Knightscope, Inc., a Mountain View, CA-based developer of Autonomous Data Machines (ADMs) aimed to predict and prevent crime, raised a $5.2m Series A financing.
Backers included NTT Docomo Ventures, Konica Minolta, Inc. (TYO: 4902) and Flextronics (NASDAQ: FLEX).
The company intends to use the funds to accelerate deployments in Silicon Valley as well as continue technology development.
Led by William Santana Li, chairman and chief executive officer, Knightscope develops ADMs, fully autonomous robots with an array of onboard sensors used to monitor the surrounding environment and provide a physical and commanding presence in public places where security is needed. The company says that deploying them in outdoor environments on corporate campuses, around data centers, shopping malls and where private security guards are stationed will free humans to address strategic tasks “while the machines handle the monotonous, computational heavy and sometimes dangerous tasks“. According to a note, a single ADM is capable of generating over 90 terabytes of data per year and communicates via a wireless network directly with the Knightscope Security Operations Center (KSOC), a browser-based user interface, to provide real-time alerts of unusual or suspicious activity.
Knightscope is making its first machine, the K5, available now for preorder on a Machine-as-a-Service basis to select customers in Silicon Valley at $6.25 per hour, per machine in 24/7 deployments for terms of one, two or three years.
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FinSMEs
02/12/2014