Alcatraz Closes $50 Million Series B to Scale Facial Authentication for Physical Access

Alcatraz, a Cupertino-based provider of AI-powered physical access control, has closed a $50 million Series B funding round, bringing total capital raised to more than $100 million. The round was led by BlackPeak Capital, Cogito Capital, and Taiwania Capital, with participation from existing investors Almaz Capital, EBRD, and Ray Stata.

The company’s flagship product, the Rock, is a device installed at building entry points that verifies employee identity through facial authentication as a person walks past at normal speed, without requiring badge swipes or PIN entry. Alcatraz describes the approach as facial authentication rather than facial surveillance: no photographs are stored, no biometric images are retained in the cloud, and employees enroll voluntarily with the ability to delete their data. The platform is built to meet GDPR, CCPA, and BIPA compliance requirements.

Alcatraz reported more than 300 percent year-over-year growth in data center adoption in 2025, along with 200 percent growth in new enterprise customers and a fivefold expansion across Fortune 500 deployments. Current customers include major U.S. airports, energy companies, NFL teams, and top universities.

“We are the Face ID of securing physical spaces,” said Tina D’Agostin, CEO of Alcatraz. “The world’s largest airports, energy companies, and the world’s most critical data centers all trust Alcatraz. Our technology is AI-powered and completely anonymized.”

The company said the raise is timed to the rapid expansion of AI data center construction, which has created new demand for high-assurance physical security at facilities housing sensitive infrastructure. Earlier in 2026, Safe Skies, funded by the FAA, certified the Rock for use in high-security airport environments, opening another growth sector for the company.

Alcatraz was founded in 2016 by Vince Gaydarzhiev, who previously led hardware prototyping for iPad and iPhone at Apple during the development of Face ID. The company plans to use the new capital to expand into additional verticals and international markets.

The platform was previously covered when Alcatraz released a major privacy and security update to its facial authentication platform in mid-2025, and when it earned LenelS2 OnGuard certification for the Rock X ahead of GSX 2025.

Sources: PR Newswire

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By the ID Tech Editorial Team