To put today’s announcement that Biofire Technologies is finally raising the curtain on the Biofire Smart Gun into context, you have to dial the Wayback Machine all the way back to 2014. That’s when we first noted the news that a bunch of Silicon Valley tech types had cut a kid named Kai Kloepfer a check for $50,000. What had young Kai done to deserve all of that cash? He managed to put a biometric sensor — a finger print reader — into a pistol.
The big brains behind the Smart Tech Challenges Foundation hailed the achievement as the dawn of a New Age of Gun Safety™. Investor Ron Conway announced that he was looking for the next “Mark Zuckerberg of guns” and thought Kai might just be the real deal.
A couple of years later, Conway and Kloepfer thought they had the bugs worked out enough that their startup company, Biofire, was, they said, just a few months from producing a live-fire prototype. Conway pronounced that the fruits of Kloepfer’s genius would not only save lives but would also save America.
That was back in 2016.
A lot has happened in the intervening years. Conway and Kloepfer have largely stayed out of the news while they apparently kept working on their design. The ballyhoo’d Armatix “smart gun” was shown to be the steaming pile of useless garbage most of us assumed it was.
Also, the state of New Jersey finally repealed its disastrous Childproof Handgun Law that mandated the sale of “smart guns” once they were commercially available. That single piece of legislation did more than anything else to stunt research and development into so-called smart gun technology.
Now, in April of 2023, Biofire has reemerged from the mists of time and hype to announce that they’ve finally come up with a design they think is ready for prime time. The Biofire Smart Gun is a 9mm pistol that they say heralds the dawn of “a new era in firearm safety driven by ambition and optimism.”
OK then.
Just to repeat — for the umpteenth time — the position of most gun owners when the topic of “smart guns” comes up is, if a company wants to produce them and there are consumers who want to buy them, more power to them.
It seems safe to say that the majority of gun owners and buyers want nothing to do with a biometrically-dependent electronic system that introduces a range of potential failure points into a mechanical devide on which lives depend. But hey, as long as no one such as, say, a bunch of ignorant, hoplophobic politicians in a benighted northeastern state mandates their sale, let the market decide.
If you believe what Biofire is now saying, the dawn of the age of the “smart gun” is now here. Here’s Biofire’s press release . . .
Today Biofire Technologies unveiled the Biofire Smart Gun, a 9mm handgun that uses fingerprint and facial recognition biometrics to ensure only authorized users can fire it. Designed for home defense, the Biofire Smart Gun enables firearm owners to defend themselves against external threats while preventing unauthorized access and misuse. The shooting experience is seamless: authorized users can simply pick the gun up and fire it. The Biofire Smart Gun is the first and only biometric firearm on the market.
“Biofire’s approach is totally novel: we’ve applied high-precision engineering principles to make a meaningful impact on preventable firearm deaths among children. No one had tried that before. As a result, Biofire is now offering the most technologically advanced consumer firearm the industry’s ever seen,” said Kai Kloepfer, CEO and Founder of Biofire. “The Biofire Smart Gun shoots like any high-quality firearm, but it also feels like you’re holding the future in your hand. This is a new era in firearm safety driven by ambition and optimism, motivated by the idea that we can in fact help save people’s lives.”
Always locked. Instantly accessible. Protect what matters most with a #BiofireSmartGun. Welcome to the future of firearm safety: https://t.co/7EvGMdDL8H#unlockBiofire #security #futuretechnology #firearmsafety #homedefense pic.twitter.com/chP5clNGUg
— Biofire (@BiofireUSA) April 13, 2023
Firearm-related accidents, homicides, and suicides are now the leading cause of death for American children, taking thousands of lives every year. According to one study, more than forty percent of American children whose parents believe their guns are secured said they could access those guns within two hours. One in eight middle and high school students in Colorado say they can access a loaded firearm within 10 minutes. Millions of children live in households with loaded, unsecured firearms.
“The Biofire Smart Gun was designed specifically for real gun owners who want a quality home defense firearm that cannot be used by children or criminals,” said Mike Corbett, Biofire advisor and former member of SEAL Team 6. “In a few years, I believe that the head of every household in America who wants a home defense firearm is going to choose this Smart Gun.”
