- Startup Density tracks how many people go into buildings and uses predictive analytics to recommend adjustments to meetings and cleaning schedules, and its product has seen a boom in sales due to the coronavirus pandemic and the need for social distancing.
- Marriott, the University of Notre Dame, and hard-hit meat-packing facilities are using Density's over-the-door sensor hardware and recently released software product, Safe.
- Tech heavyweights such as former Twitter chief Dick Costolo and well-known angel investor Jason Calcanis are involved with the startup.
- Baseball legend Alex Rodriguez recently invested in the startup because he believes it "has the power to completely change how quickly we get back to normal."
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The people-counting startup Density has had explosive sales growth, including Fortune 500 customers, and reeled in a new, famous investor as it addresses one of the most pressing issues in the world: how to safely bring people back from COVID-19 quarantine to work and public spaces while maintaining social distancing and privacy.
The 50-person, San Francisco-based startup makes sensors that can be installed over doorways to count people as they come in and out, allowing organizations to easily follow reduced-capacity requirements as spaces start to open back up. Density has raised $25 million from Founders Fund — the venture capital firm led by billionaire Pay Pal cofounder Peter Thiel — as well as well-known angel investor Jason Calcanis and others, and has recruited former Twitter CEO Dick Costolo as an advisor. More recently, it received an investment from Alex Rodriguez, the Yankees slugger who won three Most Valuable Player awards and claims the startup "has the power to completely change how quickly we get back to normal."
Density recently released a software product called Safe that allows customers and employees to check a monitor outside a building or room that lets them know the current capacity and if they can enter while still maintaining responsible social distancing. Safe also sends notifications to business proprietors and workplace managers to let them know if an area is getting too crowded, or has emptied out and now needs cleaning, and sends detailed analytics reports showing the flow of people across a property.
As areas of the US emerge from shelter-in-place mandates, demand for Density's product is spiking: Its sales are up 560% quarter-over-quarter. It recently signed on an Indiana meat-packing plant (a type of facility hit hard by COVID-19), which joins existing customers like Marriott and the University of Notre Dame. They use Density's sensors and screens to monitor capacity on their properties, the startup says. This month, several states have reopened businesses but capped occupancy at 25%, guidelines that Density can help meet.
While Density's over-the-door sensors monitor people's entrance and exit of buildings and rooms, the company also uses predictive analytics – a type of artificial intelligence that processes data from the past to suggest needs in the future – to help companies better use their office space, schedule cleaning and deliveries, and guide employees toward underused meeting rooms. For example, grocery stores and other essential retailers are using Density to prevent crowding and track when to clean key areas after a rush. The startup is also studying ways to offer more detailed monitoring of interior social distancing, as well.
"A bunch of companies are coming to us to be a solution that both keeps people safe but also is not invasive," says CEO Andrew Farah.
Farah says Density's sensors, which never record people's faces or any other personally identifiable information, are vastly different from camera-based surveillance systems: "We're anonymous by design, meaning if you compromise our system you can't get access to personally identifiable information, because it isn't there."
Farah calls safety "a two-sided problem" that consists of making a place safe, and convincing people that a place is safe. "As an employee coming back to work, I want to know, 'How busy is that space? How many people are there and on what floors?' he said. "I want to feel secure in knowing that there's going to be adequate room for me."
Density was founded six years ago by six coworkers in Syracuse, New York, who created a digital system to show them remotely when their favorite coffee shop was crowded. From there, they set out to simply help businesses use commercial real estate more effectively. But, after the pandemic hit, the need for their product shifted from longterm strategy to immediate safety.
Farah is careful to point out that he's not excited about the pandemic, even if his business is booming.
"I think the only silver lining is that we can use our technology to help keep people safe," he said. "The amount of devastation Covid has had on industries, individuals, families, businesses, and so forth is difficult to reconcile with a growing business. Right now it's about safety, and as far as I'm concerned Density is a safety company for the next 12 months. Afterward, we can help organizations use their spaces more wisely, which can be a huge cost savings."
The change to longterm remote work will reshape the commercial real estate business, and data will be critical in making decisions about office space and on-premises needs such as cleaning and food services, Density says.
Being a highly relevant startup in the middle of a pandemic has made Density's all-star supporters crucial, Farah says. He's received guidance from partners at the Founders Fund as well as former head of Twitter, Costolo, who has been an important advisor when it comes to building a team and growth of the company.
"Density is a solution that will help keep us safe in the post-COVID era while allowing us to maintain our pre-COVID privacy rights," Costolo says.
The company also has an enthusiastic cheerleader in Rodriguez, the 14-time American League All-Star.
"I've been investing in real estate for over 20 years: Density is how all buildings should operate," he said. "Especially as people are trying to get back to their work safely, knowing whether or not it's safe to go in, whether or not a building has enough space to keep people safe. These are the kinds of things that Density can do while still protecting our personal rights because they're anonymous,"
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