KSCP
****Sponsored by Knightscope, Inc.
Knightscope Reports Q1 2026 Revenue Up 106% to $6.0 Million; Gross Margin Turns Positive for the First Time
Knightscope Announces Nearly $4 Million in New and Recurring Contracts Across Eight Verticals
Knightscope Expands Workforce Again as the Nation’s First Autonomous Security Force Scales Toward Its GSX 2026 Debut
READ THE INVESTOR PRESENTATION HERE
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Hello Everyone,
This next company operates in one of the most critical and consistently broken sectors in America today.
Physical security and autonomous technology are two of the most powerful forces reshaping modern infrastructure. The convergence of AI, robotics, and managed services is creating enormous opportunities, not just for technology companies, but for investors who recognize a structural shift before the rest of the market does.
The physical security industry is enormous, deeply entrenched, and almost entirely untouched by real innovation. The US market alone is estimated at $230 billion. It spans every sector of the American economy, from government, healthcare, education, retail, critical infrastructure, and residential communities, and it is built on recurring, non-discretionary spending. Security is not optional. It is a legal requirement, a liability concern, and an operational necessity.
Yet despite all of that scale, the industry is broken. Businesses pay between $220,000 and $570,000 annually just to cover a single location around the clock. Police coverage runs $438,000 to $1.3 million per year for a single 24/7 post. More than 90% of security alerts are non-actionable without a human in the loop. And the average corporate security chief manages 8 to 12 vendors, none of them accountable to each other.
The result is a structural reset. IT security consolidated to the managed-service model twenty years ago and minted a generation of category leaders. Physical security never had that moment. One company is building it.
The company we are looking at today is constructing something that has never existed before in America. A fully managed security service that combines autonomous robots, AI-driven software, real-time monitoring, and licensed armed and unarmed security agents into one integrated operation. A system that deters, detects, and responds to threats in real time. A platform that owns the outcome for its clients, not just sells them another piece of a broken puzzle.
That company is Knightscope, Inc. (NASDAQ: KSCP). And the first quarter of 2026 was the moment its plan clicked into place.
Q1 revenue came in at $6.0 million, up 106% year over year, with gross margin positive for the first time in company history and roughly 70% of revenue now recurring. With the Event Risk acquisition closed, all four operational pillars of the Autonomous Security Force, autonomous machines, advanced software, real-time monitoring, and licensed security agents, are finally under one roof. KSCP is converting its structural advantages into real, accelerating revenue.
KSCP has some major catalysts in play right now:
● Q1 2026 Revenue Up 106%, Gross Margin Positive for the First Time: Revenue reached $6.0 million, up from $2.9 million a year earlier. Service revenue grew 98% to $4.2 million. Product revenue climbed 128% to $1.8 million. Gross margin hit positive 8% of revenue versus a gross loss in the prior-year period. Even on a like-for-like pro forma basis, revenue grew 39%. This is not a pre-revenue concept. The inflection is on the books.
● Nearly $4 Million in Fresh Bookings Across Eight Verticals: In May, Knightscopeannounced approximately $3.8 million in new and recurring contracts led by critical infrastructure, including a major California county government, the federal government, a US national laboratory, regional transit, aviation and port authorities, Fortune 500 pharmaceutical and healthcare organizations, and national retail brands.
● Event Risk Acquisition Closed, All Four Pillars in Place: The approximately $18 million acquisition added licensed armed and unarmed guarding and executive protection with Fortune 1000 relationships, consistent double-digit growth, and strong retention. Every guarding contract becomes a deployment channel for autonomous machines. Guards become Augmented Security Agents. Static posts get replaced by robots over time.
● Workforce Growth Continues, With Equity for the Frontline: After quadrupling its workforce to over 400 in March, Knightscope announced another significant expansion in July, adding 136 employees across security, supervisory, and operations roles with equity inducement grants. In an industry historically plagued by extreme turnover, building an ownership culture is a genuine competitive differentiator.
