A Seattle-based technology company known for helping first responders is expanding its footprint and workforce in the Emerald City.
BRINC, which builds drones used by public safety agencies across the country, is moving into a new 34,000‑square‑foot headquarters and factory near the Ballard Bridge. The new campus will double the company’s space and allow it to grow from about 160 employees to 250 this year, with plans to eventually employ more than 1,000 people as the site develops.
“We can hire the people we need, both in an engineering capacity but also in a technician capacity,” said BRINC CEO Blake Resnick. “Seattle has been an amazing home for us.”
Founded in 2017, BRINC develops drones designed to assist first responders in assessing emergency calls before officers or firefighters arrive. The company says its devices help determine where responders should go and how they should approach a situation.
“We have over 900 public safety customers distributed throughout the United States,” Resnick said. “We’ve actually sold to police and fire departments in all 50 states at this point.”
In Washington, BRINC currently works with five public safety agencies, including the Redmond Police Department, which launched the state’s first “drone as first responder” program in 2024.
“The drone has assisted in about 7% of the arrests we’ve made, and it gets there 83% of the time faster than ground units,” said Redmond Police Chief Darrell Lowe. “That’s a great return on investment.”
Lowe emphasized the drones are only used in response to specific 911 calls, not for general surveillance or random patrols. He said his department does not share drone data with federal agencies.
“There is no relationship with ICE,” Lowe said. “Each program is specific to each department, and we already have the Keep Washington Working Act in place, so that door is already closed.”
Resnick said BRINC’s focus remains on building tools that make first responders safer and more effective. The company expects its new headquarters to be fully operational by November.
Staff with the ACLU of Washington told KING 5 it is not tracking any one company’s operational choices; however, Tee Sannon, the organization’s technology policy program director, provided this statement about concerns regarding drone technology:
“Without proper regulation, drones pose a serious threat to people’s privacy and civil liberties. They can carry multiple surveillance tools that capture data about people and their movements without their knowledge or consent, which could potentially chill free speech and impinge on people’s free association rights. For law enforcement agencies seeking to use tools like drones, the use must be carefully regulated to minimize these threats from surveillance, such as by placing strict limits on what data they can collect, how long it can be retained, how it can be used, and who it can be shared with.”