Led by the belief that focusing on gun owners’ needs is the best way to drive innovation, Biofire conducted interviews with thousands of gun owners to inform the Biofire Smart Gun’s design. Engineers who developed the Smart Gun prioritized reliability and speed, informed by their backgrounds in military ballistics, high-precision weapon-targeting systems, and other technical defense roles.
“The Biofire Smart Gun shoots like a gun—there’s no delay. If it weren’t for the futuristic look, you wouldn’t know that it isn’t just a regular mechanical pistol,” said Ian McCollum, the firearm technical expert behind Forgotten Weapons, a YouTube channel with 2.5M subscribers. “That’s very appealing to people interested in a home defense firearm, which is a significant market segment. I’ve come away from the opportunity to fire the gun myself pretty excited and impressed by the system—so far, Biofire has done it right.”
Key Biofire Smart Gun Features
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- Biofire’s Guardian Biometric Engine integrates state-of-the-art capacitive fingerprint identification and 3D infrared facial recognition systems that independently verify a user’s identity – whichever recognizes the user first, unlocks the firearm. It works in a wide variety of conditions, including if a user is wearing gloves or a face covering. Customizable LED indicators show when the gun is armed.
- Users’ biometric data never leaves the firearm, which has no onboard WiFi, Bluetooth, or GPS.
- The firearm immediately locks when it leaves an authorized user’s hand. Integrated IR sensors in the grip keep the firearm armed while an authorized user is holding the gun, removing a need to continuously authenticate their biometrics.
- Solid state, encrypted electronic fire control technology ensures it’s impossible to modify the Biofire Smart Gun to circumvent its biometrics or to convert it into a conventional handgun. While it’s a system commonly seen on modern fighter jets and missile systems, the Smart Gun is the first handgun in the world to operate with “fire-by-wire”.
- A rechargeable, removable, high-endurance lithium-ion battery powers the firearm. The battery lasts for several months with average use and can fire continuously for several hours.
- A secure, portable Smart Dock provides an interface for the owner to add and remove trusted users via the high-resolution touch screen. The Biofire Smart Gun and Smart Dock together are a closed system that protects personal information with defense-grade data security.
- At time of launch, customers can personalize their firearm, choosing from 64 unique combinations of polymer, trigger, and magazine release colors.
- Available in right-handed and left-handed models, and with customizable grip-size options.
For owners of home defense weapons, conventional methods for securing firearms force them to choose either speed or security – unlocking a firearm or taking it out of a safe costs valuable time when seconds matter. As a result, millions of gun owners store their firearms loaded and unsecured, with nearly half citing the belief that locks prevent quick access in an emergency. Some owners opt to secure their guns in their locked cars, but as gun thefts have soared in the last several years, cars parked outside residences are now the leading source of gun thefts.
“The Biofire Smart Gun finally provides firearm owners with a highly accessible and reliable personal security device,” said Lt. General Guy C. Swan III (ret.), a member of the Biofire board. “After firing the Smart Gun with my own hands, I am convinced this is going to satisfy a significant unmet need from the consumer market at this critical time. This product will save lives while safeguarding the rights of all Americans.”
Since the infamous New Jersey smart gun mandate was repealed in 2019, Biofire has raised $30 million to develop the Biofire Smart Gun. It is the first and only venture capital-backed firearm technology company in the United States, with its 2022 Series A led by Founders Fund. Other investors in Biofire include highly respected VCs, family offices, and strategic investors including 10X Capital, Draper Associates, Liquid 2 Ventures, Cathexis Ventures, Crosstimbers Ventures, Break Trail Ventures, Grant Park Ventures, Structure Capital, Service Provider Capital, Gavin de Becker & Associates, Gaingels and Will Manidis.
The Biofire Smart Gun has been undergoing extensive durability and live-fire performance tests to optimize for manufacturing, so final specifications are subject to change. The Smart Gun will ship to customers through the same legal ATF transfer process required of all traditional firearms. Biofire will begin fulfilling customer orders in early 2024, in adherence with all applicable state and local regulations. It is now available for pre-order on smartgun.com with a refundable $149 deposit, total price of $1,499.