● Roughly 70% Recurring Revenue Across 434 Clients in 42 States: $4.2 million of the $6.0 million in Q1 revenue was recurring service revenue, supported by approximately 10,000 machines and agents in the network and more than 4.4 million autonomous hours logged since 2015. Managed services businesses are valued on exactly this mix.
● The All-New K7 Flagship Debuts at GSX 2026: The K7 Autonomous Security Robot is built for environments no camera or human post can match: miles of fence lines, logistics yards, solar farms, critical infrastructure, and defense installations. A public waitlist is open, limited series production is expected to begin deployment in the second half of 2026, and the Autonomous Security Force debuts at GSX 2026 in Atlanta, September 14-16, Booth 3905.
● Carnegie Mellon Collaboration Feeding the K7: Under a five-year letter agreement, five graduate students from Carnegie Mellon’s Robotics Institute are already building an advanced AI feature for the K7, and Knightscope is making its National Security Robotics Lab in Silicon Valley available to the university.
● Multi-Billion-Dollar Market Opportunity: The $230 billion US physical security market spans public safety and government ($57B), retail and hospitality ($38B), critical infrastructure ($37B), enterprise ($34B), education ($21B), transit and smart cities ($20B), residential and community security ($18B), and healthcare ($7B).
● Validated by Palantir Technologies: Knightscope is targeting FedRAMP High and DoD Impact Level 5 certification in partnership with Palantir’s (NASDAQ: PLTR) FedStart program. Palantir does not partner with companies that are not ready to operate inside mission-critical environments.
Knightscope Expands Workforce to Support Growing Security Services Operations; Company Approves Inducement Grants Under Nasdaq Rule 5635(c)(4)
SUNNYVALE, Calif., July 9, 2026 (BUSINESS WIRE)
Knightscope, Inc. (NASDAQ: KSCP), the security technology company building the Nation’s First Autonomous Security Force, announced a significant expansion of its workforce to support its growing technology-enabled security services operations.
In connection with these new hires, the Compensation Committee of the Company’s Board of Directors approved equity awards to 136 employees as inducement grants material to their employment with the Company. In the aggregate, the inducement grants consist of options to purchase 732,644 shares of the Company’s common stock at an exercise price of $2.04 per share, granted in accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4).
The awards were issued across security, supervisory, and operations roles supporting the Company’s expanding base of recurring-revenue deployments nationwide. Twenty-five percent of the shares subject to each award vest on the first anniversary of the grant date, with the remainder vesting in equal monthly installments over a three-year period.
"The frontline is where our reputation is won or lost every single day and is a critical component of our Autonomous Security Force. Extending ownership to the agents and supervisors doing that work aligns everyone behind the same thing our clients care about: quality that holds up over the long term, shift after shift," said William Santana Li, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Knightscope, Inc.
Professionals interested in joining the Knightscope team at headquarters or in the field can apply at www.knightscope.com/careers, where numerous positions are open as the Force continues to grow.
Inside the Event Risk Acquisition: The Deal That Completed the Force
For years, the missing piece of the Knightscope model was licensed guarding: the capability that wins RFPs, satisfies regulators, and puts trained humans on-site when judgment is required. In February, KSCP closed the deal that filled it.
Event Risk is a nationwide provider of armed and unarmed security guarding services and executive protection. It built its reputation on disciplined execution: consistent double-digit growth, strong client retention, and established service relationships with Fortune 1000 companies, national brands, and high-profile individuals. It entered 2026 with significant contracted revenue, positive EBITDA, and expectations of continued double-digit growth, before counting any synergies.
The deal structure is worth noting, because it was built to protect shareholders. Knightscopeacquired 100% of Event Risk for approximately $18 million in cash and stock at closing, plus deferred and contingent consideration tied to post-closing performance, including earn-outs based on 2026 revenue and gross margin thresholds and capped revenue-share payments through 2031. In plain English: a meaningful portion of the price only gets paid if the business delivers.
