Evolv Technology Corrects Misinformation about the Company

Download as PDF

WALTHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Evolv Technology was founded in 2013 as a next-generation physical security company committed to making the world a safer place. Over a decade later, and with the trust of former leaders of the Central Intelligence Agency, Department of Homeland Security, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Defense, New York Police Department, Office of National Intelligence, Transportation Security Administration, and United States Secret Service, the Company has partnered with hundreds of seasoned security professionals as valued customers. They have vetted and selected Evolv as part of their safety plans due to its performance attributes and track record of balancing accurate detection with a positive security experience for patrons – not because of any advertisement or marketing campaign. Many of these professionals test Evolv products in their operating environment before deployment. Evolv is proud to say that its Express® solution has been used to screen over 1 billion visitors, and is used to detect, on average, hundreds of firearms every day across its rapidly growing customer base.

Over the past year, Evolv believes it has been the target of a short seller campaign, coordinating with certain media outlets, who are incentivized to discredit the company, misrepresent facts, and promote misinformation. Short sellers essentially bet on, and profit from, a drop in a company’s share price.

The following outlines the main points these groups have raised and Evolv’s fact-based responses. Evolv is committed to our mission of making the world safer and stands behind our technology as vetted by hundreds of security professionals in real world environments.

Claim #1: Evolv has not undergone any independent third-party testing.

Fact: Evolv undergoes rigorous internal and external testing and validation procedures that are implemented before, during, and after the procurement process. All of these third-party tests, conducted by third-party experts, concluded that the Evolv Express solution was highly effective at detecting firearms and many other types of weapons.

Examples of Third-Party Testing (since 2022):

  • DHS SAFETY Act Designation as a Qualified Anti-Terrorism Technology
  • Highest NILECJ Standard Met
  • Metrix NDT Ltd commissioned by Evolv, tested and validated Evolv Express® against the NPSA's Discriminative Metal Detection Standards

Claim #2: Evolv says it can catch all weapons.

Fact: Evolv states, and its customers know, that there is no perfect security solution, including Evolv Express, that will stop all threats, all the time, and that a layered approach combining people, process and technology is necessary. Yet, they choose Evolv Express to help them meet some of their most demanding security requirements because among other things: (a) Evolv Express is highly effective at detecting firearms and other mass casualty weapons; (b) it has a high throughput rate; (c) its settings can be adjusted and optimized to meet a customer’s unique security screening requirements; and (d) the use of the Evolv Express solution can help reduce labor costs.

When Evolv Express alerts on a weapon, the system still requires human security operators to remove the potential threat from the environment. This is why Evolv works with customers to improve their overall security processes and shares best practices across our community. Evolv Express is a modern component of layered security to help reduce the risk of something bad happening.

Evolv has repeatedly said that keeping the public safe and mitigating risk requires tradeoffs; for example, higher sensitivity settings may slow down the screening process. Evolv is upfront about the tradeoffs and customers regularly call out this as a key source of trust in Evolv and across the Evolv customer community.

Evolv Express systems are designed to configure various levels of a security profile, which are selected by the customer, based on their specific needs and events. These security profiles and configurations vary widely across venue and experience type and are at the discretion of the customer’s security team, who often change settings hourly to recognize different threats; for example, a school morning ingress versus an evening sporting event.

Claim #3: Evolv misleads the public and customers to sell systems.

Fact: Evolv’s customers rely on real-world performance metrics, testimonials and information obtained from other users in their respective industries, and often their own testing of Evolv Express, to guide their purchase decisions.

Evolv works with some of the country’s top brands and school districts, such as Mercedes-Benz Stadium (home to the Atlanta Falcons and MLS’s Atlanta United), SoFi Stadium (home to the NFL's Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers) and YouTube Theater, Six Flags, TD Garden (home of the NHL’s Boston Bruins and NBA’s Boston Celtics), and Charlotte-Mecklenburg School District.

Customers typically purchase Evolv Express only after engaging in testing, trials and procurement processes that can last months or longer, including speaking with other Evolv customers about their real-world usage of Evolv Express before purchase. Certain customers, such as teams and venues within the NFL, MLB and NHL, comply with mandatory procurement standards (e.g., government entities) or obtain third-party approvals (e.g., league approval for professional sports teams) before making a purchase. Many of our customers have extensive security backgrounds both in the private and governmental sectors from around the world.

Claim #4: Evolv regularly misses weapons.

Fact: Evolv detected 400,000 weapons in 2023, including firearms and knives.

Customers frequently report that the Evolv Express systems have stopped weapons from entering their environments. That being said, nothing is perfect all the time. Evolv customers are keenly aware of the fact that safety is never absolute. Rather, Evolv customers balance safety needs with venue requirements (e.g., avoiding crowds or long lines at security checkpoints) which is not an either/or choice but a strategy that relies on a combination of people, processes and technology.

There have been circumstances where a firearm was found inside a customer’s venue but with no evidence that the weapon had passed through the Evolv Express system. However, certain media entities have perpetuated misinformation by implying otherwise.

Examples:

  • In Kennywood, the police made an arrest and were investigating fence jumping, or items thrown over the fence, as possibilities of how a firearm entered the park. It was not reported or confirmed that a gun went through Kennywood’s Evolv Express system.
  • Similarly, in North Mecklenburg High School, school officials made public statements asserting that the student carrying a weapon did not go through an Evolv system.

Yet select news services are choosing to ignore these statements and instead mislead by stating “Evolv missed the gun” to fit their desired false narrative.

Claim #5: Evolv can’t catch knives.

Fact: Evolv Express was specifically designed to detect guns but will also alert on many types of knives and some explosives.

