Security technology startup Verkada has achieved a $5.8 billion valuation following a new funding round led by CapitalG, Alphabet’s venture capital arm, the company announced Wednesday. The round, which totaled $100 million, marks a significant increase from Verkada’s previous Series E funding in February, raising its valuation by $1.3 billion. CEO Filip Kaliszan told CNBC’s Deirdre Bosa that Google’s investment reflects a strategic recognition of Verkada’s mission to bring artificial intelligence to the physical security industry. “I think Google saw the opportunity with us in the application of AI and everything we're driving to apply AI to the physical security industry,” he said. The funding will support Verkada’s expansion of AI capabilities and provide liquidity to the company. CapitalG’s involvement follows its recent investment in cybersecurity startup Armis, signaling growing interest in AI-driven security solutions. Verkada now surpasses $1 billion in annualized bookings across more than 30,000 customers worldwide. The company builds a comprehensive physical security platform that integrates cloud-connected cameras, alarms, sensors, and analytics software. Its solutions serve a wide range of sectors, including retailers, government facilities, schools, and transportation hubs. One notable example is TeraWatt Infrastructure, which uses Verkada’s technology to secure electric vehicle charging stations for Google’s Waymo autonomous vehicle program. In September, Verkada launched over 60 new AI-powered features, including the “AI-Powered Unified Timeline.” This tool automatically compiles video and image data from multiple cameras into a single, coherent timeline, dramatically reducing the time security teams spend reviewing footage during investigations. CapitalG general partner Derek Zanutto praised Verkada’s approach, calling AI a “Rosetta Stone” that unlocks meaningful insights from visual data. “The genius of Filip and the team of Verkada is that they're leveraging AI as a Rosetta Stone to really help unlock insights from cameras to help companies become safer and more efficient,” he said. Verkada processes over 20 million images per hour, enabling real-time analytics on foot traffic, occupancy levels, security incidents, and other operational trends. Zanutto described the physical security market as a $60 billion industry still dominated by legacy hardware—cameras that simply record footage without intelligent analysis. Verkada aims to transform this space by turning cameras into proactive, thinking systems. Despite the advancements, Kaliszan emphasized that AI will not replace human security personnel anytime soon. “I think humans will be providing security to other humans for as long as I can think,” he said. “But AI can empower these first responders to be more aware, to have situational knowledge, to know what to do, and in some cases, actually prevent the problems from happening.” He cited the October heist at the Louvre, where multiple crown jewels were stolen, as a case where real-time AI monitoring could have enabled immediate alerts and faster intervention. “If you could intervene right then, if you could know in real time that that's happening, the potential for savings and preventing damage is tremendous,” he said.