Less than half a year after its prior investment announcement, RapidSOS, a startup looking to update emergency response systems with its data collection platform, has raised another $30 million in Series B funding.
The round was led by Playground Global, with additional participation from Highland Capital Partners, M12, Two Sigma Ventures, Forte Ventures, The Westly Group and CSAA IG. RapidSOS also received support from a handful of individual investors, including three former FCC Chairmen and former AT&T vice chairman Ralph de la Vega.
RapidSOS’ platform takes various devices and data sources — including health information from wearables, telematics from connected cars, smoke density from smart homes and location tracking from mobile devices — and links these directly to 911 responders during an emergency. The goal, according to the company, is to quickly provide these responders with information unique to a specific emergency, leading to faster responses and better outcomes.
What’s the impact
Currently, RapidSOS’ platform is deployed in more than 1,500 centers that provide coverage for over 180 million individuals and has raised $65 million to date, according to the startup. The service bills itself as a much-needed update to 20th century emergency infrastructure, which does little to incorporate the data collected by smartphones and other commonplace technologies.
"America's 911 telecommunicators do heroic work managing over 240 million emergencies annually through outdated infrastructure that allows little more than a voice connection," said Michael Martin, CEO of RapidSOS. "We spent the past five years partnering with public safety to transform that voice-only system into a rich data platform.”
What’s the trend
Alongside the funding, RapidSOS has measured its success in a number of high-profile partnerships. These include integration with Google’s Android devices, as well as the provision of location data services for Apple iOS users.
However, it’s also not alone in the market. Israel-based Carbyne — which collected $15 million in August — offers its own end-to-end, digitized emergency response system that incorporates data collection tools, algorithm-driven information prioritization and other features.
On the record
"RapidSOS is on the forefront of emergency technology, working with companies like Apple, Google, Uber and Microsoft to transform emergency communication," Bruce Leak, cofounder of Playground Global, said in a statement. "We see endless opportunities for connected device data to enhance emergency response and are eager to work with RapidSOS to expand their life-saving platform.”