Evolv Express was purposefully designed to detect firearms and mass casualty weapons. That’s why customers come to Evolv as part of their layered security strategy. In fact, in many instances, such as in schools, knives are already present inside the venue for various reasons. Even so, according to customer reported data, Evolv Express systems detected over 80,000 knives in 2022 and over 200,000 knives in 2023.

Example: Windsor Regional Hospital has reported over 1,100 items intercepted since the installation of the Express system, including detecting hundreds of knives.

Claim #6: Evolv can’t back up its through-put claims.

Fact: Throughput rates for Evolv Express have been repeatedly observed in data collected during real-world operations.

  • Customer Example 1, NFL Game, 2023 – a dual wide lane Express unit screened approximately 5,152 people in one hour, including the screening of 2,713 people in a twenty-minute period, with an alert rate of just 5%
  • Customer Example 2, MLB Game, 2023 – a dual wide lane Express unit screened approximately 5,746 people in one hour, including the screening of 2,291 people in a ten-minute period, with an alert rate of just 4%
  • Customer Example 3, NFL Game, 2023 – a dual wide lane Express unit screened approximately 5,461 people in one hour, including the screening of 1,407 people in a ten-minute period, with an alert rate of just 5%

In fact, Evolv systems are designed specifically to allow for venues to efficiently screen high volumes of people without impacting visitor experience. This is due to the localized threat detection (i.e., the red box that pinpoints an area of concern) which not only reduces the burden on security teams to identify threats but also reduces the soft target of long lines or crowds around checkpoints, as well as reducing the potential for human error and bias.

Claim #7: Evolv paid for third-party testing and tried to manipulate the results.

Fact: Evolv elected to participate in the NCS⁴ operational exercise, sponsored by the University of Southern Mississippi, to offer another data point for those considering the technology. All companies must pay to participate in the exercise, which reviews security vendors in sports and entertainment venues.

By design, the NCS⁴ operational exercise program allows experts to observe technology capabilities in a sports environment. School customers test and/or review our systems in school environments.

The NCS⁴ operational exercise program has an associated fee for all manufacturers completing the process. Contrary to misleading claims, Evolv did not change results of the third-party NCS⁴ report, and all customers and serious prospective customers are offered full access to the complete NCS⁴ testing report upon request. In addition to providing access to the report, Evolv will also walk prospective customers through the complete NCS4 report (as well as other third-party testing reports) during a 90-minute briefing.

Claim #8: Evolv shouldn’t use the terms “weapons detector” or “frictionless” because it is misleading.

FACT: Customers invest in Evolv after carefully assessing the technology during procurement, including reviewing literature, receiving a demo or pilot, visiting and speaking with other customers, and all customers have an opportunity to conduct testing in their actual environment.

Evolv’s sophisticated business-to-business customers, many of whom are themselves security experts and/or engage third-party experts, purchase Evolv Express with the specific goal of helping to detect and deter threats like firearms that could cause a mass-casualty event. Evolv’s technology is deployed at over 650 customers across many markets including education, healthcare, professional sports, industrial workplaces, houses of worship and tourist attractions.

About Evolv Technology

Evolv Technology (NASDAQ: EVLV) is transforming human security to make a safer, faster, and better experience for the world’s most iconic venues and companies as well as schools, hospitals, and public spaces, using industry leading artificial intelligence (AI)-powered weapons detection and analytics. Its mission is to transform security to create a safer world to work, learn, and play. Evolv has digitally transformed the gateways in places where people gather by enabling seamless integration combined with powerful analytics and insights. Evolv’s advanced systems have scanned more than 1 billion people, second only to the Department of Homeland Security’s Transportation Security Administration (TSA) in the United States. Evolv has been awarded the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) SAFETY Act Designation as a Qualified Anti-Terrorism Technology (QATT) as well as the Security Industry Association (SIA) New Products and Solutions (NPS) Award in the Law Enforcement/Public Safety/Guarding Systems category. Evolv Technology®, Evolv Express®, Evolv Insights®, Evolv Cortex AI®, and Evolv Visual Gun Detection™ are registered trademarks of Evolv Technologies, Inc. in the United States and other jurisdictions. For more information, visit https://evolvtechnology.com.

Forward-Looking Statements Disclaimer

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. We intend such forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements contained in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements contained in this press release, other than statements of historical fact, including, without limitation, statements regarding our expectations related to the SEC investigation and any impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations, or liquidity, are forward-looking statements. The words “may,” “will,” “should,” “expects,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “could,” “intends,” “targets,” “projects,” “contemplates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “forecasts,” “predicts,” “potential” or “continue” or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements though not all forward-looking statement use these word or expressions.

The forward-looking statements in this press release are only predictions. We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that we believe may affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including, without limitation the important factors discussed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, as any such factors may be updated from time to time in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. The forward-looking statements in this press release are based upon information available to us as of the date of this press release, and while we believe such information forms a reasonable basis for such statements, it may be limited or incomplete, and our statements should not be read to indicate that we have conducted an exhaustive inquiry into, or review of, all potentially available relevant information. These statements are inherently uncertain and investors are cautioned not to unduly rely upon these statements.

You should read this press release with the understanding that our actual future results, levels of activity, performance and achievements may be materially different from what we expect. We qualify all of our forward-looking statements by these cautionary statements. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release. Except as required by applicable law, we do not plan to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements contained in this press release, whether as a result of any new information, future events or otherwise.

Investor Relations:
Brian Norris
Senior Vice President of Finance and Investor Relations
bnorris@evolvtechnology.com

Source: Evolv Technology

Released February 20, 2024