ShotSpotter, Inc. Raises $7.5M in Series D Equity Financing
The Westly Group Leads Expansion Round, Joined by Norwest Ventures Partners (NVP), Broidy Capital Management, Labrador Ventures, Levensohn Venture Partners, and Claremont Creek Ventures
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
ShotSpotter, Inc., the world leader in gunshot location systems (GLS) and technology for public safety and the military, announced the recent closing of equity financing totaling $7.5 million. The company will use this expansion capital to further solidify the dominance of its flagship product, the ShotSpotter GLS, in both the U.S. domestic public safety and military markets and to accelerate market expansion internationally. The funds will also be used for strategic purposes.
The Westly Group of Menlo Park, CA, led the round, joined by Norwest Venture Partners (NVP) of Palo Alto, CA. and Broidy Capital Management of Los Angeles, CA. The company's existing investors include the Band of Angels, City Light Capital, Claremont Creek Ventures, Labrador Ventures, Lauder Partners and Levensohn Venture Partners.
"As the preeminent leader in gunshot location and technology, ShotSpotter is already protecting more than 600,000 people where they live and work," said Steve Westly, managing partner, The Westly Group. "I'm proud to be an investor in a company that also helps first responders do their jobs and will make soldiers safer on the battlefield."
29 cities across the United States rely on ShotSpotter systems every day to detect and accurately locate gunfire, which studies indicate is only reported to 9-1-1 less than 50% of the time, depending on the city. The ShotSpotter GLS leads the market in deployments, arrests, weapons confiscations and lives saved. The company's technology has been credited with reducing violent crime by nearly 35 percent and gunfire rates by nearly 60 to 80 percent in cities in which it is deployed.
"It is a privilege to invest in a company whose innovative technology benefits society in such a positive way and actually saves lives," said Matthew D. Howard, general partner, Norwest Venture Partners (NVP). "It's clear that ShotSpotter's technology is mature and is becoming a 'must have' in cities across the United States. There is a tremendous opportunity for ShotSpotter to continue to help fight crime in even more locations throughout the country, and we look forward to working with the company to rapidly expand its business internationally."
The addition of three new investors in this financing round attests to the continued dramatic growth of the company and lays the foundation for ShotSpotter GLS to become the international system of choice, according to ShotSpotter president and chief executive officer James G. Beldock.
"Over the past two years, our investors have witnessed ShotSpotter's sales grow ten-fold, and their recent investment marks their commitment to our continued expansion. We will use this new capital to expand into the international market just as quickly as we have deployed throughout the United States," said James G. Beldock. "The investment further validates the vital importance of this technology for law enforcement, homeland security and military customers, as well as solidifies ShotSpotter's leadership position in the field."
ShotSpotter Laser-Focused Leadership
"James is laser-focused in his leadership and has a single-minded commitment to excellence. His passion is contagious and it is one reason why ShotSpotter has defined the standard for gunshot location and detection in urban environments," said Pascal Levensohn, founder and managing partner of Levensohn Venture Partners.
In addition to providing real-time notification of gunshot events, complete with audio files of the event, ShotSpotter captures information that can be used for subsequent detailed forensic and intelligence analysis of events and for criminal prosecution. Such information can include comparative caliber and direction-of-fire analysis and even information on drive-by shooters on the move. In addition, ShotSpotter GLS interoperates with camera and surveillance systems, crime analysis tools and other dispatching technologies.
About The Westly Group (www.westlygroup.com)
The Westly Group is one of the nation's leading clean tech venture funds. The firm has six professionals focused on investing in cutting-edge companies in solar, biofuels, green building materials and water. The Westly Group also invests in government-related industries such as health care and security.
About Norwest Venture Partners (www.nvp.com)
Norwest Venture Partners (NVP) is a global venture capital firm that has actively partnered with entrepreneurs to build great businesses for more than 45 years. NVP focuses on investments in information technology including: software, services, enterprise and communications systems, semiconductor/components and Internet, media and consumer. The firm currently manages more than $2.5 billion in venture capital out of its office in Palo Alto, California.
