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Hakimo – a technology company dedicated to modernizing physical security through its AI software – announced $6 million in new funding led by Rocketship.vc with participation from existing investors Neotribe Ventures, defy.vc and Firebolt Ventures as well as new investors Carrier Global Corporation (through its venture capital group Carrier Ventures), and renowned physical security industry entrepreneur John L. Moss. Hakimo plans to use the capital to further accelerate product development and expand into new markets.

The Hakimo platform utilizes computer vision and machine learning to automate the monitoring of physical security sensors such as cameras and badge readers. And the platform also provides an option to communicate warnings through speakers when it detects unwanted activity such as a person entering an area where they do not belong.

This combination of automated monitoring and response helps security teams save time and money while proactively deterring and preventing security breaches from occurring. And the Hakimo platform natively integrates with most enterprise video and access control systems to provide a unified solution that responds to alarms automatically, exposes potential insider threats, and detects faulty cameras and door hardware. Plus this enables enterprise organizations to enhance security, efficiency and compliance, in a way that no other company in the industry has touched upon.

Hakimo has raised $10 million to date including its $4 million seed round announced in late 2021. And since then, Hakimo has gained numerous customers ranging from Fortune 500 companies to airports to auto dealerships.

The company has also forged alliances with leading physical security providers such as LenelS2 (part of Carrier) and has been recognized with prestigious security industry awards including the Security Industry Association’s 2022 New Products and Solutions Judges’ Choice award. And the Security Executive Council, a leading research and advisory firm governed by former corporate chief security officers, validated the efficacy of the Hakimo solution. Recently, National Safe Skies Alliance, a nonprofit organization funded by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), completed an operational test and evaluation of the solution.

The fresh funding round comes at a time when increased crime rates, acute staffing shortages, and macroeconomic conditions are forcing organizations to explore smarter ways to strengthen their physical security posture while cutting costs. And Hakimo solves this problem by automating repetitive tasks traditionally performed by security guards and escalating only real high-risk incidents to human operators. This enables organizations to reduce their guard footprint, or even eliminate it completely, without sacrificing security.

Hakimo was founded by Sam Joseph and Sagar Honnungar, who are Stanford-trained AI experts with backgrounds in building enterprise-grade software as a service (SaaS). The founders also recognized the potential for AI to solve some of the physical security industry’s most significant challenges and have since assembled a talented, growing team of engineers and industry professionals.

KEY QUOTES:

“AI is redefining how a broad spectrum of industries do business. Physical security is one such industry that has all the ingredients needed for an AI overhaul, and we’re excited to support Hakimo in that endeavor.”

• Anand Rajaraman, Founding Partner, Rocketship.vc

“Hakimo provides a much-needed automation platform that helps a wide range of organizations improve security in this resource-constrained environment. We’re proud to be transforming the industry and are grateful for the support of our customers, partners and investors as we continue on this journey together.”

• Sam Joseph, Co-Founder and CEO, Hakimo

“We are thrilled to see Hakimo’s continued growth and customer adoption. Since the inception of our firm, we have been actively investing in cutting-edge AI companies, and we are excited to support Sam and his team as they continue to transform the space of AI for physical security.”

• Neil Sequeira, Founder and Partner at defy.vc

Shared lab inventory and project management startup Genemod hopes to be a kind of Salesforce for the life science market.

Why it matters: The Seattle-based company raised $4.5 million in seed
funding to build a cloud-based, collaborative research and development
platform for life science researchers, CEO Jacob Lee tells Axios exclusively.

Deal details: Defy.vc and LDV Partners co-led the round and were joined by
Dolby Ventures and Cercano Management.

– Funds will go toward bolstering brand-name recognition, focusing sales on
for-profit biopharmaceutical companies and hiring.

– Lee declined to say when he foresees the startup raising a Series A.

How it works: Genemod’s platform includes tools for collaborative data
acquisition, project documentation, inventory management and progress
tracking.

– The company licenses its services to customers on a yearly basis, and rates
depend on the number of features used and overall usage rates.

– “It’s not so much a Slack for scientists as a central research hub or
operating system,” says Lee. “We differentiate ourselves by being
lightweight.”

– Lee says while Genemod has thousands of academic clients who use a free
version of its software, the company is now focused exclusively on
courting larger biopharma clients such as current customers AstraZeneca
and Bristol Myers Squibb.

What they’re saying: “Their biggest competitor though is a physical notebook
and literal spreadsheets, all these traditional ways of doing things,” Defy.vc managing director and Genemod investor Neil Sequeira tells Axios.

The backstory: Like many startups, Genemod started as a side hustle when
Lee, a bench scientist working for a biopharmaceutical company, grew tired
of manual, clumsy R&D tools and decided to develop his own solution with
co-founder Jin Choe.

– “We’re at the cutting edge of science and using these rudimentary tools,”
Lee recalls thinking. “We wanted a central repository for data that I could
share with colleagues, so what started as a side project turned into a
startup.”

