IPOS team return to tech scene with security start-up

The entrepreneurial duo behind intelligent payment system IPOS are returning to the Scottish digital start-up scene with an ambitious smart home security venture.

IPOS co-founders Robin Knox (left) and Paul Walton (right) have announced a new start-up venture, Boundary. Picture: contributed.

Edinburgh-based Robin Knox and Paul Walton have announced their latest venture, Boundary, a smart home security system due to launch next year. The business is targeting a presence in 100,000 homes within four years, with £6 million in annual recurring revenues.

The team behind IPOS has personally invested £300,000 in the technology start-up, which is looking to raise a total of £1.5m through a Kickstarter campaign due to start in October and an equity investment round expected to close in November.

Boundary’s bosses expect to create “a significant number of new jobs” in technology, sales and marketing, and plan to design innovative security solutions using artificial intelligence, such as a camera which learns as it watches.

Knox said he noticed a gap in the market when searching for an affordable self-install security system for his own home.

He said: “As humans we all have a deep rooted instinct to protect our property and our possessions.

“Effective home security should not just be something for the rich but for every homeowner, from first time buyers in a terraced house or a pensioner living in a bungalow, to young professionals in rented accommodation. Our aim is to bring crime rates down by making our homes safer.”

Walton added: “There is a massive opportunity that is not being addressed by incumbent UK alarm systems, either by budget or high-end players, to develop an easy to install wireless home security system. The market for burglar alarms is ripe for disruption with poorly featured legacy systems and undervalued customers creating a gap in the market for a trusted low cost monitored security solution that is easy to install and operate.

“Our alarm will comply with strict EU and British standards to allow for police monitoring options at an affordable price.”

The duo started IPOS, which stands for intelligent point of sale, in 2012. The start-up was acquired by Swedish mobile payments company iZettle in 2016 for an undisclosed sum and grew to employ some 80 staff members. Soon after iZettle bought IPOS, the Swedish firm was acquired by payments giant PayPal for $2.2 billion (£1.7bn).

Knox and Walton have become increasingly active in Scotland’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, making approximately £500,000 investments into early stage businesses between them in the last year.

In 2017, Knox founded investment company Seed Haus and Walter later joined as a partner and investor. Seed Haus is a technology accelerator that brings together a community of entrepreneurs, investors and digital makers, with the aim of supporting outstanding founders tackling real commercial problems in large markets.