NVP has funded over 400 companies in the U.S. since inception, as well as several direct investments in India and more than 20 cross border companies. Some of the firm's recent investments and transactions include Adventity, Airespace (acquired by Cisco Systems), deCarta, KACE, mBlox, Omeneon Video Networks, Open-Silicon (acquired by Unicorn Investment Bank), Persistent Systems, Rackspace, Resonext Communications (acquired by RF Micro Devices), SideStep (acquired by Kayak), Spinnaker Networks (acquired by Network Appliance), Winphoria Networks (acquired by Motorola) Yatra, and Yipes (acquired by Reliance/Flag Telecom). NVP has also funded such market leaders as Actel Corporation, Cerent (acquired by Cisco Systems), Documentum, Extreme Networks, Forte Software (acquired by Sun Microsystems), PeopleSoft and Tivoli Systems (acquired by IBM).
About Broidy Capital Management
Broidy Capital Management, is a private investment company founded in 1991. The firm invests in private equity, as well as marketable securities.
About City Light Capital
City Light Capital is a venture capital firm that invests in early stage companies which provide not only strong financial returns, but also positive contributions to our world. This approach, sometimes called "double bottom line" investing, holds that for some investors, maximizing shareholder value should be about more than pure financial return. It should also be about benefits to human society and to our natural environment. They do not believe that investors have to make a tradeoff between maximizing shareholder value and "doing good." They accomplish this by investing in Safety and Security, Education and Media and Energy and Environment.
About Claremont Creek Ventures (www.claremontvc.com)
Based in Oakland, CA, Claremont Creek Ventures is a venture capital firm investing in early-stage information technology companies, particularly in the San Francisco Bay Area. The firm's three principals are all experienced managers and proven venture investors, and share a deep commitment to helping entrepreneurs build successful companies from the ground up. They focus on IT sectors where they have deep domain expertise, including - but not limited to - mobility, healthcare and security markets.
About Labrador Ventures (www.labrador.com)
Labrador Ventures, founded in 1989, is one of the oldest, premier seed stage funds in Silicon Valley. With over $200 million under management, Labrador has invested in more than 90 companies over the last 17 years, helping transform the way we work, communicate and transact business. Labrador invests in software, communications/networking, messaging, semiconductors and information services.
About Lauder Partners (www.lauderpartners.com)
Lauder Partners is a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm that has invested in over 60 private companies over the past 22 years. Areas of investment specialty include cable/IPTV/TV-related technologies and Internet/web/telecom spaces, but occasionally include great companies that defy traditional classification such as ShotSpotter.
About Levensohn Venture Partners (www.levp.com)
Levensohn Venture Partners (LVP) is an early stage venture capital firm investing in information technology companies. The firm targets companies that have completed their initial product development and established early customer and revenue traction. Founded in 1996, LVP's portfolio companies include Akros Silicon, Atheros, BigFix, Broadlogic, Capella Photonics, Rapt, Reconnex, Ubicom, and Veraz Networks.
About ShotSpotter, Inc. (www.shotspotter.com)
ShotSpotter is an industry leader in the development of innovative, interoperable net-centric gunshot, sniper-detection and location systems for the law enforcement and military markets. The company's focus on ingenuity and technological vision drives its continuing mission to create invaluable solutions that reduce gunfire and gun violence while improving the safety of first responders on the street and soldiers on the front. Currently, the ShotSpotter Gunshot Location System(R) protects many cities nationwide, consistently producing arrests and weapons confiscations. Its individually worn sniper detection and location system identifies and tracks friendly military forces, providing dismounted forces with real-time situational awareness (SA) to aid in maneuvers, reduce fratricide, add to a mission's common operating picture, and support after-action review. Information about ShotSpotter can be found at www.shotspotter.com. For ongoing news, please go to http://www.shotspotter.com/news/index.html.
(C)2008 ShotSpotter, Inc. All rights reserved. U.S. Patent Nos. 5,973,998; 6,847,587; 7,139,222; 7,266,045; and other foreign and domestic patents pending. ShotSpotter Gunshot Location System(R) is a registered trademark of, and the ShotSpotter logo is a trademark of ShotSpotter, Inc. All other company and product names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective companies.
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Source: ShotSpotter, Inc.
Released June 17, 2008