Investment Considerations
- Knightscope is a leader in the development of autonomous security capabilities and is on target to disrupt the $500 billion security industry.
- The company’s ASRs have assisted in the arrest of suspects involved in crimes ranging from armed robbery to hit-and-runs; the machines’ embedded thermal scanning capabilities also aided in preventing the breakout of a major fire.
- The company’s mission is to make the United States of America the safest nation in the world while supporting the 2+ million law enforcement and security professionals across the country.
- The company has nine patents and a framework of unique intellectual property.
Knightscope, Inc. (NASDAQ: KSCP), founded in 2013 and based in Mountain View, California, is a leader in the development of autonomous security capabilities targeting to disrupt the $500 billion security industry. Knightscope’s technology uniquely combines self-driving technology, robotics, artificial intelligence and electric vehicles.
Knightscope designs and builds Autonomous Security Robots (ASRs) that provide 24/7/365 security to the places you live, work, visit and study. The company’s client list covers public institutions and commercial business operations, including multiple Fortune 1000 companies to date. These ASRs have been proven to enhance safety at hospitals, logistics facilities, manufacturing plants, schools and corporations. ASRs act as highly cost-effective complementary systems to traditional security and law enforcement officials, providing an additional advantage by continuing to offer uninterrupted patrolling capabilities across the country.
The company’s ASRs have assisted in the arrest of suspects involved in crimes ranging from armed robbery to hit-and-runs. Their machine-embedded thermal scanning capability even aided in preventing the breakout of a major fire.
The company has achieved several milestones since its creation in 2013, including:
- Operating for more than 1 million hours in the field and securing contracts across multiple time zones, winters and summers holding contracts from Hawaii, through Texas, to Rhode Island.
- Generated numerous crime-fighting wins validating the technology and the market opportunity (see www.knightscope.com/crime).
- Raising over $100 million since inception to build its technology from scratch and successfully listed on NASDAQ under ticker symbol ‘KSCP’ during January 2022.
Company Mission – Reimagining Public Safety
Knightscope’s long-term vision has an eye on the greater good. The company’s mission is to make the United States of America the safest nation in the world while supporting the 2+ million law enforcement and security professionals across the country.
Crime has an estimated negative economic impact in excess of $2 trillion annually. As crime is reduced, positive impacts will likely be realized across several aspects of society, including housing, financial markets, insurance, municipal budgets, local business and safety in general.
Knightscope CEO William Santana Li was interviewed by Kevin O’Leary, more commonly known as Shark Tank’s Mr. Wonderful. When asked to explain how the benefits provided by the ASRs outrank a human doing the same job, Li said, “First, just the simple presence of a physical deterrent causes criminal behavior to change. Second, the machines are self-driving cars that patrol all around and recharge themselves. They also generate 90 terabytes of data per year. No human would ever be able to process that. The robots are intended to be eyes and ears for the humans, not a one-to-one replacement.”
The Knightscope solution to reduce crime combines the physical presence of ASRs, sometimes referred to as proprietary Autonomous Data Machines, with real-time onsite data collection and analysis. The ASRs are fitted with eye-level 360° cameras, thermal scanning, public address announcements and various other features that work in tandem with humans to provide law enforcement officers and security guards unprecedented situational awareness.
Those 90 terabytes of data are then formatted in a useable way, so law enforcement can leverage that information and execute their responsibilities more effectively.
Public Safety Innovation
The company’s recurring revenue business model is set up to mimic the recurring societal problem of crime, and it takes into consideration the fact that innovation in the security and public safety industry has been stagnant for decades. Because the traditional practices of the sector have remained unchanged for years, automation has potential to drive substantial cost savings – and significant improvement in capabilities.
Human security guards are one of both the largest expenses and the largest liabilities for companies. Knightscope’s robots are offered at an effective price of $3 to $9 per hour, compared with approximately $85 for an armed off-duty law enforcement officer and $15 to $35 for an unarmed security guard.
This innovation has the potential to drive considerable cost savings. Based on these estimates, manufacturing costs can be recovered as soon as the first year of operation.
Product Offerings
The company has nine patents and a framework of unique intellectual property. Knightscope currently offers a K1 stationary machine, a K3 indoor machine and a K5 outdoor machine. A K7 multi-terrain four-wheel version is in development.
The ASRs autonomously patrol client sites without the need for remote control, providing a visible, force multiplying, physical security presence to help protect assets, monitor changes in the area and deter crime. The data is accessible through the Knightscope Security Operations Center (KSOC), an intuitive, browser-based interface that enables security professionals to review events generated by the ASRs providing effectively ‘mobile smart eyes and ears’. Learn more at www.knightscope.com/ksoc
The ASRs and the related technologies were developed ground up by the company and are Made in the USA.
The Robot Roadshow
Knightscope has created the ultimate hybrid physical and virtual event, bringing its Autonomous Security Robot technologies to cities across the country for interactive and in-person demonstrations.
Each roadshow landing is hosted virtually by a Knightscope expert, and visitors can interact directly with each of the company’s ASRs and see the Knightscope Security Operations Center (KSOC) user interface in action. Learn more at www.knightscope.com/roadshow
Management Team
Chief Executive Officer William Santana Li is a veteran entrepreneur, a former executive at Ford Motor Company and the founder of GreenLeaf, a company that grew to be the world’s second-largest automotive recycler and is now part of LKQ Corporation (NASDAQ: LKQ).
Chief Client Officer Stacy Dean Stephens brings his experience as a former Dallas law enforcement officer, as well as his skills as a seasoned entrepreneur, to assist on the client acquisition side.
Chief Intelligence Officer Mercedes Soria is an award-winning technologist and former Deloitte.
Chief Design Officer Aaron Lehnhardt brings over two decades of two- and three-dimensional product and industrial design in modeling and VR to the table, on top of his experience as a senior designer at Ford Motor Company.
Chief Financial Officer Mallorie Burke is a seasoned financial executive and strategic advisor for both private and publicly traded technology companies with a successful track record of mergers & acquisitions, corporate growth and exit strategies, including public listings.
General Counsel Peter Weinberg leverages 30 years of diverse corporate counsel experience, spanning from startups to well-established companies, private and public. He has significant experience training personnel at all levels in critical areas to improve corporate compliance and productivity.