A Philadelphia startup using artificial intelligence to detect guns raised $20.9 million in a Series A round.
ZeroEyes’ funding is led by Octave Ventures, a venture capital firm that focuses on pre-IPO tech and biotech companies. Also joining the round are existing investors Legion Capital and Grateful Investment. Alliance Holdings and Alpha Intelligence Capital also participated.
ZeroEyes last raised $2.5 million in seed funding in 2020 to nearly double its staff of 16 and find a new office. Previous investors include Dreamit Ventures and Backswing Ventures. The latest round brings ZeroEyes’ total funding up to $26.1 million.
Founded by former Navy SEALs and military veterans, the company said the fresh capital will be used to grow the business, improve the product, hire and continue operations in North America.
“This significant funding round will allow us to further develop our proprietary AI technology to help stem the overwhelming impact of gun violence on our streets, in our schools, at businesses and public venues,” co-founder and CEO Mike Lahiff said in a statement.
ZeroEyes is an AI-based platform that uses clients’ security systems and video analytics to detect firearms. If a firearm is detected using the platform, an alert is sent to ZeroEyes’ team which can then alert local authorities and emergency services. The company counts schools, government sites and commercial entities among its clients.
The founders met in an MBA program at The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
ZeroEyes officials could not be reached for immediate comment on Tuesday.
