Introduction
Axon’s main business
Axon Enterprise, Inc. is a publicly traded company that develops technology and weapons products for military, law enforcement and civilian applications.
The origin of the company
In 1969, NASA researcher Jack Cover began developing non-lethal electric weapons to help police control suspects as an alternative to guns. By 1974, Cofer had completed the device, which he named the Tom Swift Electric Rifle (TSER, the origin of many of the company’s subsequent product and company names).
The Los Angeles Police Department conducted a successful field test of an improved version in 1980, but the device remained commercially unsuccessful, and Cover’s company, Taser Systems Inc., faced major setbacks.
In 1993, Rick and Tom Smith formed AIR TASER, Inc. and worked with Cofer to design a device that used compressed nitrogen as the propellant instead of gunpowder.
In 1999 the TASER M26 weapon was introduced. In 2001, TASER International had a deficit of $6.8 million and took steps to increase sales, pay police officers, and train others on how to use its products; this marketing technique helped increase the company’s market share, and by 2003 it was net Sales reached $24.5 million, compared with nearly $68 million in 2004.
Initial listing
In May 2001, the company applied for an initial public offering and began trading on Nasdaq under the stock code TASR.
Monopoly
In a word, this company has a virtual monopoly on Taser Gun, the global police stun gun, and there are almost no significant enough competitors to compete with it.
Patents
Digital Ally has been locked in a lawsuit with Digital Ally for many years. Digital Ally claimed that Axon infringed its technology patent for activating the camera system under specific trigger conditions (such as rotation), such as emergency lights that will turn on in an emergency. Digital Ally stated that Axon’s infringement caused them to lose a large amount of revenue.
The company has also taken significant action against competitors, acquiring Tasertron and aggressively defending its patents. TASER International patent litigation leads to closure of Stinger Systems and successor company Karbon Arms
Products
Taser Gun
Its initial product and previous product of the same name is the Taser, a line of electroshock weapons.
Tasers are currently sold as three types of self-defense weapons for civilians. They are Taser Pulse, Taser Pulse+ and Taser Strikelight.
Law enforcement recorder
In 2008, the company launched its first law enforcement recorder, the Axon Pro. This is a major milestone. It is designed to be worn as a headset and uploads videos for storage online on a web service called Evidence.com. TASER CEO Rick Smith explained that the products are designed to “help law enforcement provide revolutionary digital evidence collection, storage and retrieval.”
Taser’s original body camera, the Axon Pro, was launched in 2009. The camera consists of three components: a head-mounted camera, a controller, and a monitor for viewing the video recording. Subsequent generations of Axon Flex and Axon Body have been functionally enhanced respectively. In addition to body cameras, Axon also offers interview room and in-car video systems, called Axon Interview and Axon Fleet respectively.
Software
Software and sensors. The company began diversifying into military and law enforcement technology products, including a line of law enforcement recorders and cloud-based digital evidence platform Evidence.com. As of 2017, law enforcement recorders and related services accounted for a quarter of Axon’s overall business.
Evidence.com
Evidence.com is a cloud-based digital evidence management system that allows police departments, military command centers or military outposts to manage, review and share digital evidence, specifically video evidence captured using Axon brand cameras. It includes automated editing tools, an audit trail for chain-of-custody purposes, and the ability to share evidence with prosecutors and others. offers a free version specifically for prosecutors to receive and manage incoming digital evidence.
Evidence Sync
Evidence Sync is a desktop application that allows law enforcement or military personnel to review and upload evidence from hardware devices and local files. It is also used to upload Taser weapon logs to Evidence.com. While primarily designed to be used with Evidence.com, it can also be used in offline mode to directly access files if institutions wish.
Other
Two mobile apps integrate with Axon cameras and Evidence.com. Axon View pairs with Axon body cameras to view, tag and stream video from the cameras.
Axon Signal is a family of products designed to automatically trigger recording on Axon cameras in response to certain events.
Axon Citizen is a cloud-based software solution that allows non-law enforcement personnel to share and upload messages, including photos and videos, directly to law enforcement agencies.
Package plan
Axon has made progress in selling its new subscription package Officer Safety Program (OSP) 7+ to police. Axon announces its major sales to law enforcement agencies around the world. The lists don’t include every order, but they are just a snapshot of what the company is selling and to whom. For the first time, Officer Security Program (OSP) 7+ (retails for $199 per user per month)
important part of the announcement.
For that price, it includes the Taser 7, Body 3 camera, Axon Records, Signal Sidearm (which tells the camera to start recording as soon as the officer draws his gun), and more. It’s the most expensive and highest-margin product the company has ever offered, and if it ultimately succeeds, it will embed the company more deeply into law enforcement agencies.
Negative reports
Change company name
The company has gone through many reorganizations, bankruptcies, and reorganizations. The company’s previous official name was Taser International. On April 5, 2017, TASER announced that it had changed its name to Axon to reflect its business expansion.
Financial and accounting practice
In 2017, the SEC questioned the company’s financial reporting and accounting methods, requiring the company to make corrections to comply with regulations.
The company changed its trading code
When the company first went public, it used TASR as its trading code. It has since changed many times, which is unusual in the U.S. stock market. The trading code was changed in 2021. It used the code AAXN before and then changed it to the current code.
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