Seedfunders-backed gunfire detection startup kicks off StartEngine crowdfunding

Safe Zone Technologies Inc., an indoor gunfire detection system, is launching its crowdfunding campaign on the StartEngine platform, which claims to be the largest equity crowdfunding platform in the U.S. 

The Melbourne-based company, which developed technology that detects gunfire instantly, plans to leverage the platform to raise $1 million at a per-share price of $4.64 -a $20 million valuation. 

Founded in 2016, Safe Zone has raised over $3 million in multiple rounds led by St. Petersburg-based Seedfunders LLC. Safe Zone has an established base of resellers and national distributors for its technology. 

Its smart tech sensors can be concealed in corners of walls and appear much like a fire alarm system, are able to identify the location of gunshots fired in real-time, the number of gunshots fired and the type of firearm used. The information, along with a complete floor plan mapping the shot locations, can be sent within seconds to 9-1-1 dispatch and those inside the building. 

“The way we see it, this service is in more demand than ever before, but distribution was delayed with the pandemic. We are using the crowdfunding platform to position and support the growth and scale,” CEO Mike Lally told the St. Pete Catalyst. 

In a letter emailed to investors, Lally noted how during the pandemic, the orders the company had on hand were canceled due to the distributors closing their doors for an unknown time. Prior to the pandemic, mass shootings were reported in the national news almost weekly. During the pandemic, the number of mass shootings dramatically increased, but the awareness of the product from Safe Zone did not. 

“While we have made a few sales to a few new customers…it has not been enough and forces us into an austerity operational mode until we bring in new funding,” he wrote. 

The funds from StartEngine will be utilized to expand the production and marketing of Safe Zone’s second-generation Safe Zone Gunfire Detection System, which now features a patented tri-mode data capture system and automated 9-1-1 data exchange. 

“The future holds bringing our product to more schools, offices and government buildings – we want to be on the frontline for buildings,” he told the Catalyst.