Home security startup Deep Sentinel today announced that it has closed a $7.4 million Series A led by Shasta Ventures, with participation from Bezos Expeditions, Lux Capital and UP2398. Founded by serial entrepreneur David Selinger, Deep Sentinel is betting that its emphasis on user experience can provide needed differentiation in the crowded space.
Over tea in the historic Palace Hotel in San Francisco, Selinger laid out the philosophy behind his latest company. Selinger believes that the nature of property crimes has changed. Without ever entering a home, burglars can cost homeowners thousands by simply nabbing an Amazon delivery resting on a front porch. This shift in behavior necessitates a shift in the services provided by home security companies.
But legacy players like ADT, founded in 1874, haven’t kept up with the times. Selinger is confident he can both expand the market and steal market share by moving the security line to the perimeter of a property rather than the perimeter of a home.
To do this, the company is producing a series of cameras powered by deep learning that can evaluate threats on a property. This is the same technology that automakers are using for self-driving cars and companies like Facebook use to identify people and objects within your photos.
Deep Sentinel wasn’t able to show us its hardware because it’s still in development, but I imagine it looks exactly like any other home security camera. Cameras themselves are largely commoditized, so the value that the company…