Alcatraz AI, a leader in autonomous access control using industry-leading 3D facial authentication and AI to create safe spaces, has raised a $25M Series A round. The round was led by Almaz Capital and included EBRD (The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development), Endeavor Catalyst, Silverline Capital, and Golden Seeds, along with participation from existing investors JCI Ventures (the corporate venture arm of Johnson Controls), Ray Stata, and LDV Partners.
“At Alcatraz AI, we believe that safety and security is the first principle, and we are committed to leading a new era of frictionless access control by leveraging the unique power of the human face to make accessing spaces as secure, quick and easy as unlocking your phone,” said Tina D’Agostin, CEO of Alcatraz AI. “We are excited to enter the next phase of our company’s growth by partnering with our investors with a strong track record scaling companies globally that deliver next generation technology.”
The $70B physical access control market is in need of next generation solutions that enable more modern and secure ways of unlocking where people work, live, study and play. Today, the most commonly used credential to enter secured spaces is an access card that can be lost, replicated, or stolen. Alternative technologies, such as mobile and legacy biometric systems have not gained mainstream momentum due to implementation and user challenges.
Since its founding in 2016, Alcatraz AI set out to transform the experience of entering spaces in the most highly secure manner, while enabling a completely passive and frictionless use case at doors for occupants and the security teams that manage them. Alcatraz AI’s flagship product, the Rock, is deployed at some of the most successful enterprises in the world, including 25 of the Fortune 500. Since 2020, the company has seen massive growth in the US and globally, with over ten countries deploying Alcatraz solutions, securing over 1 million employees.
Almaz Capital, a venture capital fund headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices in Berlin, focuses on disruptive deep-tech companies in the B2B software space.
“We are thrilled to add Alcatraz AI to our portfolio of 25 companies,” said Daniil Stolyarov, Partner, Almaz Capital. “Almaz is always on the lookout for technology applications that disrupt and transform established industries. Alcatraz applies artificial intelligence to ensure that security, privacy, and convenience is possible for autonomous access control.”
Alcatraz AI will focus on global expansion and product innovation to meet a variety of use cases as organizations continue to modernize their access control systems.
“We are excited to support the team as it scales its biometric authentication technology to make entrance to buildings and spaces secure and frictionless,” notes Aziza Zakhidova, Principal, EBRD’S Venture Capital team, an early and growth stage equity investor for technology companies out of emerging Europe.
