The large funding round headlines keep coming in for the Atlanta tech scene.
On the heels of its November 2020 $45 million Series C raise, Flock Safety just closed a $150 million Series D round to help scale.
“Simply put, we are growing incredibly fast and the demand is increasing,” CEO Garrett Langley tells Hypepotamus. “We are now serving over 1,200 communities in 40 states across the U.S., and working with 700+ law enforcement agencies. Based on that reach, Flock’s tools now assist in nearly 1% of total crime reported in the country. To meet our goals, we need to hire more employees in each local market and accelerate product innovation beyond our flagship License Plate Reading cameras. We aim to serve as the public safety operating system for a city to bring together private citizens, law enforcement, and elected officials to make their communities safer.”
The Series D round was led by Silicon Valley VC giant Andreessen Horowitz, which recently led Atlanta-based Greenlight’s recent Series D.
Previous Flock Safety investors Meritech, Bedrock, Matrix Partners, and Initialized also participated in the round.
“We appreciate the perspective, resources, and knowledge that the a16z team brings to the table. We are excited to work closely with them through this next stage in our growth and honored to have them as a partner,” adds Langley.
Andreessen Horowitz says that the team was attracted to the network effect created by Flock Safety’s technology. “The results of Flock Safety in action are astounding: frequently finding stolen vehicles, substantially reducing residential burglary, and in more dangerous situations, empowering law enforcement to intervene in Amber alerts and resolve lethal crimes that would otherwise go unsolved. Beyond protecting property, Flock Safety is literally helping to save lives,” David Ulevitch and David George added in a blog post.
Cutting Crime By 25%
The new funds are set to help Flock Safety reach a rather staggering goal: Reduce crime by 25% over the next three years.
“It is certainly an ambitious and lofty goal, but given our growth trajectory and the fact that the public safety technology space is largely made up of incumbents, it is also realistic,” adds Langley. “Flock has distinguished itself in the space by offering best-in-class, lightweight, affordable, durable, and ethically-built tools that bring communities together to make them safer.”
He adds that the 25% goal is based on the team and current product growth trajectory. Since 70% of all crime is committed with a vehicle, Flock Safety sees the use of computer vision to improve license plate detection cameras as a key way to mitigate and solve crime.
The team is currently on a hiring spree in Atlanta and across the country, with many open engineering, operations, and sales roles.
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