CUPERTINO, Calif. — Alcatraz, which makes an artificial intelligence-powered physical access control system that authenticates employees without collecting personal data, recently closed a $50 million Series B funding round, bringing total capital raised to more than $100 million, according to a company announcement.
The round was led by BlackPeak Capital, Cogito Capital and Taiwania Capital, with participation from existing investors Almaz Capital, EBRD, Ray Stata and others, the announcement says. Alcatraz plans to use the new capital to expand into new verticals, international markets and grow its team.
The company’s customers include the world’s largest AI data centers, major U.S. airports, energy companies, NFL teams, major universities and Fortune 100 companies. In 2025, Alcatraz reported more than 300% year-over-year growth in data center adoption, 200% growth in new enterprise customers and a fivefold expansion across Fortune 500 deployments.
“We are the Face ID of securing physical spaces,” says Tina D’Agostin, CEO of Alcatraz, in the company announcement. “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. For the workplace of today, badges and passcodes inherently invite too much risk.”
What Does Alcatraz Facial Authentication Do?
Alcatraz’s Rock, a solution installed at building entry points that verifies identity through facial authentication as a person walks past at normal speed, confirms that the person walking in is who they say they are – without storing any photos or accessing any other personal data.
“We are the only biometric system protecting physical spaces using facial authentication instead of the legacy facial surveillance use case,” says D’Agostin. “Like Face ID on your iPhone, no photographs are being taken. No personal data is being stored.”
The Founder: From Apple to the Buildings That Run the World
Alcatraz was founded in 2016 by Vince Gaydarzhiev, who led hardware prototyping for iPad and iPhone at Apple during the development of Face ID.
“We are the guardians of AI,” says Gaydarzhiev. “The data centers we protect aren’t just buildings. They are the infrastructure that the entire digital economy runs on.”
