Latest news with #GarrettLangley
Forbes
3 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
Flock's AI Cameras Are Watching Cars All Over America. They're About To Get A Lot More Powerful.
Flock has tens of thousands of cameras operating across almost all American states. It's now giving those devices live streaming capability, making them significantly more powerful. Flock Safety, the $7.5 billion car surveillance company, has already built a sizable AI-powered camera network, with tens of thousands of smart license plate readers monitoring roads in 49 American states. Soon its cameras are going to capture a lot more. In the fall this year, cops will be able to turn their Flock license plate readers into something more akin to traditional surveillance cameras. While Flock cameras today take photos of vehicles, flagging any car that's on a hotlist of suspected vehicles to cops or private industry customers like FedEx or mall provider Simon Property, those same customers will soon be able to request either live feeds or 15 second clips from around the time a vehicle passed through a camera's field of vision. Garrett Langley, Flock CEO, told Forbes that the update should give cops more 'situational awareness.' Police will be able to pull up feeds from Flock cameras when a 911 call comes in, for instance, Langley said. 'We will just open up the five nearest cameras in real time and say, here's what's happening right now,' he said. There will also be the option to upgrade to a camera where the angle can be adjusted, for a wider purview. 'If it helps us get to our North Star of solving every single crime that happens in America, then it's a cost worth bearing.' For years, civil liberties experts have worried about Flock's expansion. Last week, 404 Media reported that a Texas agency had used it to locate a woman who'd had a self-administered abortion across state lines. Jay Stanley, technology director at the ACLU, fretted that Flock 'is trying to build a nationwide authoritarian surveillance system.' Langley, in response to those privacy concerns, said that Flock's tech was auditable and transparent. It was down to democratically-elected individuals and groups to decide if Flock was right for them and what they do with the data the cameras collect, he said. Flock's expansion comes on the heels of Axon Enterprise announcing a rival product to Flock's license plate readers in April. Flock and Axon, a $59 billion market cap publicly traded cop contractor best known for making the Taser, had previously been partners, but in February, the two companies had a very public break up. Axon CEO Rick Smith said at the time that Flock was trying to lock customers into its products by making its software restrictive enough that it didn't work as effectively with other vendors' tools. Langley in response claimed it was Axon that had decided to be less collaborative, as evidenced by its decision to stop working with or recommending Flock. Langley told Forbes in an interview last week that he was hoping to challenge Axon's 'monopoly' by building a competitor that the market had been lacking. He claimed agencies he spoke with had become 'frustrated with the monopolistic behavior that Axon has exhibited over the years and continues to exhibit, and I think that the beauty of capitalism is that it enables competition when properly enforced.' In response, Axon spokesperson Alex Engel said that Axon was a collaborative business with over 60 technology partners and integrations, which 'underscores our commitment to customer choice, interoperability, and transparency.' 'Axon's ecosystem is built on the belief that customers should always own and control their data,' Engel added, without mentioning Flock. Flock has been broadening its product offering for police to include drones, gunshot detection and a new software suite called Nova, which draws in information from police databases to make connections between suspects, properties or any other notable aspect of an investigation. That latter tool was built on technology Flock Safety quietly acquired in a previously unreported deal with Lucidus Tech last year. Lucidus was cofounded by former senior staff at Peregrine Technologies, a $2.5 billion startup that offers similar tech to Nova. Langley said that cops can now take information they find from Flock license plate readers and feed it into Nova to ask, for instance, if a car owner has a criminal history or any mental health conditions. For Flock, which raised $275 million earlier this year in a round led by Andreessen Horowitz, expansion also means far higher overheads. The latest update to add surveillance camera functionality could increase costs substantially when it comes to storing the video on its Amazon Web Services servers. 'If it's heavily, heavily used, it will be quite expensive for us,' Langley said. 'But we feel like if it helps us get to our North Star of solving every single crime that happens in America, then it's a cost worth bearing.'
