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Verkada "definitely" will be a public company one day and may even look at M&A as it grows, co-founder and CEO Filip Kaliszan tells Axios Pro.

Driving the news: Verkada, a San Mateo, Calif.-based physical security company, raised a round led by CapitalG at a $5.8 billion valuation earlier this week.

A person familiar says the company raised $100 million.

How it works: Verkada develops hardware for security — devices such as cameras and sensors — as well as a connected cloud-based software platform.

The company uses AI on its platform to do things such as detect anomalies and create a single visual timeline from multiple cameras.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Axios: After the $200 million round in February, why raise again so soon?

Kaliszan: "I think this came together fueled by the momentum of what the business is doing, paired with the momentum of all the features and things we're building all around AI.

There's been a lot of talk about computer vision and automation and various ways of using video security and physical security data in the past. The frank reality of it was up until very recently, no other company has been able to really make that particularly useful."

Were you actually looking to raise more money?

"It's funny because half the rounds you do are preempted in some fashion or another. I can definitely tell you we didn't go out to start raising money. But at the same time, I can also definitively tell you that I'm always talking to investors. 

With the new money, might the company become acquisitive?

"The short answer is like we'd love to be acquisitive. We're evaluating companies. We've done a couple small talent acquisitions in the past. 

But broadly speaking, I think our company is at the valuation and maturity that supports that kind of growth through acquisition. 

Something interesting to us would be (a company with a) very high talent bar, particularly on engineering and ideally an adjacent product category."

Is an IPO something that's on the company's radar?

"Verkada is definitely a company that will be a public company one day. We think the market's large enough to support that.

When I zoom out and I look at the market we serve, with the products we already have today, that spend is about $55 billion a year. There's lots of room to grow, and that's without even thinking about adjacencies and other things that we're building and planning to add in the coming years.

We have a very long view on the business. It is the kind of business that at some point you take public. I'm not quite ready to announce the timing of that."

Is an M&A exit still possible considering the size of some of your competitors, like Honeywell and Motorola?

"I do tell my employees and shareholders I'm a capitalist. At any point in time, there is opportunity cost, and that could be something that would happen, but I think it's unlikely. 

Given where we are, given our momentum, I think the most likely path is the path where we take the business public."

Verkada founder talks IPO and the changing physical security landscape

Verkada just raised at a $5.8 billion valuation in a round led by CapitalG.

Photo illustration of Filip Kaliszan next to the Verkada logo.

Photo illustration: Axios Visuals. Photo: Courtesy of Verkada

Verkada &quot;definitely&quot; will be a public company one day and may even look at M&amp;A as it grows, co-founder and CEO Filip Kaliszan tells Axios Pro.Driving the news: Verkada, a San Mateo, Calif.-based physical security company, <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="raised" data-vars-click-url="https://www.cnbc.com/2025/12/03/verkada-capitalg-valuation-security.html" data-vars-content-id="1d7a75c7-d472-4e5a-a433-43e11e2b5406" data-vars-headline="Verkada founder talks IPO and the changing physical security landscape" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2025/12/03/verkada-capitalg-valuation-security.html" target="_blank">raised</a> a round led by CapitalG at a $5.8 billion valuation earlier this week.

Verkada founder talks IPO and the changing physical security landscape

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