Description

On this episode of the Scouting For Growth podcast, Sabine VdL talks to Saagar Govil, Chairman and CEO of Cemtrex Incorporated. With a tenacious spirit and an unwavering focus, Saagar has led Cemtrex from its initial days of making under $3M in revenues to a thriving powerhouse raking in over $100M, with over 350 employees in 6 offices worldwide. Under Saagar's vision and leadership, Cemtrex is a diversified technology company relentlessly driving innovation across sectors, including smart technology, virtual and augmented realities, advanced electronic systems, industrial solutions, and, most intriguingly, intelligent security systems powered by AI. In this episode, they dive into the world of AI and security and explore Saagar's inspiring journey, mission, and passion for technologies, from IoT to space tech.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Cemtrex started out as a small family business, and over the last 10 years, we’ve focused on driving growth. We started out as a small environmental technology company, and we struggled to grow in that industry because market appetite for it only emerged recently. I figured out the best way to grow was through the acquisition of businesses with greater potential, because you get a bigger reward for the hard work you put in.
• We’re seeing a transformation of the security industry as we adopt and implement AI systems. The unique thing about what’s happening today is that for the first time ever, computers can now see better than humans. What that allows is for companies to use and leverage technologies in ways never before possible to drive better security outcomes. That could be from preventing incidents from happening to responding to them more effectively in real time, and to more accurately apprehend suspects after an event occurs.
• In the past, CCTV cameras with advanced features were triggered by motion and would trigger events, alarms, etc. The challenge is that if a tree is swaying in the background, it can trigger these alarms, which is frustrating for operators. With the advent of AI, you can track specific objects more accurately and clearly, so that if a certain asset in the frame is moved, then send an alert. That solution is really easy to implement out of the box today.
• Unfortunately, the world is becoming increasingly dangerous. 90-95% of schools have CCTV, and yet we’re still hearing about mass shootings taking place all the time, and it’s a tragedy. This tells me that a) the basic tools are already installed and b) they are actually not that effective. The ways we can implement AI today to drive better outcomes is apparent in that we can do better with identity management using facial recognition, we can track who should be at school at a certain time, we can send out the right alerts if there is a disgruntled person on the premises or tap into sex offender databases to alert the authorities that they’re on the perimeter.

BEST MOMENTS
‘Sometimes it’s not about how hard you work, it’s about where you’re spending your time and your effort.’
‘AI is definitely going to make businesses and specific assets safer.’
‘When you have a security co-pilot that can understand what’s going on on the video feeds, you can start to interact with that GPT/co-pilot, you can manage security needs much faster or in real time, that’s where we’re going to see the industry moving in the next couple of years.’
‘There are ways to build these types of technologies that maximise people’s privacy but also ensure the safety of those that are occupying the space at any given point in time.’

ABOUT THE GUEST
Saagar Govil is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Cemtrex Inc., a company that owns and operates multiple businesses building industrial solutions and intelligent security systems.
Saagar is a serial entrepreneur interested in IoT, Wearables, Robotics, Advanced electronics, and Space Tech. In his leisure time, he enjoys watching the Knicks, golfing, travelling, and sailing.

ABOUT CEMTREX
Cemtrex, Inc. is a diversified technology company that's driving innovation in a wide range of sectors, including smart technology, virtual and augmented realities, advanced electronic systems, industrial solutions, and intelligent security systems. Cemtrex Inc. owns and operates multiple businesses, including those that build industrial solutions and intelligent security systems.

ABOUT THE HOST

Sabine VanderLinden is a corporate strategist turned entrepreneur and the CEO of Alchemy Crew Ventures. She leads venture-client labs that help Fortune 500 companies adopt and scale cutting-edge technologies from global tech ventures. A builder of accelerators, investor, and co-editor of the bestseller The INSURTECH Book, Sabine is known for asking the uncomfortable questions—about AI governance, risk, and trust. On Scouting for Growth, she decodes how real growth happens—where capital, collaboration, and courage meet.

If this episode sparked your thinking, follow Sabine VanderLinden on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram for more insights.

And if you’re interested in sponsoring the podcast, reach out to the team at hello@alchemycrew.ventures