The Next Step in Democratizing Security

In view of today’s announcement, I wanted to provide a little more color about how this all relates to our mission and why this moment is so important to that mission. People who join Evolv, including me, come here because we want to make the world a safe place to live, work, learn, and play. We think of ourselves as the human security company because we want security to be less invasive, more human and effective. 

I believe this mission is now more urgent than ever because we’re the only company democratizing security in a way that will actually make a difference. That’s a bold statement, but we’re living in a time when bold action is required. Democratizing security is going to be a huge effort, and I believe we’re much more likely to pull it off as a public company.  Here’s why we’re so passionate about doing this right now, in this way.

The world is more dangerous than ever before. There were 661 mass shootings in the United States in 2020, a 40% annual increase in a year when most gathering spaces were restricted or shut down. New gun purchases were up 64% last year in the United States, a country that already had more guns than people. US CDC research says 40% of adults reported recent battles with mental health or substance abuse during 2020, with the prevalence of anxiety up 3X and depression up 4X year on year. Some of that anxiety may recede as we come to terms with the pandemic, but all those guns are still out there and the polarization and inequality that drive many acts of violence remain. In this chronically volatile environment, keeping weapons out of gathering spaces must be a top priority for every venue and facility.

Consumers demand touchless experiences everywhere. Even before the pandemic, seemingly every aspect of the consumer experience was going touchless: payments, tickets, retail, bathroom fixtures, doors, minivan hatches, you name it. Crowded security lines and hands-on bag checks were just a nuisance in the past, but now they are unthinkable. No one wants security guards touching their stuff or their person without good reason. The future of the security experience must be touchless and fast.

Analog security processes won’t cut it anymore. Traditional security products are too slow, costly, and error prone for today’s world. Even the most motivated well-trained guards can only do so much, especially when they are fighting a flood of nuisance alarms from outdated analog technology that can’t tell the difference between a gun and a phone. As I wrote last year, I believe that the future of security is fully digital.  This digital transformation will not only reduce costs, but also unlock innovations that transform the experience from a trial to be endured into a social gathering to be enjoyed.

Security screening isn’t just for airports and jails anymore. It comes as no surprise that very few of the 661 mass shootings in the U.S. last year happened at airports or jails, where security screening is mandatory. The shootings happened at all the other places where people gather: schools, industrial workplaces, offices, malls, places of worship, and stadiums. These facilities need the protection that security screening provides, but they’ll never deploy it at scale until it costs far less without the jailhouse or airport experience. That’s what we do, and we’re now ready to scale it up.

The barriers to democratizing security have fallen. Security screening operations based on our technology costs up to 70% less than traditional screening based on walk-through metal detectors, and we do it up to 10 times faster. And we offer our technology under a modern annual subscription pricing model that reduces up-front costs and gives customers access to future product enhancements. Our customers tell us that we find weapons their old systems would have missed, that their employees and visitors love the experience, and that the promised cost savings are real. In summary, it is now possible for most large facilities to keep dangerous weapons out while keeping visitors, students and employees happy.

The capital we raise through today’s transaction will help us build toward realizing our vision and accomplishing our mission. That means extending our product portfolio, ramping up our sales and marketing activities, and scaling up production of our current products. Being a public company provides access to capital for these activities both now and in the future.

The SPAC approach to becoming a public company has been fantastic because it not only accelerates the whole process of becoming a public company, but also allows us to work with the team at NewHold. Their deep networks, expertise, and experience will be very useful as we rapidly scale our disruptive businesses.