An Atlanta startup that closed a $150 million investment will be investing $10 million of the funds right into the Tampa Bay region.
Flock Safety produces cameras that analyze cars and licenses plates to help police departments and neighborhoods investigate crimes. It has been in the Florida market for the last year, initially starting at the Polk County Sheriff's Office and soon working with the Sarasota Police Department.
"Polk County is one of the most innovative sheriff's offices in the country, and in Sarasota, it was a similar type of vein," Flock Safety CEO Garrett Langley said in an interview with Tampa Bay Inno. "We're a new technology; not every city or county wants to be the first. But in the case of Sarasota, they raised their hand and said, 'We want to be the first.'"
The company employs roughly a dozen people throughout the state and has a presence in around 50 Floridian cities. It received the Series D funding in mid-July, led by Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. Existing investors Meritech, Bedrock, Matrix Partners and Initialized also participated in the round.
According to Atlanta Inno, the investment comes seven months after the company's previous funding round. It now has passed a $1 billion valuation.
The $10 million of the funding will be primarily put toward more local hiring in Tampa Bay. Langley said he hopes to have an additional six to 10 hires by the end of the year in the region.
"Finding talent here is surprisingly easy," Langley said. "I don't need to hire 100 salespeople in Tampa; I have to find the best five."
There's also the benefit Tampa Bay has of having MacDill Air Force Base in its backyard; Langley said a good amount of the company's 200+ employees are former military, drawn to the company due to its technology and safety focus.
"There are a short number of venture-backed companies hiring in Tampa, and then you attach an important mission," he said. "So it becomes, 'Do you want to work at a venture-backed company with a broader mission?'"
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