RapidSOS, Big Data Platform for Emergency Response, Raises $75M • TechCrunch

Emergency responders have received a big data boost thanks to advances in connected technology, with watches that can detect when their wearers fall and get injured, cars that can pinpoint where their drivers are, and home systems that can transmit important fire data if you can’t just some of the innovations we’ve seen in recent years. A startup called today RapidSOSwhich helps connect those data points to those who can turn them into action, announces some funding as it continues to grow.

The startup raised $75 million from a group of investors led by security specialist VC NightDragon, with participation also from BAM Elevate, Insight Partners, Honeywell, Microsoft M12 Venture Fund, Axon, Citi via Citi Impact Fund, Highland Capital Partners, Playground Global, Forte Ventures , C5 Capital and Avanta Venture. RapidSOS founder and CEO Michael Martin said he would not disclose a valuation, but has now raised more than $250 million and will use this latest infusion of capital to expand its technology and business as a whole.

The two go hand-in-hand: RapidSOS works with major device and software manufacturers, from whom it takes the data points that power their services; applies data science to them to better understand information; and translates this into information that emergency response centers – using a wide range of proprietary software – can then use to do their job of triaging and calling in response teams.

Given that emergencies are precisely those critical situations that require quick and effective action, the landscape of players involved is actually vast and fragmented. RapidSOS currently counts 90 technology companies (covering over 500 million connected devices and buildings), over 50 public safety providers, and 15,000+ first responder agencies as customers and users of its platform. This year it worked to handle 130 million emergencies. All these numbers represent a lot of growth for the company for the past year, when RapidSOS announced $85 million in funding. But when you consider that there are more than 14.4 billion connected devices worldwide (including IoT), and that data and information in the name of rapid response can be extended to even more areas, such as intelligent traffic routing, there is a lot of room for growth.

Today, the company operates primarily in the US, but also operates in the UK/Europe and South America, with services soon to be added to Japan (facilitated by a strategic partnership with one of its investors, NTT DoComo) and South Africa.

At the heart of RapidSOS’s business is a platform that provides APIs to tech, insurance, and healthcare companies (the list of tech companies includes the likes of Apple, Google, Uber, SiriusXM, and others), which in turn can be used to funnel data and direct voice communications between users of these companies and emergency response centers.

They operate on the basis of continuous monitoring, which may or may not have active input from the users themselves, depending on the situation. So, global events like a pandemic or a natural disaster might be typical use cases in mind (I first heard about the company when it went viral during a series of natural disasters a few years ago), but others include monitoring the health of vulnerable people, vehicle accident detection, home security, fire safety, enterprise security, gunshot detection, personal security and critical incident management.

In addition to the technology created to make these connections and analyze the data derived from them, it has proven to be a facilitator in translating some new technological innovations into action in low-tech responsible individuals. the end

“Before, 911 didn’t even know your name,” Martin said. “Now they have a live broadcast of the situation. It’s half a billion devices working in harmony right now to save you.”

That work included RapidSOS, which provides about 20,000 hours of training each year to emergency response centers to “understanding emergency workflows and identifying technological solutions for difficult tasks such as inspection,” the company said.

Part of the triangulation he developed for this check is reflected in the company’s IP: it fell patent on using social media as a channel for emergency management (RapidSOS has dozens of patents and patent applications in general).

Martin said the plan wasn’t to raise so soon after last year, but given the challenging funding climate, the decision to double down now is the focus of NightDragon’s special draw. The firm has made many investments in cybersecurity, as well as others working in related security and safety fields, such as HawkEye 360, Kraus Hamdani Aerospace, Capella Space, Premise Data and Interos.

“As we look to create greater safety and security for people around the world, it requires broader and more accurate emergency response services,” said Dave DeWalt, founder of NightDragon (and former CEO of FireEye, McAfee and Documentum). “Using technology, we can save lives and help people feel safer. NightDragon believes RapidSOS is best suited for this mission and we look forward to working closely with the team to accelerate it.”

The widespread activity of NightDragon and the growth of RapidSOS indicate a rather notable moment in today’s market. Those who build something that can be considered critical weather the storm better than others.

“We have invested in 13 companies from our NightDragon Growth I fund, which we announced last July,” said DeWalt. “We have always been careful to evaluate and ensure that we invest at multiples that reflect the value that our team and platform bring. For this reason, our investment strategy in today’s market has not changed much, as we still adhere to these basic principles.”