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Knightscope, a Mountain View, Calif.-based developer of autonomous security robots, is going public on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol “KSCP.” Knightscope will be offering $40 million of Class A common stock at $10 per share.
Knightscope plans to use the proceeds from the initial public offering (IPO) to continue to scale its fleet of security robots and to invest in new technologies. The company has a line of four security robots, ranging from a stationary robot to an all-terrain one.
“On this important day, I wish to take a moment to thank the absolutely relentless team at Knightscope and our 28,000+ investors for their unwavering support,” said Knightscope chairman and CEO William Santana Li. “We are committed more than ever to our mission of making the United States of America the safest country in the world. We need to provide the brave women and men in uniform, on our own soil, cutting edge technology to help them make smarter, faster and safer decisions. They deserve only the best and so does every community in our great nation, as we work to reimagine public safety, together.”
Knightscope was founded in 2013 and has raised more than $75 million in funding. In 2020, the company gained its first federal purchase order through a General Services Administration (GSA) contract.
The company offers its robots for sale using a robots-as-a-service (RaaS) business model. RaaS is a capital expense heavy business model as the RaaS-provider (KnightScope) doesn’t sell the physical equipment to its customers, it only offers the robots in a subscription model. Thus the robots remain on the books for Knightscope throughout their useful lifetime.
Knightscope first announced its plans to go public at its shareholders meeting in September 2021. There, the company also announced it would be prioritizing its 28,000-plus investors first, allowing them to purchase stock before the rest of the public. You can watch a video of that meeting below.
According to an SEC filing, Knightscope’s revenue for the six months ended June 30, 2021 increased by $141,000 (9%) to $1.8 million. Revenue for the six months ended June 30, 2020 was $1.6 million.
Knightscope’s shares were listed for sale immediately following the closing of the NASDAQ on December 1, 2021.
In April 2020, Knightscope announced new software features that would help to encourage social distancing at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The software enables Knightscope robots to identify tight groupings of people and then play warning messages.
Jesse Baldwin says
How do I Invest in Knightscope? What will happen to the stock when it goes public?
Please send me some information so that I will know how to invest in your company.
Abe says
Hey Jesse! I have been investing in knightscope for the last 4 years! Here is a link to their website to invest: https://www.knightscope.com/
Misael E OLVERA says
I’ve been working in security for more than 20 years trust me we need objective thinking common sense all these things have become so hard to find in the average ordinary human being so yes we need machines to do these simple tasks as more and more jobs are taken away from automation we need to think of what to do with our time or objectively I’ve known since I started working in this industry technology would eventually take full control
Michael Steiner says
I’m old enough to remember a time when it was common to see police on foot. In almost any city, the police would “walk a beat”. That meant there was someone who knew when things didn’t appear right. It meant that when someone needed assistance, even for something minor, there was likely someone within earshot who was capable and happy to provide it.
In today’s cities, police spend almost their entire day sitting. Sitting in a patrol car, or sitting at a desk. There are no longer any patrolmen watching and listening to the community, unless someone dials 911. The automated security robot (ASR) is arriving at a great time. The technology is mature enough, and the public has become sufficiently aware that they are accepting of the innovation.
Coupled with enhanced vision capabilities of the sort that have been employed in autonomous vehicles, these robots will be able to “see” things that could not even be imagined in the past. They would be able to detect from a distance if someone is breathing heavily, if someone is concealing something, is someone’s pupils are dilated because they’re frightened or panicked.
This is just the beginning.