Building a Safer, More Secure, and Connected World with Technology

It’s no surprise that 40% of Americans don’t feel safe walking within one mile of their house. Violence in public places like schools, public venues, and workplaces continues to happen with alarming frequency. More than half of Americans report being personally affected by gun violence, while street crime associated with drug use and other systemic urban problems remains at levels unacceptable for developed nations. At the same time, police departments and security companies alike are contending with historic staffing shortages and recruiting challenges. These are preventable problems, and our communities don’t need to suffer any more. If policymakers and security requirements can’t keep pace with the rate of crime in this country, it’s time to rethink how we address the problem: Our generation of technology innovators and investors owes it to our families and fellow citizens to curb criminals’ access to places that should be considered safe. Technology can have a massive impact on how we secure the world around us.Cutting edge cameras armed with computer vision (AI) and ‘IOT’ (“Internet of Things” — i.e. sensors and controls) have become good enough to enable real-time identification of threats and immediate response (access lock-downs, alarms, and emergency system alerting). This is why Eclipse is proud to announce we co-led Verkada’s $200M Series E fundraise. Verkada is the world’s best technology platform for transforming public and private spaces into secure, safe, and connected environments. Verkada’s 30,000 happy customers — which include the LA Rams’ training center, city governments, industrial brands like Yusen Logistics, school districts, and public spaces like Equinox and Joe & the Juice — have reported that their environments are markedly more secure and interconnected thanks to the Verkada platform. For example, El Centro Regional Medical Center saw an 83% reduction in workplace violence incidents after deploying the Verkada platform.

With a Verkada operating system, police departments are faster to resolve homicides, retailers can reduce shrinkage by 50%, cities like Las Vegas and Los Angeles keep millions of residents and infrastructure safe, and schools like Mission Dolores Academy can control access, alert first responders accurately, and lockdown within seconds when a dangerous situation is detected. Verkada’s superior product suite provides a secure, interconnected environment with advanced devices to detect and respond to threats. This includes computer vision-enabled cameras, wireless locks, alarms, access control, sensors, and emergency response systems. With more than 1.5 million deployed systems, Verkada’s massive base of integrated hardware provides the company with proprietary access to one of the largest (and growing) databases of physical-world data. Also, Verkada’s extensive base of installed systems can act as a critical gateway for other technology partners, amplifying the company’s impact and accelerating its growth. Prior to joining Eclipse, I was an executive and product leader at Samsara (NYSE ‘IOT’) — where we brought cloud-connected software to critical sectors like transportation, manufacturing, and logistics — and I saw first-hand the impact of bringing cloud-connected devices like cameras, small computers, and sensors to the edge, the industrial frontier where most operations are still performed manually. In these industries, most operations were still performed by paper and pen, and critical updates were communicated by disconnected calls, texts, or not at all. Becoming digitized via Samsara was transformative for these industries, resulting in more connected, responsive, and resilient operations. Samsara was able to build a massive $1.3B ARR business in only 9 years delivering insights to operators who were eager to leverage real-time insights, responsive controls, and more accurate information. I see this same potential in Verkada. Samsara has become the Connected Operations Cloud, and Verkada’s approach to outfitting every facility with data-rich sensors (cameras), world-class AI (computer vision), and cloud-connected controls and response (command center and alerts) will allow for a same high-impact, radical-growth trajectory as Verkada becomes the Operating System for the Physical World.There’s an urgent need to invest in technologies that actually At Eclipse, we like to put our money where our mouth is, and we’re excited that every dollar we’ve invested in Verkada will help to build safer cities, stores, and schools — critical institutions for our everyday lives. We can live better and give a more secure world to the next generation. Verkada is key to this successful, safer future.