Seed Round Open Questions

Q1 — Valor locked-screen operation

Does Valor’s voice detection operate when the phone is locked, the screen is off, or the app is backgrounded? This is the central technical question. Valor’s marketing does not address it. Is there a user community or app store description that clarifies this?

Q2 — Valor “world’s first” patent claim vs MySOS

MySOS also claims a “voice enabled panic button” that predates Valor’s April 2025 launch. Does MySOS’s voice feature operate via spoken phrase detection (true always-on voice), or via press-then-speak? How does this affect Valor’s “world’s first” patent claim?

Q3 — SA language support for wake word detection

No major wake word engine (Porcupine, openWakeWord, Vosk) currently supports Afrikaans, isiZulu, or isiXhosa natively. What options exist for custom model training in SA languages? What datasets (Common Voice, NCHLT, SADILAR) are available for Afrikaans and isiZulu wake word model training?

Q4 — PSIRA scope for app providers

Does a company that operates a voice distress app and dispatches armed response teams need to register with PSIRA, or is it sufficient that the partner control room is PSIRA-registered? What is the legal interpretation for pure technology intermediaries?

Q5 — Control room integration APIs

Do SA’s major control room operators (ADT, Fidelity, Centurion, Guard Track) offer technical APIs for third-party app integration? What are the partnership models and commercial terms?