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Safety tech company launches tool to help law enforcement solve cases faster
Flock Safety has released another piece of revolutionary technology aimed at keeping everyday civilians safe from crime. The company's new product, Flock Nova, helps law enforcement with a common but often overlooked problem – a lack of data sharing and access. "I operated under the assumption that if I got pulled over or arrested in one city, that city would have access to all the other arrests that have occurred across the country, and the sad reality is this is not how it works," Flock Safety CEO Garrett Langley told FOX Business. "And so, you might be doing a traffic stop on a very violent individual from a different state and have no idea. But now with Nova, we can disseminate that information and create an equal playing field for law enforcement and the people that they are trying to protect us from." Langley's company has already seen success in the law enforcement space with its license plate reader (LPR), which helped capture Paul Hyon Kim, who is facing charges related to arson at a Tesla facility in Las Vegas. Now, with Nova, Flock Safety is attempting to help law enforcement tackle the scourge of human trafficking. Tech Ceo Details His Company's Role In Catching Alleged Vegas Tesla Attacker The Flock Safety CEO told FOX Business that a "rapid decline in the law enforcement population" combined with Americans' unchanging safety expectations has created a "huge workload problem," something his company is aiming to combat with Nova. This especially comes into play with human trafficking, which Langley said can be "exceptionally hard to solve." Over the weekend, in raids across the country in which law enforcement used Nova, 87 adult victims and one juvenile victim were rescued. Additionally, there were 74 arrests, and seven firearms and $1.09 million seized, not including the cash inside an ATM that has yet to be opened. The operation, named "Coast to Coast," which took place over the course of 36 hours, targeted 26 illicit massage parlors in 19 states and included 157 police agencies. Read On The Fox Business App "TraffickStop, in collaboration with Flock Safety, is proud to provide investigators with the actionable intelligence they need to strengthen cases and hold traffickers accountable," said Andrew Romero, founder of Code Four Development. "As a retired organized crime detective, I've seen how real-time intelligence accelerates enforcement actions to dismantle criminal networks. We remain committed to equipping those on the front lines with the insights to move swiftly – and compassionately – against this crime." "I've been in law enforcement a little over 19 years now. And any time law enforcement has the ability to leverage a platform or emerging technology that increases access to investigative relevant information or data, it becomes a force multiplier for us. It allows us to better serve our communities and the survivors of the crimes that we investigate," Sgt. Arthur Nelsen, who works in Austin, Texas, told FOX Business. Nonprofit Urging Hhs To Reform 'Failed' National Human Trafficking Hotline, Replace With More Efficient Program Nelsen described law enforcement's tactics to fight human trafficking as having a "three-pillar approach," one of which, he says, is "public-private partnerships," such as the one with Flock Safety. However, Nelsen also told FOX Business that Nova allows law enforcement to "better prepare for proactive intervention that also prioritizes survivor safety." "As we try to improve," Nelsen said, "it's really critical that we develop these partnerships with the civilian companies and assets – AI software engineers or platform engineers – to be able for us to bring our tactical level knowledge and experience into systems such as these that benefit everybody within the community, our survivors, and strengthen case integrity and investigations for law enforcement." While Nova is AI-enabled, law enforcement agencies have the option of whether to use AI features, which is key for agencies in states that have regulations on AI. Langley told FOX Business that technologies like Nova are able to help law enforcement operate with a "level of precision that does not occur today." This, according to Langley, allows police to act "with surgical precision" against article source: Safety tech company launches tool to help law enforcement solve cases faster
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Georgia-based Flock Safety launches Smyrna drone facility