State of play: Genemod competitors range from nimble startups to well-
established unicorns with big-name pharmaceutical clients, but Lee says the company stands out by offering a lean and streamlined set of services that
won’t overwhelm.

– Benchling, whose platform supported two of the antibody treatments
developed to treat COVID, in 2021 collected $100 million in Series F capital
at a $6.1 billion valuation, per Bloomberg.

– LabArchives, which offers researchers tools for managing and collecting
data and inventory, was acquired in 2021 by Insightful Science.

– Quartzy, a lab management platform, in 2016 collected $17 million in Series
B funds.

Hakimo, a tech firm that claims it is dedicated to modernising physical security through AI, has raised $6m in new funding led by Rocketship.vc.

Also participating in the round were Neotribe Ventures, defy.vc and Firebolt Ventures as well as new investors Carrier Global Corporation and physical security industry entrepreneur John L. Moss.

The Hakimo platform uses computer vision and machine learning to automate the monitoring of physical security sensors such as cameras and badge readers. The platform also provides an option to communicate warnings through speakers when it detects unwanted activity such as a person entering an area where they do not belong.

This combination of automated monitoring and response helps security teams save time and money while proactively deterring and preventing security breaches from occurring.

In addition, Hakimo natively integrates with most enterprise video and access control systems to provide a unified solution that responds to alarms automatically, exposes potential insider threats and detects faulty cameras and door hardware.

The company will use the new funding to accelerate product development and expand into new markets.

Hakimo CEO and co-founder Sam Joseph said, “Hakimo provides a much-needed automation platform that helps a wide range of organizations improve security in this resource-constrained environment. We’re proud to be transforming the industry and are grateful for the support of our customers, partners and investors as we continue on this journey together.”

Back in November 2021, Hakimo landed $4m in seed round financing with the aim of bringing cyber-like tools to the workplace.

Hakimo, a tech firm that claims it is dedicated to modernising physical security through AI, has raised $6m in new funding led by Rocketship.vc.

Also participating in the round were Neotribe Ventures, defy.vc and Firebolt Ventures as well as new investors Carrier Global Corporation and physical security industry entrepreneur John L. Moss.

The Hakimo platform uses computer vision and machine learning to automate the monitoring of physical security sensors such as cameras and badge readers. The platform also provides an option to communicate warnings through speakers when it detects unwanted activity such as a person entering an area where they do not belong.

This combination of automated monitoring and response helps security teams save time and money while proactively deterring and preventing security breaches from occurring.

In addition, Hakimo natively integrates with most enterprise video and access control systems to provide a unified solution that responds to alarms automatically, exposes potential insider threats and detects faulty cameras and door hardware.

The company will use the new funding to accelerate product development and expand into new markets.

MENLO PARK, Calif. –Hakimo has six million reasons to celebrate today thanks to a round of funding led by Rocketship.vc.

The funding round also saw participation from existing investors Neotribe Ventures, defy.vc and Firebolt Ventures as well as new investors Carrier Global Corporation, through its venture capital group, Carrier Ventures, and well-known physical security industry entrepreneur John L. Moss. Hakimo has said the capital will be used to expand into new markets as it accelerates its product development.

Hakimo has raised $10 million to date including the $4 million seed round announced late 2021. In that time Hakimo acquired a variety of customers from Fortune 500 companies to airports and automotive dealers. They’ve also been making alliances with other physical security providers like LenelS2 (a part of Carrier) and have received prestigious industry awards that includes the Security Industry Association’s (SIA) 2022 New Products and Solutions Judges’ Choice Award.

The company’s platform uses computer vision and machine learning to automate monitoring physical security sensors like cameras and badge readers. It can also communicate warnings through speakers when it detects intrusion or unwanted activity.  “AI is redefining how a broad spectrum of industries do business,” said Anand Rajaraman, Founding Partner, Rocketship.vc. “Physical security is one such industry that has all the ingredients needed for an AI overhaul, and we’re excited to support Hakimo in that endeavor.”

Hakimo said the infusion of capital comes during a period of increased crime and staffing shortages in the security industry, which in turn forces organizations to invest in smarter ways to strengthen their physical security. Hakimo’s automation allows them to reduce their, “guard footprint”, without sacrificing security.

“Hakimo provides a much-needed automation platform that helps a wide range of organizations improve security in this resource-constrained environment,” said Sam Joseph, Co-Founder and CEO, Hakimo. “We’re proud to be transforming the industry and are grateful for the support of our customers, partners and investors as we continue on this journey together.”

“We are thrilled to see Hakimo’s continued growth and customer adoption,” said Neil Sequeira, Founder and Partner at defy.vc. “Since the inception of our firm, we have been actively investing in cutting-edge AI companies, and we are excited to support Sam and his team as they continue to transform the space of AI for physical security.”

