Verkada

Verkada Inc.

Company type	Private
Industry	Security technology
Founded	2016 (2016)
Founder	Filip Kaliszan, James Ren, Benjamin Bercovitz, Hans Robertson
Headquarters	San Mateo, California , United States
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Filip Kaliszan (CEO)
Products	Video surveillance cameras, access control systems, environmental sensors, cloud-based AI and machine vision technologies
Website	verkada.com

Verkada Inc. is a security technology firm headquartered in San Mateo, California, specializing in the integration of hardware such as video surveillance cameras, access control devices, and environmental sensors with cloud-based artificial intelligence and machine vision technologies.

Established in 2016 by Stanford alumni Filip Kaliszan, James Ren, Benjamin Bercovitz, and Hans Robertson (former COO at Meraki), Verkada transitioned from its beta launch in 2017 featuring two camera models. The founding team had previously worked together on CourseRank, which was acquired by Chegg in 2010.

By 2019, Verkada earned recognition from Forbes as one of the Next Billion Dollar Startups and among the AI 50 most promising companies. That year, it completed a $40 million Series B funding round, reaching a valuation of $540 million. In January 2020, an $80 million Series C round led by Felicis Ventures elevated the company’s valuation to $1.6 billion. The company broadened its product line beyond cameras by introducing its initial access control system, combining lock management and video surveillance into a single platform.

During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Verkada provided complimentary surveillance kits to businesses and healthcare organizations to enable remote monitoring of high-risk environments. It rolled out features to identify crowding and high-traffic areas requiring sanitation and launched integrated environmental sensors for facility monitoring purposes.

In September 2021, Verkada began donating security cameras to Asian Pacific American business communities as a response to increasing anti-Asian violence. By August 2022, it had launched a mailroom management solution designed to track packages entering facilities. A $205 million Series D funding round in September 2022 boosted the company’s valuation to $3.2 billion.

Despite experiencing a data breach in 2021 that compromised camera footage and sensitive information, Verkada maintained its growth trajectory, closing a $305 million funding round in October 2023 with investments from Lightspeed and Alkeon Capital.

Data breach

On March 8, 2021, Verkada's systems were compromised by an international hacking collective including maia arson crimew, operating under the name "APT-69 420 Arson Cats." The attackers maintained access to Verkada’s network for approximately 36 hours, extracting about 5 gigabytes of data.

Initial reports suggested that live and recorded video from over 150,000 cameras had been exposed; however, it was later clarified that footage and images from 95 customers were accessed. The breach revealed surveillance across diverse sectors such as healthcare facilities, workplaces, and educational institutions. The hacker group emphasized the incident as a demonstration of widespread surveillance capabilities.

In response to the breach, Verkada CEO Filip Kaliszan announced in April 2021 several security enhancements including red team/blue team testing exercises, launching a bug bounty program, enforcing two-factor authentication for support personnel, and increasing transparency through expanded audit logs shared with clients.

Controversies

In 2020, media investigations uncovered that male executives at Verkada misused the company’s facial recognition technology to harass female employees, fostering a workplace environment marked by sexism. These problems dated back to 2019 but were only addressed following intensified media exposure in 2020, resulting in the dismissal of those responsible.

In August 2021, Motorola Solutions submitted a detailed 52-page complaint to the United States International Trade Commission (ITC), accusing Verkada’s cameras and software of infringing patents owned by Motorola’s Avigilon subsidiary. In retaliation, Verkada filed a lawsuit against Motorola in September 2021 within the Northern District of California, alleging attempts to obstruct its business operations. The ITC commenced an investigation later that month; Verkada denied any patent violations.

Bloomberg News reported in April 2021 allegations from former employees describing a "bro culture" at Verkada characterized by inadequate device security measures, excessive emphasis on profits, and pandemic-era social gatherings. Verkada acknowledged shortcomings and pledged improvements in diversity initiatives, gender pay equity, and training programs.

On October 24, 2022, an ITC administrative law judge determined that Verkada had infringed certain claims of one Motorola patent but not others. Both parties requested further review by the ITC. On April 4, 2023, the ITC issued a final ruling ending the investigation and concluding that Verkada products did not violate any Motorola patents.

Verkada’s deployment of facial recognition technology within public housing surveillance has attracted criticism due to high false positive rates ranging from 15% to 85%, raising concerns about adverse effects on residents in economically disadvantaged communities. The efficacy of this technology for crime reduction remains unsubstantiated. Several states including Illinois and Texas have banned facial recognition use; meanwhile, it is under review by HUD.

In September 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice filed suit against Verkada for breaches of the CAN-SPAM Act. The company resolved the matter with a settlement involving payment of a $2.95 million penalty.