Flock Safety, the Georgia-based technology solutions provider, is opening a new manufacturing facility for drones in Smyrna. On Wednesday, company leaders and state officials gathered in Cobb County for the 97,000-square-foot facility's ribbon-cutting ceremony, where Gov. Brian Kemp and Flock CEO Garrett Langley shared their excitement for the new venture. 'In Georgia, we foster a business environment where innovative companies can get off the ground and grow into leaders in their industry while operating in safe communities,' Kemp said in a statement ahead of the event. 'Flock Safety is a great example of the success that approach has created, and we're proud to celebrate this milestone with them. We look forward to many years of partnership with Flock Safety in their efforts to help keep Georgians safe.'. At Wednesday's ribbon cutting, Channel 2′s Steve Gehlbach heard how Flock plans to hire hundreds of people to work at the new facility. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] The company, founded in 2017 in Georgia, is expected to create 210 new jobs over the next three years. The governor's office said the facility also represents a $10 million investment. In Smyrna, Flock Safety CEO Garrett Langley said 'it's easy to see that drones are the future of law enforcement. They are safer, they are faster, they work 24 hours a day, seven days a week.' TRENDING STORIES: At least 4 tornadoes confirmed during metro Atlanta storms on Monday GA officer accused of stealing suspect's money, passport during traffic stop VIDEO: Hawks fan awkwardly slips during court Tic-Tac-Toe game, injures his knee Flock purchased drone company Aerodome in 2024 before it launched its Drone as First Responder system. Now, the Smyrna facility will produce the company's public safety tools, which includes the drone technology. It'll also refurbish damaged devices and put together solar panels. Currently, Flock Safety employs 250 positions in Georgia and 'over 300 law enforcement agencies and 100 businesses in Georgia have deployed Flock Safety's technology to solve and reduce crime.' 'We feel fortunate to have our roots in Georgia, the state that is undisputedly the leader in the American aerospace industry, and are proud to invest further by creating hundreds of advanced manufacturing and aviation jobs locally,' Langley said in a statement. 'Drone as First Responder technology stands to transform emergency response, and these made-in-America, NDAA-compliant drones will have a transformative impact on the local communities we aim to serve.' Speaking at the ribbon-cutting, Cobb County Police Chief Stuart VanHoozer spoke about how partnering with Flock has helped stop crime in the county. Cobb police have seen dramatic drops in motor auto thefts and violent armed robberies, the chief said. Last week, Channel 2 Action News reported on how Flock technology even helped police find a kidnapping suspect accused of trying to take a child from an Acworth Walmart. 'We caught homicide suspects from metro Atlanta, we seized guns we would have never seized, gang members we would have never taken into custody,' VanHoozer said. 'All for the people of Cobb County.' Hiring for the facility is already underway, the governor's office said. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Reuters
13-03-2025
- Business
- Reuters
US startup Flock Safety raises $275 million to fund manufacturing plant, R&D
March 13 - Flock Safety, a U.S. startup developing surveillance technology, has raised $275 million in new funding led by Andreessen Horowitz, as it invests in a manufacturing facility and expands into drone products, the company told Reuters. The investment values Flock Safety at $7.5 billion, up from $4.8 billion in its previous funding round last year. It brings the Atlanta-based startup's total funding to over $950 million, according to PitchBook data, making it one of the most well-funded startups in the region. The funding marks Andreessen Horowitz's third investment in Flock, an unusual move for the venture capital firm. Greenoaks Capital and Bedrock Capital also participated in the round. Flock, which sells security cameras and software to help police and businesses tackle crime, said it had surpassed $300 million in annual recurring revenue, a 70% year-over-year increase. The company added Brandon Simins as its CFO this year, as it readies for an eventual public listing, although the company doesn't have a specific timeline. Flock plans to launch U.S.-manufactured drones in 2025, as it builds out a 100,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Georgia. "I'm excited to bring more manufacturing in the U.S., which will give us more control over our supply chain and help with our mission to eliminate crime," Flock CEO Garrett Langley said in an interview. Founded in 2017, the company says its surveillance system uses artificial intelligence to provide insights to aid investigations, such as identifying car plates. It now serves over 4,800 law enforcement agencies and nearly 1,000 businesses across major retailers and healthcare systems. Enterprise businesses account for about 30% of its revenue. Funding startups that sell to law enforcement is not very common for Silicon Valley investors. David George, general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, said Flock's growth in the past few years had proved the size of the market. "Flock Safety has one of the most compelling ROI (return on investment) equations to law enforcement that we've ever seen in software or hardware markets, in that they solve crime. Their ability to penetrate many police departments and have a very high market share can create a venture-scale outcome," said George.
