered security and business insights platform for the physical world - unified camera hardware + software + analytics.
Founders:
- Michael Adair (CEO) - DeepNorth, FleetZero, Harvard. Ex-Google, Rubicon, PubMatic.
- Rohan Sanil (CPO) - DeepNorth, MetricStream, GAVS.
Why I Invested:
This is an AI + hardware play in physical world infrastructure. The team has deep domain expertise (25+ years combined in computer vision/security) and is building a vertically integrated solution: cameras + edge AI + cloud platform.
Key conviction drivers:
- Full stack approach - Own the hardware (cameras), edge compute (NVIDIA Jetson), and software platform
- Channel partner strategy - Johnson Controls/Sensormatic partnership for retail is a major distribution unlock
- Market validation - Flock ($8B+), Verkada prove the category
- Strong advisors - Tesla CIO (Nagesh Saldi), Luminar CTO (Jason Eichenholz), ex-Coupa CEO (Rob Bernshteyn)
Round: $2M Seed
Investment Thesis
1000x Opportunity?
Yes - $121B physical security market growing to $151B. Cameras are becoming AI endpoints, not just recording devices. The "digitizing the physical world" thesis has produced Flock ($8B+) and Verkada.
Kingmaker Fit?
Moderate - Can help with technical scaling and enterprise intros. Less direct than dev tools plays, but physical AI infrastructure is adjacent to my experience.
Key Details
Product:
- Skycatcher, Sparrow, Robin - camera product line
- X2 AI Gateway - connects existing IP cameras
- Hornet Platform - cloud analytics
- TRON - conversational AI for querying camera data
- Drone-as-first-responder (Q1 2026)
Traction:
- $6.1M TCV with direct customers
- $13M TCV with channel partners
- Live deployments: Shopping malls, schools, resorts, government (India)
- US Government SAM certified
Partners:
- Johnson Controls/Sensormatic (Retail)
- DTIQ, Novatab (QSR)
- Tekion (Auto dealerships)
- NVIDIA, Axelera, Ambarella (Hardware)
Documents
BlueBird_Investor_Deck_Oct_2025 MA.pdfComplete_with_Docusign_Bluebird_AI_Safe_-_Ma.pdfInvestment Deal Memo_ Bluebird AI.docx
Contacts — Bluebird AI
Founders
| Name | Role | Phone | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Adair | CEO | — | — | — |
| Rohan Sanil | CPO | — | — | — |
Backgrounds:
- Michael — DeepNorth, FleetZero, Harvard. Ex-Google, Rubicon, PubMatic.
- Rohan — DeepNorth, MetricStream, GAVS. 25+ years computer vision/security.
Advisors:
- Nagesh Saldi (Tesla CIO)
- Jason Eichenholz (Luminar CTO)
- Rob Bernshteyn (ex-Coupa CEO)
Relationship Timeline
- Oct 2025 — Invested in Seed round
Last Touchpoint
- Date: Oct 2025
- Status: Invested
- Next Action: Track JCI/Sensormatic partnership progress
Notes — Bluebird AI
New entries at top.
Oct 2025 — Investment Decision
Type: Investment
Summary: Invested in Seed round. AI + camera hardware infrastructure play.
Key conviction points:
- Full stack approach: own hardware (cameras), edge compute (NVIDIA Jetson), and software
- Johnson Controls/Sensormatic partnership unlocks retail distribution
- $6.1M direct TCV + $13M channel partner TCV = $19M total
- Market validation: Flock ($8B+), Verkada prove category
- US Government SAM certified
Traction:
- Live deployments: shopping malls, schools, resorts, government (India)
- Products: Skycatcher, Sparrow, Robin cameras + X2 AI Gateway + Hornet Platform
- Drone-as-first-responder launching Q1 2026