Knightscope (NASDAQ:KSCP) reported a record first quarter for 2026 as management outlined a broader strategy to become a managed security services provider following its acquisition of Event Risk.
Bill, speaking from the company’s Silicon Valley headquarters, said Knightscope is working to build what it calls the nation’s first “Autonomous Security Force,” combining hardware, software and human security personnel in a single offering. He described the model as a layered system that uses autonomous robots and AI agents to address routine alerts, remote monitoring teams to review and escalate issues, and armed or unarmed human agents or law enforcement when a physical response is needed.
Revenue More Than Doubles in First Quarter
Nupur, Knightscope’s CFO, said first-quarter consolidated revenue rose 106% year over year to $6.0 million from $2.9 million in the prior-year period. She called it “a record quarter and the strongest in company history.”
Service revenue increased 98% to $4.2 million, driven mainly by the contribution from the Event Risk acquisition. Product revenue rose 128% to $1.8 million, helped by the fulfillment of ECE orders that had previously been constrained by supply chain conditions in the second half of 2025.
Excluding the acquisition, Nupur said Knightscope’s core technology revenue grew 26% year over year, from $2.9 million to $3.7 million.
Gross margin also turned positive in the quarter. Consolidated gross profit was $465,000, or 7.7% of revenue, compared with a gross loss of $668,000, or negative 22.9%, in the first quarter of 2025. Nupur said that represented a $1.1 million year-over-year improvement in gross profit.
However, she cautioned that the company is “not yet at a sustainable run rate,” and said gross margin remains subject to supply chain variability.
Event Risk Acquisition Adds Revenue and Security Personnel
The Event Risk acquisition closed on Feb. 27, 2026. Nupur said the total purchase consideration, measured at fair market net present value, was approximately $18 million. That included $5 million in cash at closing, repayment of $1.1 million of seller debt, approximately $7.2 million in Class A common stock representing 1.7 million shares issued, and additional deferred cash and contingent consideration. A $1.4 million working capital and non-compete adjustment was reflected as an offset to the deferred purchase price.
In its first 32 days of contribution, the acquired security force business generated $2.4 million in revenue, $400,000 in gross margin at a 17.5% margin, and $100,000 of net income, Nupur said. The acquisition also added roughly $1 million in one-time transaction costs to selling, general and administrative expenses during the quarter.
On a pro forma combined basis, Nupur said first-quarter revenue would have been approximately $10 million, compared with $7.2 million in the first quarter of 2025, representing a 39% year-over-year increase.
Following the acquisition, Knightscope adopted two reportable segments for the quarter: core technology development and operations, and the acquired security force segment. Nupur said the core technology segment generated about $3.67 million in revenue and $54,000 in gross margin, while the security force segment added $2.4 million in revenue and about $400,000 in margin.
She said the segment structure is a GAAP requirement triggered by the acquisition and does not reflect how Knightscope expects to manage the business over time. Management plans to operate as a single integrated Autonomous Security Force and expects reporting to evolve toward a product-and-services framework.
Net Loss Widens as Operating Expenses Rise
Knightscope reported total operating expenses of $10.8 million in the quarter. Research and development expense rose 120% year over year to $4.7 million, with investment focused on new product development, including the K7 autonomous security robot and the next-generation K1 portfolio.
SG&A expense increased 51% to $6.1 million. Nupur said approximately $1 million of that increase was tied to one-time acquisition transaction costs, including legal, accounting and valuation services. Other drivers included additional investor relations and advertising spending, professional services, acquired company G&A, and costs related to the company’s new Sunnyvale headquarters.
The company’s net loss widened to $10.3 million from $6.9 million in the first quarter of 2025. Nupur attributed the increase primarily to higher operating expenses, partly offset by improved gross margin and lower interest expense. On a per-share basis, the loss improved to $0.74 from $1.28 a year earlier, despite a 156% increase in weighted average share count. Excluding the $1 million in one-time acquisition costs, normalized net loss would have been approximately $9.3 million.
Cash and cash equivalents were $11.4 million as of March 31, down from $20.6 million at year-end 2025. Nupur said the decline reflected about $6.1 million in cash outlays for the Event Risk transaction, closing payment and debt repayment, $1 million in direct transaction costs, and continued investment in Autonomous Security Force operations. She added that the company’s at-the-market facility remains active and supports liquidity and operational flexibility.
Management Points to K7, Software Platform and Integration
Bill said Knightscope is making progress on the K7 autonomous security robot, which is intended to patrol larger environments at higher speeds and secure perimeters. He said the company expects a limited release of the K7 to selected clients later this summer to gather real-world deployment experience.
Bill also discussed the company’s Signals platform, which he said is intended to provide a three-dimensional “eye in the sky” view of facilities by combining video gaming technology, digital twins and data from stationary devices, robots and security agents. He said Knightscope intends to release the orchestration software for internal use during the fourth quarter.
Management said the integration of Event Risk is underway across financial reporting, information technology, human resources and go-to-market efforts. Bill said the process is “going a little bit ahead of schedule,” while noting that substantial work remains through the balance of the year.
Looking ahead, the company plans to present the Autonomous Security Force offering at the GSX security conference in Atlanta in September and hold an investor day at Knightscope headquarters in the fourth quarter.
Executives Discuss Margin Path and Long-Term Strategy
In response to analyst questions, Apoorv said gross margin improvement is expected to come from operational scale, better manufacturing absorption, supply chain normalization and continued integration of the managed services platform. He also pointed to potential cross-selling of higher-margin software and technology into broader managed services relationships.
Bill said the combination of humans, AI, software and autonomous hardware could change the economics of the security industry over time, but added that the company must first build, integrate and deploy those capabilities.
Management also discussed potential inorganic growth. Bill said the security guarding industry is highly fragmented and that Knightscope may consider additional acquisitions, with an emphasis on quality rather than quantity. He also said the company has evaluated opportunities in remote monitoring, where a bolt-on acquisition or carve-out may be preferable to organic growth.
The presentation included a safe-harbor statement noting that forward-looking statements are subject to risks, including operating losses, substantial doubt about the company’s ability to continue as a going concern, the need for additional capital, integration of Event Risk, customer concentration, supply chain and labor conditions, competition and Nasdaq listing requirements.
About Knightscope (NASDAQ:KSCP)
Knightscope, Inc (NASDAQ: KSCP) is a technology company specializing in the design and deployment of autonomous security robots. The firm offers a robotics-as-a-service platform that integrates self-driving devices with artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities to enhance perimeter security, detect anomalies and deliver real-time incident reporting.
Since its founding in 2013 and headquartered in Mountain View, California, Knightscope has developed a series of fully autonomous models—designated K1 through K7—suited for indoor and outdoor environments.
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