The strategic payoff was immediate. In roughly one month of combined operations, the newly formed Knightscope Security Force contributed approximately $2.4 million in Q1 revenue,added a second operating segment, and gave KSCP the structural capability to contract as the licensed provider, deploy autonomous systems, monitor centrally, and execute response under one accountable operating structure. Management expects the acquisition to support triple-digit revenue growth in 2026.
Running it is Eric J. Rose, Event Risk’s founder, a US Marine with specialized anti-terrorism experience and prior service as lead trainer for US Navy SEALs, with senior leadership roles at Pinkerton, Apple, and Madison Square Garden. Rose now serves as President of the operation, which is transitioning to the Knightscope Security Force brand during 2026.
"Event Risk has built its reputation through disciplined execution and trusted service delivery. We are fundamentally building a better team, combining disciplined execution with advanced technology, to deliver exceptional value to our clients." - Eric J. Rose, President, Knightscope Security Force
And the logic behind buying a guarding company in the first place is the same logic behind the whole strategy. Every security RFP in America is written for guards and cameras. Guards get Knightscope in the door. Trust gets earned. Then robots and software replace static posts one at a time, and the economics of the contract transform. Guards are not the destination. They are the deployment catalyst for autonomy.
The all-new K1 Capsule (left) is a next generation emergency communication device designed for environments that need a more compact and versatile form factor, with AI analytics, 360-degree video, and two-way communication. The all-new K1 Super Tower (right) takes the blue light concept to an entirely new level, a commanding, highly visible emergency communication presence available in 7, 14, and 21 foot versions. Both are integrated with the AI-driven Signals software platform and slated for limited production in the second half of 2026.
The Market Opportunity Is Almost Too Big to Ignore
Knightscope is targeting an estimated $230 billion total addressable market. This is not a niche opportunity. Security is not discretionary spending. It is a legal requirement, a liability concern, and a fundamental operational necessity for almost every organization in the country.
Across its top five Security Force clients alone, the company estimates more than $850 million in annual security spend, of which Knightscope holds less than 2% today. Add a retrofit path for the 200,000+ legacy blue-light towers in the US installed base, and the land-and-expand runway is measured in years, not quarters. Security is a recurring societal problem that requires a recurring solution.
Management
William Santana Li - Chairman and CEO - Founded Knightscope in 2013 after more than a decade at Ford Motor Company and leadership roles in automotive and security-focused ventures including GreenLeaf LLC, later part of LKQ Corporation (NASDAQ: LKQ). Focused on using advanced technology to help make the United States the safest country in the world.
Eric J. Rose - President, Security Force - Founder of Event Risk. US Marine with specialized anti-terrorism experience and prior service as lead trainer for US Navy SEALs, with senior leadership roles at Pinkerton, Apple, and Madison Square Garden. Leads the licensed guarding and executive protection operations of the Autonomous Security Force.
NEWS
Jul 9, 2026 Knightscope Expands Workforce to Support Growing Security Services Operations
May 19, 2026 Knightscope Announces Nearly $4 Million in New and Recurring Contracts
May 15, 2026 Knightscope Q1 Revenue Up 106% to $6M
Apr 15, 2026 Knightscope and Carnegie Mellon University Enter Into Letter Agreement
Mar 30, 2026 Knightscope Reports 2025 Results, Advances Autonomous Security Force
Mar 17, 2026 Knightscope Quadruples Workforce to Over 400 Strong
Mar 3, 2026 Knightscope Acquires Event Risk to Accelerate Autonomous Security Force Strategy
Feb 5, 2026 Knightscope Retains Lake Street to Support Growth Through Acquisitions
Nov 13, 2025 Knightscope Unveils the All-New K7 Autonomous Security Robot
Sincerely,
The Editor
Notes
1 https://ir.knightscope.com/hubfs/KSCP%20Investor%20Deck%20%20-%2007.09.26.pdf
2 https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260515717960/en/
5 https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260317081578/en/
6 https://ir.knightscope.com/news-events/press-releases
7 https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251113250459/en/