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// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did Verkada say to the camera? You're always viewing me.

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Verkada Inc.
TypePrivate
IndustryPhysical security
Founded2016; 10 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
Revenue806 millions $ (2025)
Number of employees
1,700 (est.)[1]
Websitewww.verkada.com

Verkada Inc. is an American security technology company, based in San Mateo, California. 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]

History

[edit]

Verkada Inc. was founded in 2016[5] 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] The company installed its first security cameras in 2017, at an Equinox Gym in Beverly Hills.[6]

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.[7][8] In April of that year, 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 round 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] During the COVID-19 crisis Verkada instituted a program to offer free surveillance kits to healthcare institutions and municipalities in order to remotely monitor high-risk locations.[9] In September 2020, Verkada expanded its product line with a suite of environmental sensors that report metrics such as air temperature and quality as well as a "people heatmaps" feature that identifies overcrowded locations within a facility.[10]

In September 2021, 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]

Verkada's Series D funding round closed in October 2023 and raised $305 million at a $3.2 billion valuation.[12] In July 2025, Verkada integrated artificial intelligence into its platform, releasing a "unified timeline" tool synthesizing data across sources to provide multiple perspectives on a single incident.[13][14] A December 2025 funding round led by Alphabet's venture capital arm CapitalG brought in $100 million at a $5.8 billion valuation.[13] At the end of 2025, Verkada had approximately 30,000 active customers.[14]

In 2026, Verkada expanded within the EMEA market by establishing an office in Dubai.[15] The company also announced that it would be partnering with Carahsoft to sell its security technology to government agencies.[16]

Data breach

[edit]

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.[17][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[18][19][20] crimew told Bloomberg News that the hack "exposes just how broadly we're being surveilled".[21]

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.[22]

Controversies

[edit]

Starting in 2019, a group of male staff in leadership positions used the company's own facial recognition system to harass female workers, with employees telling reporters that the incidents contributed to a culture of sexism, as reported in 2020 by several media outlets. Action was only taken in 2020 once increasing media attention was cast upon the company, with Verkada eventually terminating those deemed responsible.[23][24][25]

In April 2021, news site Bloomberg News reported allegations by former Verkada employees accusing the company of having a "bro" culture, with lax device security, excessive focus on profit, and parties during the COVID-19 pandemic.[26] Verkada acknowledged to Bloomberg 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.[26]

In August 2021, Motorola Solutions filed a 52-page complaint[27] with the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) alleging that Verkada cameras and software infringed upon patents held by Motorola subsidiary Avigilon.[28][29] Verkada filed a counter-suit in the California Northern District Court in September 2021,[30][31][32] arguing that Motorola had "sought to effectively shut Verkada’s business down."[33][32] On October 24, 2022, the presiding administrative law judge of the ITC issued a final initial determination finding that Verkada's products infringed upon one of three patents owned by Motorola.[34] Both Verkada and Motorola filed for ITC review of the determination.[34] On April 4, 2023, ITC issued a final determination finding that Verkada products did not infringe any of Motorola's three patents.[34]

In May 2023, the Washington Post published a report that was critical of Verkada's use of facial recognition technology in cameras installed at public housing facilities, citing independent testing that found the company's technology falsely identified individuals approximately 15 percent of the time, and that it got identifications wrong up to 85 percent of the time when people were wearing masks or viewed at an angle.[35] In September 2024, Verkada was sued by the United States Department of Justice for violating the CAN-SPAM Act,[36] and eventually settled, paying a fine of $2,950,000.[37]

