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Verkada Inc.
Company typePrivate
IndustryPhysical security
Founded2016; 8 years ago (2016)
Founder
  • Filip Kaliszan
  • James Ren
  • Benjamin Bercovitz
  • Hans Robertson
HeadquartersSan Mateo, California
Key people
Filip Kaliszan, CEO
Productssecurity cameras, access control, environmental sensors, intrusion alarms, guest management, mailroom management
Number of employees
1,700 (est.)[1]
Websitewww.verkada.com

Verkada Inc. is a San Mateo, CA-based company that develops cloud-based building security and operating systems. The company combines security equipment such as video cameras, access control systems and environmental sensors, with cloud based machine vision and artificial intelligence.[2][3]

The company was founded in 2016.[4] In 2021, it was the target of a data breach that accessed security camera footage and private data.

History

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Verkada Inc. was founded in 2016 in Menlo Park, California by three Stanford University graduates: Filip Kaliszan, James Ren, and Benjamin Bercovitz, who were joined by Hans Robertson, co-founder and former COO of Meraki (now Cisco Meraki). Kaliszan, Ren, and Bercovitz had previously collaborated on CourseRank, a class data aggregation platform that was acquired by Chegg in 2010.[4]

Verkada exited the beta development stage in September 2017, with a product offering of two camera models.

In 2019, Forbes included Verkada in its Next Billion Dollar Startups list, as well as that year’s AI 50 list of most promising artificial intelligence companies.[5][6] In April, the company announced a $40 million Series B funding round, which valued the company at $540 million.[4]

In January 2020, the company raised $80 million in a Series C funding found led by Felicis Ventures, giving the company a $1.6 billion valuation.[2] In spring 2020, the company launched its first access control device, the first move in a shift to moving beyond cameras, and integrating security cameras and locks onto a single platform.[2] In June during the COVID-19 crisis Verkada instituted a program to offer free surveillance kits to businesses and healthcare institutions in order to remotely monitor high-risk locations.[7] It also added features to let customers detect when crowds are forming, and to identify high traffic areas that might need more cleaning.[8] In September, the company launched a line of integrated environmental sensors.[9] In September, it introduced a line of environmental sensors for facilities monitoring.[7]

In April 2021, news site Bloomberg News reported allegations by former employees accusing the company of having a "bro" culture, with lax device security, excessive focus on profit, and parties during the COVID-19 pandemic.[10] In the Bloomberg reporting, Verkada acknowledged an internal lapse in judgment, and was reportedly working to create a more inclusive work environment, including reviewing gender pay equity and implementing better training.[10] In September, the company began donating security cameras to Asian Pacific American business communities, starting with the Oakland California Chinatown Chamber of Commerce, to address growing anti-Asian threats and violence against its members.[11]

In August 2022, the company announced a mailroom product to help companies keep track of mail packages and shipments coming into their facilities.[12] In September, the company raised $205 million in Series D funding, bringing its valuation to $3.2 billion.[13] Despite the data breach it suffered in 2021, the company continued its expansion. In October 2023 it managed to close a $305 million funding round with participation from Lightspeed and shortly after the injection of $100 million by Alkeon Capital.[14]

In September 2024, Verkada was sued by the United States Department of Justice for violating the CAN-SPAM Act.[15]

Data breach

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On March 8, 2021, Verkada was hacked by an international group including maia arson crimew and calling themselves the "APT - 69420 Arson Cats," which gained access to their network for about 36 hours and collected about 5 gigabytes of data.[16][failed verification]

Initially, it was reported that the scope of the incident included live and recorded security camera footage from more than 150,000 cameras. It was later reported that 95 customers' video and images data were accessed[17][18][19] Crimew told Bloomberg News that the hack "exposes just how broadly we're being surveilled".[20]

In response to the data breach, in April 2021 it was reported that Verkada CEO Filip Kaliszan announced a series of measures, including red team/blue team exercises, a bug bounty program, mandatory two-factor authentication use by Verkada support staff, and the sharing of more audit logs with Verkada customers.[21]

Controversies

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In August 2021, Motorola Solutions filed a 52-page complaint[22] against Verkada with the United States International Trade Commission, alleging that Verkada cameras and software infringe upon patents held by Motorola subsidiary Avigilon.[23][24] Verkada subsequently filed a lawsuit against Motorola Solutions in the California Northern District Court in September 2021,[25][26][27] arguing that Motorola has "sought to effectively shut Verkada’s business down."[28][27] Later in September, the International Trade Commission initiated its investigation into Motorola's complaint,[29] with Verkada stating in its response that it does not infringe upon any of Motorola's patents.[30]

On October 24, 2022, the presiding administrative law judge (“ALJ”) of the ITC issued a final initial determination (“FID”) finding that a violation of section 337 has occurred, that Verkada's products infringed claims 6–11 of 1 of 3 patents asserted by Motorola, but no infringement with respect to the other asserted claims of the 1 patent and the claims of other 2 patents.[31] Both Verkada and Motorola filed for ITC review of the FID.[31] On April 4, 2023, ITC issued a final determination and terminated the ITC investigation, finding that Verkada products did not infringe any of Motorola's 3 patents.[31]

Verkada uses facial recognition in its cameras, including systems installed in public housing. Independent testing showed a 15-85% false positive rate in the matches.[32] The use of surveillance cameras equipped with facial recognition technology ends up affecting the daily lives of residents in poor neighbourhoods and public housing areas[citation needed]. Their use makes their existence even more difficult and complicated, and there is no evidence of their usefulness in reducing crime.[32][33] Facial recognition has been outlawed in Illinois and Texas and has been under scrutiny by HUD.[32]

