Hot Money Monday: icetana moves into the spotlight with $3.6m deal

icetana lands SoftBank deal as demand for surveillance AI surges across cities, retail and healthcare.

icetana’s AI keeps watch and flags trouble early. Picture via Getty Images

• SoftBank tips into icetana with $3.6m handshake

• icetana’s AI camera tech spots trouble before it starts

• Smart surveillance is booming and these ASX players are circling

Perth-based icetana (ASX:ICE) has just stepped onto the big stage, signing a $3.6 million deal last week with one of the world’s most recognisable tech names, SoftBank Robotics.

icetana's shares surged by 70% on the day of the announcement.

The deal is more than just a foot in the door. It’s a full-blown strategic handshake that gives icetana an equity boost, and a deep collaboration with a global giant.

With demand for smart surveillance rising fast, from retail to transport and public safety, the timing couldn’t be better.

SoftBank Robotics Singapore is tipping in $1.87 million for a 17.6% stake.

SoftBank Robotics Corp, meanwhile, will be taking over as icetana’s exclusive distributor in Japan, with a guaranteed $693,000 in recurring revenue in year one.

It will also co-develop new tech with icetana over the next three years, blending icetana’s video tech with its own bots.

This is a $1.08m partnership deal that could embed icetana’s AI into the next wave of global security gear.

icetana’s CEO Kevin Brown says the deal gives icetana a clear path to scale in Asia.

“This partnership not only accelerates our expansion into key markets, but also integrates our technology into some of the world’s most advanced security platforms.”

Eyes on everything, powered by AI

As cities get busier and risks get trickier, the world is turning to artificial intelligence to help keep watch.

icetana AI’s technology essentially figures out what “normal” looks like on every camera in a network, then flags anything out of the ordinary.

No need for guards squinting at a wall of screens or trawling through hours of footage after the fact.

With more than 24 billion hours of CCTV pumped out globally each day, humans simply can’t keep up, but icetana says its AI tech can.

It spots weird behaviour in real time, cuts down false alarms and gives security teams the heads-up before something hits the fan.

Plug it in, let it learn and within 24 hours it's on the job.

The tech is already being used across 16,000 cameras in 15+ countries, helping secure everything from shopping centres and stadiums to data centres, campuses and hospitals.

The use cases are piling up

In New York, AI surveillance in subway stations cut crime by 27% in just six months. In Dubai, it helps predict accident-prone intersections.

In retail, Walmart uses it to catch scanning errors at checkouts, saving millions.

In hospitals, it spots falls. On factory floors, it flags workers without helmets. Even in the wild, AI is being used to catch poachers before they strike.

In the future, cameras won’t just see; they’ll understand, connect and respond.

Of course, with great power comes great responsibility.

As this tech spreads, so will the need for guardrails around privacy, bias and ethics. But that’s the balance the industry is now learning to walk.

Other ASX stocks in this space

Harvest Technology Group (ASX:HTG) is all about getting high-quality video, audio and data from A to B, even when it’s in the middle of the ocean. Its tech lets you stream crisp, synchronised footage over ultra-low bandwidth networks, whether it’s via satellite, or bad Wi-Fi in the middle of nowhere.

Spectur (ASX:SP3) took things up a notch when it acquired 3 Crowns Technologies. Its smart camera systems don’t just film, they analyse, flagging suspicious behaviour, environmental hazards, or even spotting folks without helmets on a job site.

In the adjacent space, BirdDog Technology (ASX:BDT) builds the gear that lets video pros shoot, stream and control high-end footage over regular IP networks. BDT is one of the top dogs in NDI (Network Device Interface), which means the tech helps video travel fast, sharp, and smooth across networks without missing a beat.

At Stockhead we tell it like it is. While Harvest Technology is a Stockhead advertiser, it did not sponsor this article.

This story does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decision.

Originally published as Hot Money Monday: icetana moves into the spotlight with $3.6m deal