References

[edit]
  1. ↑ "Verkada Company Profile - Office Locations, Competitors, Revenue, Financials, Employees, Key People, Subsidiaries". www.craft.co. August 22, 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 "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. 1 2 3 "This Startup Making Cloud-Connected Security Camera Systems Reached A $540 Million Valuation In 3 Years". www.forbes.com. April 25, 2019.
  5. ↑ "Verkada raises $205M to build the operating system for the physical world". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved 2026-06-16.
  6. ↑ Garfinkle, Allie (February 19, 2025). "Exclusive: Verkada's $200 million Series E values the company at $4.5 billion". Fortune. Retrieved March 26, 2026.
  7. ↑ "Next Billion Dollar Startups 2019". www.forbes.com. July 16, 2019.
  8. ↑ "AI 50: America's Most Promising Artificial Intelligence Companies". www.forbes.com. September 17, 2019.
  9. ↑ "Verkada unveils COVID-19 programme to offer free video monitoring for critical infrastructure, healthcare and shelter locations". securityinformed.com. 2020. Retrieved March 26, 2026.
  10. ↑ "Beef up your security against COVID with this new environmental sensor suite". The American Genius. September 21, 2020. Retrieved June 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. ↑ 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.
  13. 1 2 Yip, Jaures (December 3, 2025). "Security startup Verkada hits $5.8 billion valuation in latest funding round led by CapitalG". CNBC. Retrieved March 26, 2026.
  14. 1 2 "Verkada hits $5.8B valuation as Google bets big on AI security". The Tech Buzz. December 3, 2025. Retrieved March 30, 2026.
  15. ↑ "Verkada Expands Operations to Dubai, United Arab Emirates". Security Sales & Integration. January 21, 2026. Retrieved March 26, 2026.
  16. ↑ Smith, Kristen (January 22, 2026). "Verkada, Carahsoft Enter Into Distribution Partnership for Public Sector Security Tech". Executive Biz. Retrieved March 26, 2026.
  17. ↑ Bajak, Frank; O'Brien, Matt (March 10, 2021). "Security camera hack exposes hospitals, workplaces, schools". Seattle Times. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  18. ↑ Goodin, Dan (March 10, 2021). "Hackers access security cameras inside Cloudflare, jails, and hospitals". Ars Technica. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  19. ↑ Turton, William (March 31, 2021). "Verkada Says Hackers Accessed Cameras of 95 Customers". Bloomberg News. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
  20. ↑ 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.
  21. ↑ Turton, William (March 9, 2021). "Hackers Breach Thousands of Security Cameras, Exposing Tesla, Jails, Hospitals". Bloomberg News. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  22. ↑ Healy, Conor (March 25, 2021). "Verkada Revokes Global Admin Access To Cameras, Says Requiring 2FA 'Excellent Suggestion'". IPVM. Retrieved May 10, 2021.
  23. ↑ Cox, Lauren Kaori Gurley and Joseph (October 26, 2020). "Surveillance Startup Used Own Cameras to Harass Coworkers".
  24. ↑ "Verkada Faces Sexism, Discrimination, And Cultural Challenges". IPVM. October 13, 2020.
  25. ↑ Schiffer, Zoë (October 26, 2020). "Surveillance company harassed female employees using its own facial recognition technology". The Verge.
  26. 1 2 Turton, William; Gallagher, Ryan; McBride, Sarah; Ford, Brody. "'Bro Culture' at Camera Maker Verkada Pushed Profits, Parties". Bloomberg. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
  27. ↑ 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.
  28. ↑ Decker, Susan (August 9, 2021). "Motorola Solutions Seeks to Block Rival Security Camera Imports". Bloomberg Law. Retrieved October 15, 2021.(Subscription required.)
  29. ↑ Griffin, Joel (August 12, 2021). "Motorola Solutions files ITC complaint against Verkada". Security Info Watch.com. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  30. ↑ "Verkada, Inc. v. Motorola Solutions, Inc. et al". Law.com. ALM Media Properties, LLC. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
  31. ↑ "Verkada, Inc. v. Motorola Solutions, Inc. et al". LAW360. Portfolio Media, Inc. September 2, 2021. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
  32. 1 2 Karantzoulidis, Steve (September 7, 2021). "Verkada Sues Motorola Over Patent Infringement Complaint". Security Sales & Integration. San Mateo, Calif. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
  33. ↑ 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.
  34. 1 2 3 "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. 6 April 2023. Retrieved 2023-05-05.
  35. ↑ Douglas MacMillan (16 May 2023). "Eyes on the poor: Cameras, facial recognition watch over public housing". Washington Post. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  36. ↑ "Office of Public Affairs | $2.95M Penalty and Permanent Injunction Resolves Lawsuit Against Verkada Inc. for Alleged Unlawful Commercial Emails, Data Security Failures and Deceptive Practices | United States Department of Justice". www.justice.gov. September 4, 2024.
  37. ↑ "Verkada to pay $2.95 million for alleged CAN-SPAM Act violations". BleepingComputer.
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