Knightscope, Inc., developer of Autonomous Data Machines (ADMs) aimed to predict and prevent crime, announced today that it raised an oversubscribed $5.2 million Series A financing, inclusive of the conversion of its seed round funding. The investment will help the Company accelerate deployments in Silicon Valley as well as aggressively continue technology development.

Knightscope's ADMs are fully autonomous robots with an array of onboard sensors used to monitor the surrounding environment and provide a physical and commanding presence in public places where security is needed. A single ADM is capable of generating over 90 terabytes of data per year. It communicates via a wireless network directly with the Knightscope Security Operations Center (KSOC), a browser-based user interface, to provide real-time alerts of unusual or suspicious activity.

Knightscope closed its Series A with participation from both existing and new investors. NTT DOCOMO Ventures, Inc. is a corporate venture arm of NTT DOCOMO, INC. (NYSE: DCM), Japan's largest mobile telecommunications provider and Knightscope's largest seed round investor, reinvested in the Series A. Participating alongside NTT DOCOMO Ventures in the Series A are Konica Minolta, Inc. (TYO: 4902) and Flextronics (NASDAQ: FLEX).

'The financial and strategic support of these global leaders will provide Knightscope an extraordinary opportunity to commercialize our disruptive crime prevention technology,' said William Santana Li, chairman and chief executive officer, Knightscope. 'As important as our smartphones are to our lives today, we will wonder in the future how we ever lived without these machines in our communities helping keep our families safe, our neighborhoods vibrant and our businesses thriving.'

As strategic investors in Knightscope, significant opportunities exist to leverage Konica Minolta's world-class service infrastructure utilized for its digital printing systems, as well as the global supply chain Flextronics has built out over decades.

'We are extremely impressed with Knightscope's vision and the team's dedication to providing an all-inclusive service to its customers. Knightscope's security solution utilizes some of today's hottest technologies in Silicon Valley - autonomous technology, robotics, big data, predictive analytics, sensors and social engagement - and we are delighted to help Knightscope define the next generation of public safety where technology is embraced for the betterment of society,' said Ekta Sahasi, vice president, Konica Minolta.

'Lab IX seeks to help hardware startups with disruptive technology execute to their full potential, such as Knightscope, and we are happy to support and further enable them with our advanced robotics and automation services as they bring their game-changing Knightscope ADMs into the market,' said Lior Susan, head of Flextronics Lab IX.

Knightscope is making its first machine, the K5, available now for preorder on a MaaS (Machine-as-a-Service) basis to select customers in Silicon Valley at $6.25 per hour, per machine in 24/7 deployments for terms of one, two or three years. According to Knightscope, deploying K5 machines in outdoor environments on corporate campuses, around data centers, shopping malls and where private security guards are stationed will free humans to address strategic tasks while the machines handle the monotonous, computational heavy and sometimes dangerous tasks.

About Knightscope

Knightscope is developing an autonomous technology platform that fuses robotics, predictive analytics and collaborative social engagement to predict and prevent crime. Deployment of the platform will empower public and private sectors to proactively build stronger, safer communities, ultimately saving money and lives. Learn more about how to predict and prevent crime now at www.knightscope.com

About Konica Minolta's Business Innovation Center

Located in Silicon Valley, the Business Innovation Center is one of five BICs that Konica Minolta has set up around the world designed to carry out a fundamental Business Transformation that will expand its business into new areas of Software and Services over the next 3-5 years. As an engine of growth for Konica Minolta, BIC is working closely with and investing in a diverse range of entities like research institutions, partner companies, venture capitalists and startups to bring emerging and disruptive solutions into Konica Minolta's portfolio.

About Flextronics

Flextronics is an industry leader with $26 billion in sales, generated from helping customers design, build, ship, and service their products through an unparalleled network of facilities in approximately 30 countries and across four continents. Flextronics service offerings and vertically integrated component technologies optimize customer supply chains by lowering costs, increasing flexibility, and reducing time-to-market.