Hakimo, a Menlo Park, Calif.-based physical security monitoring startup, raised $6m. Rocketship.vc led, and was joined by insiders Defy.vc, Neotribe Ventures and Firebolt Ventures. www.hakimo.ai

Italian cook and TV personality Giada De Laurentiis is grateful for her Italian family, which provided her with inspiration and a love of everything Italian. That affection was channeled into Giadzy, a business that initially launched in 2016 and is in the process of being reimagined. Helping De Laurentiis expand the business, Neil Sequeira, founding partner at defy.vc., a venture capital firm, is providing funding to help refine and redefine Giadzy, and De Laurentiis has big plans for the business whose moniker is her childhood nickname.

With a new deal for content on Amazon, De Laurentiis has the chance to grow Giadzy into a billion dollar business, according to Sequeira.

“I think I’m lucky enough to have come from a giant Italian family who loved and really was deeply into our culture,” De Laurentiis said. “Even though I moved here with my family when I was 7 years old, when it came to dinner, when it came to parties, when it came to spending time with my family together, they were adamant. I really learned Italian, I speak Italian and I know everything there is to know about Italian culture even though I was born there and moved here when I was a child.

“For me, creating Giadzy was a necessity because being on the Food Network for over 20 years, they had all my recipes and content from my shows. I felt like when fans couldn’t find a certain recipe or get certain answers, it fell back on me. Which is always the case,” de Laurentiis said. “My cookbooks aren’t in a store for whatever reason, and it’s my fault. It’s always the cook’s fault.”

De Laurentiis wanted to take control of her own destiny and give her 5 million fans more of herself, more Italy and more products, even travel, tabletop and linens of her own design, and offering live classes.

Giadsy, a nascent commerce business founded by cook and TV personality Giada De Laurentiis (she wants to turn the brand into lifestyle business), has raised $5 million in funding led by defy.vc. Forbes has more here.

From 2011 to 2021, Facebook’s average revenue per user (ARPU) shot up at a nearly exponential rate. Companies across every sector were paying more per “eyeball” than ever as customer acquisition costs (CAC) rose at an unsustainable rate.

I shared this observation a couple years ago, predicting that startups would start to better scrutinize and reel in their spending:

 

My timing was off by three years, but we’re finally seeing this play out. For the first time on record, in 2022, Meta’s ARPU actually declined from a year earlier in the U.S. and Canada.

Image Credits: Brian Rothenberg

I spent most of the last decade as a startup operator, working through these challenges leading growth at my startup, then at TaskRabbit and Eventbrite as VP of growth and as a growth adviser. Now, as an early-stage investor, I spend much of my time helping companies navigate and chart their own growth paths.

Advertising costs had risen for nearly my entire operating career, so I biased heavily toward developing scalable organic channels and building in-product growth loops. But as a founder during the Global Financial Crisis and subsequent recession, I learned how a broad market pullback in online ad spending can create opportunities for startups willing to double down when others are running for the exit.

At my prior startup, we worked to build a growth engine of unique, user-generated content that fueled organic SEO growth and experimented across Google, Facebook and other paid online channels. This let us find channels and tactics that drove compelling CACs, and we used this spending during that downturn to ramp up our early user base more quickly. We also learned faster by having more people using our product than we otherwise would have.

Fast-forward to today: Against the backdrop of inflation, the stock market in 2022 saw its worst drop since 2008, and companies are laying people off while tightening their purse strings. Ad spending is one of the first areas to be cut, which is why we saw the first pullback in Meta’s ARPU in more than a decade.

It sounds gloomy because it is so. But for opportunistic companies, there’s a silver lining: Now is a great time to go on offense.

During a recent board meeting at a startup, our eyes widened when we saw their paid CAC had dropped to the single digits. Their payback was immediate for each new customer they acquired (as a benchmark, immediate payback is “exceptional”). A good portion of the ensuing conversation revolved around the CEO’s question: “Should we invest more aggressively in this acquisition opportunity despite the broader market challenges?”

I’ve since had similar conversations with other companies, and while each situation is unique, I wanted to share my high-level advice:

Five ways to strategize paid marketing in a downturn

1. Consider if paid marketing is the right investment for you right now

Ask yourself: “Is paid marketing really the place to invest our precious cash when we factor in the new reality of our cost of capital?”

Capital is more expensive now than it’s been in years. Where else can you invest to drive higher returns and to build a more durable competitive advantage?

It’s important to recognize that paid advertising is arbitrage: You pay to acquire a customer for less than their value. While the current downturn is driving ad costs lower, presenting a near-term opportunity, this spread is shrinking over the medium term as competition increases and as the dominant platforms (Meta, Google and the like) squeeze more money out.

SendOwl, a 2.5-year-old, San Francisco-based startup that provides the infrastructure to transfer, manage, protect and collect payment for digital products (its founder was a previously the head of growth at Stripe), has raised $9 million in seed funding led by TheGP, with participation from returning investors defy.vc and Alumni Ventures, and new backer Authentic Ventures. Business Insider has more here.