GM Ventures Supports NextGen 911 Technology

GM Ventures, the venture capital subsidiary of General Motors Co. in Detroit, announced its participation in the $40 million Series B funding for RapidDeploy, a public safety technology company working to accelerate Next Generation 911 technology based in Austin, Texas.
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a paramedic shines a flashlight in the eye of a woman in a car accident.
GM Ventures announced its investment in RapidDeploy, a Next Generation 911 technology company in Austin. OnStar will work with RapidDeploy to bring the technology to fruition. // Courtesy of GM

GM Ventures, the venture capital subsidiary of General Motors Co. in Detroit, announced its participation in the $40 million Series B funding for RapidDeploy, a public safety technology company working to accelerate Next Generation 911 technology based in Austin, Texas.

With the investment, RapidDeploy will work to help improve the public safety community’s situational awareness with a cloud-native, data-driven solution. Earlier this year, GM’s OnStar service and RapidDeploy partnered for a program to supply every 911 call center in California with OnStar’s automatic crash response.

“For 25 years, OnStar has served as a leader in safety and security services, providing help to our members in times of need. We value our continued work with RapidDeploy and look forward to scaling this important program within the U.S.,” says Catherine Bishop, senior manager of OnStar Emergency Services.

“This latest milestone in our collaboration with RapidDeploy demonstrates OnStar’s commitment to keeping members and first responders safe during emergencies and supporting new innovations to advance Next Generation 911 initiatives.”

Using built-in sensors on vehicles with an active OnStar service plan, automatic crash response is capable of detecting moderate-to-severe crashes and send notifications directly to 911 center using RapidDeploy’s RadiusPlus maps. This means it does not require voice activation to signal first responders. It is also capable of indicating the probability of a severe injury, and whether the involved vehicle is electric, allowing first responders to respond safely and accurately.

When a crash is detected, it can also automatically connect to a specially trained emergency-certified advisor who can offer help if a member is involved in a crash. OnStar emergency-certified advisors are emergency-medical-dispatch-certified and can provide medical assistance until help arrives, ensuring members will not face the emergency alone.

“911 centers should not have to pay for critical data needed to save lives,” says Steven Raucher, co-founder and CEO of RapidDeploy. “At RapidDeploy, we are committed to establishing cloud-based, data-driven integrations at no cost to public safety or to the communities we serve. Working with General Motors’ OnStar helps enable our open ecosystem designed to improve public safety workflows.”

OnStar launched in 1996 and is a wholly owned subsidiary of GM Holdings LLC that offers emergency, security and navigation services in Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, and Cadillac models.