Firefly

Most of us don’t spend much time thinking about what it takes to keep the places around us safe. And in a way, that’s the point. We go to work. We drop our kids off at school. We visit the people we love. We trust that someone is looking out for us. But the people responsible for that safety are working with technology far more complicated than it needs to be. Cameras, radios, panic buttons, emergency alerts. More and more technology, most of it working in isolation. And when something happens, people are left to connect the dots. That shouldn’t be the standard. Meet Firefly. 𝗪𝗲’𝗿𝗲 𝗮 𝗽𝗵𝘆𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗔𝗜 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘀𝗮𝗳𝗲𝘁𝘆 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀, 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝘂𝗽. We bring purpose-built hardware, AI-powered software, and existing technologies together into one connected system that helps teams understand what’s happening, manage everyday operations, and respond when it matters most. 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻. When the stakes are this high, “it works” isn’t enough. It should be intelligent, intuitive, and effortless to use. Today, we’re officially coming out of stealth and announcing our $20 million Series A led by Definition, with participation from BoxGroup and Susa Ventures. It’s a big day for our team. But it’s not the finish line. It’s the start of a new standard for safety technology. We’re Firefly. And we’re just getting started.

We've put a lot of thought into what safety technology could be. At #ISCEast, we're showing you what's next. Come experience what happens when hardware, software, and intelligence are designed to work together, instead of leaving your team to piece everything together manually. Stop by for live demos, a first look at our latest technology, and a chance to meet the team behind Firefly. 📍 Booth #327 | Javits Center, NYC 📅 November 4–5 Want a closer look? DM us to schedule a one-on-one demo at the show. See you there!

I spent my childhood in a world pre-9/11 where feeling safe was taken for granted. I remember the exact instant in middle school, waiting outside before classes started, when all of that changed. In 2013, I was finishing my Master’s at MIT when the Boston Marathon bombing put the entire city on lockdown. Most of us have a moment like that, when the world felt a little less safe. These events shouldn’t define who we are or how we go about our lives, but they leave a mark on all of us in different ways. When I first met my co-founder James Batt Buckley, I hadn’t set out to work on safety. Over time I’ve come to see it as one of the defining problems of our generation, and one we’re uniquely suited to make a real difference on. At Apple, I learned that the best technology fades into the background and just works. We’ve assembled a world class team that has shipped real products at scale, and we’re bringing that same hardware, software, and design polish to an industry that’s long been overlooked and neglected. We’re building Firefly for the students, teachers, nurses, and everyone who goes to school, to work, to worship, or to the venues where we come together. We connect or replace systems that have historically been siloed and make them smarter; providing real-time context to first responders to resolve incidents before they escalate. We’re building Firefly so you don’t have to think about what could go wrong — and we can all reclaim the sense of safety we once took for granted. Today, we’re coming out of stealth announcing our Series A led by Definition with support from BoxGroup and Susa Ventures. I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished so far, and even prouder of the team that has made it happen. But this is just the beginning. There’s so much more we want to share with you, and have yet to build.

For years, the answer to safety has been more. More cameras, more sensors, more alerts. But more technology doesn’t necessarily mean better protection, especially when the people responsible for keeping us safe are still left piecing it all together. AI has already transformed the digital world. Now, advances in AI, edge computing, and hardware are making the same leap possible in the physical one. 𝗦𝗼 𝘄𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘄. 𝗣𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲-𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘀𝗼𝗳𝘁𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲, 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗼𝗻𝗲, 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲'𝘀 𝘀𝗮𝗳𝗲𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲, 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗱𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀. Our purpose-built Panic Buttons, Beacons, and Gateways, captures critical signals from the physical world. Ember, our intelligent software, is what makes it work. It brings those signals into one view, helps teams make sense of what’s happening, automates everyday operations, and helps coordinate a response. And Firefly can work alongside existing technology, including compatible cameras and radios, to bring the bigger picture into focus. Built for schools, campuses, hospitals, and workplaces. The physical world is ready for a new kind of intelligence. We’re building it.

Two years ago, this whiteboard was pretty much the entirety of Firefly. Alex Penn and I were working from a sofa at South Park Commons. No product. Not a single line of code. Naturally, we started sketching logos. Today, Firefly is helping protect some of the largest college campuses in the country, alongside schools, hotels, and workplaces across the US. Our bet: AI was transforming the digital world. We believe its impact on the physical world will be even greater. Firefly is bringing that intelligence into the real world, starting with safety. Unifying existing infrastructure, capturing entirely new signals through our own hardware, and deploying AI agents to make it all work as one. As it always should have. This week, we're coming out of stealth with a $20M Series A led by Definition, bringing our total funding to $26.5M. BoxGroup, Susa Ventures, and Sabrina Hahn, our earliest backers, tripled down. None of this happens without the incredible team we've built in NYC. Bryan Valletta, Jane Fessenden, Drew Bodmer, and Anastasia Miller joined before there was much of a company to join. And to everyone who's come aboard since, Alex and I couldn't ask for a better team to build this with. Two years heads down, and we've got a lot up our sleeves. More soon.

Planning a camera upgrade? Start with a compatibility review. See where Firefly AI fits your existing cameras before you scope a deployment.