City Detect, a startup using computer vision AI to help cities monitor building conditions, announced a $13 million Series A funding round led by Prudence Venture Capital. The company, founded in 2021, mounts cameras on municipal vehicles to capture and analyze images of buildings, identifying issues like graffiti, illegal dumping, and structural damage.

CEO Gavin Baum-Blake said the technology addresses the manual, slow process cities currently use to track urban decay. While human inspectors might examine 50 buildings per week, City Detect's system can process thousands, dramatically increasing efficiency. The platform blurs faces and license plates for privacy and can distinguish between street art and vandalism.

The funding will support hiring engineers and advancing storm-damage detection technology. City Detect already operates in at least 17 cities including Dallas and Miami, and follows a published Responsible AI policy to address local government concerns about vendor commitments. The company has raised $15 million total and maintains SOC 2 Type II compliance.