References

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  1. ^ "Verkada Company Profile - Office Locations, Competitors, Revenue, Financials, Employees, Key People, Subsidiaries". www.craft.co. August 22, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c "Verkada raises $80M at $1.6B to be every building's security OS". www.techcrunch.com. January 29, 2020.
  3. ^ Wingert, Kelly (April 26, 2022). "FD school board approves bathroom vape sensors". MessengerNews.com. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
  4. ^ a b c "This Startup Making Cloud-Connected Security Camera Systems Reached A $540 Million Valuation In 3 Years". www.forbes.com. April 25, 2019.
  5. ^ "Next Billion Dollar Startups 2019". www.forbes.com. July 16, 2019.
  6. ^ "AI 50: America's Most Promising Artificial Intelligence Companies". www.forbes.com. September 17, 2019.
  7. ^ a b "Beef up your security against COVID with this new environmental sensor suite". The American Genius. September 21, 2020. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
  8. ^ "LinkedIn's 50 Best Startups To Work For In 2020". Forbes. September 22, 2020. Retrieved March 10, 2021.
  9. ^ "Verkada raises $80M at $1.6B to be every building's security OS". TechCrunch. January 29, 2020. Retrieved March 10, 2021.
  10. ^ a b Turton, William; Gallagher, Ryan; McBride, Sarah; Ford, Brody. "'Bro Culture' at Camera Maker Verkada Pushed Profits, Parties". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on 2021-04-09. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
  11. ^ "New surveillance cameras installed in Oakland's Chinatown to combat violent attacks". ABC News. September 30, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  12. ^ Archer, Bob (August 30, 2022). "Verkada Mailroom Solution Brings Cloud Management to Mail, Shipments". Security Sales & Integration. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
  13. ^ Vartabedian, Marc (September 14, 2022). "Building-Security Startup Raises Capital, Boosts Valuation Amid Downturn". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
  14. ^ Staff, S. S. I. (2023-10-10). "Verkada Closes Series D Fundraising Round With $305M in Fresh Capital". Security Sales & Integration. Retrieved 2023-11-23.
  15. ^ https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/295m-penalty-and-permanent-injunction-resolves-lawsuit-against-verkada-inc-alleged-unlawful
  16. ^ Bajak, Frank; O'Brien, Matt (March 10, 2021). "Security camera hack exposes hospitals, workplaces, schools". Seattle Times. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  17. ^ Goodin, Dan (March 10, 2021). "Hackers access security cameras inside Cloudflare, jails, and hospitals". Ars Technica. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  18. ^ Turton, William (March 31, 2021). "Verkada Says Hackers Accessed Cameras of 95 Customers". Bloomberg News. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
  19. ^ Gartenberg, Chaim (March 9, 2021). "Security startup Verkada hack exposes 150,000 security cameras in Tesla factories, jails, and more". The Verge. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  20. ^ Turton, William (March 9, 2021). "Hackers Breach Thousands of Security Cameras, Exposing Tesla, Jails, Hospitals". Bloomberg News. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  21. ^ Healy, Conor (March 25, 2021). "Verkada Revokes Global Admin Access To Cameras, Says Requiring 2FA 'Excellent Suggestion'". IPVM. Retrieved May 10, 2021.
  22. ^ Kattan, Lisa M. (August 9, 2021). "Certain Video Security Equipment and Systems, Related Software, Components Thereof, and Products Containing Same, Inv. No. 337-TA-" (PDF). Letter to The Honorable Lisa R. Barton. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
  23. ^ Decker, Susan (August 9, 2021). "Motorola Solutions Seeks to Block Rival Security Camera Imports". Bloomberg Law. Retrieved October 15, 2021.(Subscription required.)
  24. ^ Griffin, Joel (August 12, 2021). "Motorola Solutions files ITC complaint against Verkada". Security Info Watch.com. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  25. ^ "Verkada, Inc. v. Motorola Solutions, Inc. et al". Law.com. ALM Media Properties, LLC. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
  26. ^ "Verkada, Inc. v. Motorola Solutions, Inc. et al". LAW360. Portfolio Media, Inc. September 2, 2021. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
  27. ^ a b Karantzoulidis, Steve (September 7, 2021). "Verkada Sues Motorola Over Patent Infringement Complaint". Security Sales & Integration. San Mateo, Calif. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
  28. ^ VERKADA, INC. v. MOTOROLA SOLUTIONS, INC.; AVIGILON CORPORATION; AVIGILON FORTRESS CORPORATION; AVIGILON PATENT HOLDING 1 CORPORATION; AND AVIGILON TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION (N.D. Cal. 2021), Text.
  29. ^ "NOTICE OF INSTITUTION OF INVESTIGATION" (PDF). September 8, 2021. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
  30. ^ (US ITC September 29, 2021), Text.
  31. ^ a b c "Certain Video Security Equipment and Systems, Related Software, Components Thereof, and Products Containing Same; Notice of the Commission's Final Determination Finding No Violation of Section 337; Termination of the Investigation". federalregister.gov. Retrieved 2023-05-05.
  32. ^ a b c Douglas MacMillan (16 May 2023). "Eyes on the poor: Cameras, facial recognition watch over public housing". Washington Post. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  33. ^ "Facial Recognition Used to Evict Single Mother for Taking Night Classes". Futurism. Retrieved 2023-11-23.
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