Knightscope, Inc.

Knightscope was co-founded in 2013 by William Santana Li and Stacy Stephens. Li was previously an executive at Ford, and Stacy Stephens was a former police officer in Dallas, Texas. The founders stated that they decided to create security robots after the Sandy Hook shooting in 2012.

Knightscope says they hope the ADRs will help security and law enforcement personnel detect trouble while preventing and minimizing public injuries and fatalities. Knightscope robots first shipped in 2015.

In 2017, Knightscope raised $20 million and indicated that they were seeking a partnership with Allied Universal. As of 2017, companies that have been confirmed as clients of Knightscope include Microsoft, Uber, Juniper Networks, the Sacramento Kings, LaGuardia Airport and NBC Universal.

In March 2021, Knightscope won second place in the "Power of Passengers Challenge" security contest hosted by NASA and the TSA, winning a $20,000 grant. In May 2021, Knightscope announced that it had raised an additional $21.91 million through StartEngine, a private equity crowdfunding company.

In December 2021, the company filed the paperwork for an initial public offering. Knightscope listed on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol "KSCP" on January 27, 2022. It was unique in its IPO offering in that it offered its pre-IPO to its equity crowdfunding retail investors first, rather than large investment firms as is typically done in pre-IPOs. Knightscope is notable among public companies due to the fact that a significant portion of its seed funding came from equity crowdfunding, rather than venture capital.

In October 2022, Knightscope acquired CASE Emergency systems, a maker of blue light security communicators commonly used in parks and college campuses.

In March 2026, Knightscope acquired Event Risk, a national company that provides security guards and executive protection.