Brazilian security technology company Gabriel has reached operational break-even after six years, helped by three consecutive months of positive EBITDA and expansion from four to forty-five cities since January. The milestone means the startup can now choose its growth pace instead of depending on new contracts to cover fixed costs already in place. Chief Executive Erick Coser said the company remains focused on scale, but no longer faces expansion as a condition for survival.
Camera Network and Public Safety
Founded in 2020, Gabriel operates a private public safety network of street facing cameras called Chameleons installed in residential buildings, houses, and commercial properties. Nearly twenty-two thousand devices are active across about eight thousand buildings in four Brazilian states, capturing four million license plate readings daily. The data is shared free with local military police, and the company reports 802 indictments, sixteen missing persons located, and eleven people cleared through video evidence.
Subscription Model and Retention
Gabriel's commercial offer is based on a subscription, with equipment provided under a lending arrangement similar to how telecom operators supply routers and television boxes. Average monthly ticket is around 800 reais, ranging from 400 to 20,000 reais for larger gated communities with internal streets. Contracts last four years, and the company is currently renewing its first agreements signed in 2022, with net dollar retention of 115 percent.
Automation and Cost Efficiency
Reaching break-even resulted from recurring revenue combined with a highly automated operation. Revenue doubled in the last year and tripled in the previous year, while the team remained similar in size to 2022. The company credits vertical integration for this efficiency by developing its own camera hardware and routers with the same Chinese supplier for six years.
Regional Expansion Strategy
São Paulo recently became Gabriel's largest market, overtaking Rio de Janeiro where the company was founded. Gabriel avoids spreading itself too thinly and prioritizes densifying neighborhoods close to existing operations before moving into more distant regions. This logic helped the startup grow from four cities at the start of the year to forty-five, driven mainly by expansion across Greater São Paulo.
Priorities and Product Evolution
For the coming year, the company has three priorities: maintaining domestic geographic expansion, advancing into shared neighborhood subscriptions for houses, and expanding the use of captured data beyond license plates. Gabriel also plans to evolve its application for building managers into a personal security super app for individual residents. The company does not plan to expand internationally.
Funding and Strategic Flexibility
Gabriel raised 66 million reais in a Series A led by SoftBank in 2021, with participation from Canary, Norte Ventures, and Globo Ventures. In 2025 it raised another 60 million reais, including 35 million in equity through an extension led by Astella and Qualcomm Ventures and 25 million in debt maturing in 2029. The chief executive said the company no longer needs to raise money at any price, giving it greater control over its investor base.
Privacy and Transparency
The company views growing regulatory scrutiny over private security cameras positively, particularly after a parliamentary inquiry in Rio de Janeiro examined irregularities in video monitoring. Gabriel is preparing a website section inspired by Apple's privacy nutrition label to explain data collection, retention, and sharing with public authorities. The chief executive said transparency raises the cost of authority abuse by making actions visible.
With recurring subscription revenue, an automated operation, and a denser network in key urban markets, Gabriel enters its next phase with greater financial stability. Its ability to expand without immediate fundraising pressure may strengthen its competitive position against imitators in private security. The company still faces execution challenges in smaller cities and newer product areas, but the milestone marks a clear shift away from survival mode.
Source: Startups.com.br