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(Updated on 10/13/20) Rosslyn-based tech company LiveSafe has been purchased by Tampa-based Vector Solutions.
Founded in 2012, the company focused on campus security, as one co-founder survived the Virginia Tech mass shooting. Over the years, it gained footholds in other sectors and got an extra boost in 2018, when it received $11 million in new venture funding.
Today, the app and dashboard help businesses, schools and governments respond to anything ranging from harassment to a COVID-19 outbreak.
The acquisition will take LiveSafe to new heights and expand the company’s reach to new clients, said LiveSafe co-founder Shayan Pahlevani.
“You can’t be happier as a founder or LiveSafe team member see something you worked on for so many years make it to the next level,” he said.
From its ground-floor office at 1400 Key Blvd, LiveSafe serves more than 400 customers including Hearst, Cox Communications, Brookfield Properties and the Crystal City-based Consumer Technology Association.
“It’s great that they see value in what we created,” Pahlevani said. “They have a number of incredible solutions in their deck, and to have access to their incredible customers is a huge testament to what we built.”
Many of the details are still being finalized, including whether LiveSafe will keep its office. Pahlevani said he could not disclose the cost of the sale, citing a non-disclosure agreement.
Vector Solutions and LiveSafe first partnered in 2019 to bring customized safety and security tools to higher education and K-12 markets.
Vector Solutions CEO Marc Schiepe said in a statement that the acquisition builds on a “longstanding and trusted relationship with LiveSafe and brings dynamic safety and security capabilities into the Vector Solutions product portfolio.”
Pahlevani said Vector became one of LiveSafe’s customers and was “very impressed with our team and the product.”
One product came online this year, inspired by the coronavirus pandemic’s effect on return-to-work plans. LiveSafe launched WorkSafe to help organizations detect potential COVID-19 infections, prevent outbreaks and reduce legal liability, while keeping employee health information private.
The acquisition comes as Vector Solutions — which bills itself as the “leading provider of software solutions for learning, operational readiness, workforce management” — rebrands its platforms to include the Vector name. LiveSafe will take on a new name, but Vector pledges to deliver the same experience.
Bringing LiveSafe into the fold “fits perfectly with Vector’s mission to serve everyday heroes by delivering intelligent software solutions that empower them to make safer, smarter, better decisions,” Schiepe said in his statement.
As for Pahlevani, he said the acquisition will afford him time to focus on Hungry, the buzzy Ballston-based startup he founded that connects businesses to local caterers for lunches and events.
“I get to focus 100 percent on Hungry,” he said.
This article has been updated to remove sensitive staffing information covered by a non-disclosure agreement.