About RapidSOS

We work as a team to make the world a safer place.

The foundation of the project derives from a series of personal experiences that affected our founder

RapidSOS creates technology that protects lives by connecting people, their devices and their families directly with first responders in an emergency.

The courageous efforts of hundreds of thousands of first responders around the world have been a great inspiration to our team, which for the past eight years has partnered with public safety entities to develop technology that strengthens and ensures the safety of our communities.

The idea behind RapidSOS originated in a rural Indiana farming community, in the hometown of founder and CEO Michael Martin.

After his studies, Michael pursued a career in New York City, where he had to escape a mugging one night on his way home. Months later, Michael’s father, Charlie, would have an accident when he climbed on the roof of the family home during a big storm, while he was clearing snow from the roof to prevent it from collapsing.

Charlie fell to the ground from the roof, breaking his hip and wrist. The temperatures were freezing and the wind was blowing hard, but he was immobile and home alone, and he couldn’t call 911. It wasn’t until that night, when Michael’s mother, Sue, got home from work, that he was able to call 911. 911 while desperately trying to warm up Charlie’s body.

Our values guide everything we do, and we’re committed to using technology to build a safer, stronger future – together. If that sounds like an exciting opportunity, we want to hear from you.

RapidSOS exists thanks to more than 5,200 first responders who, for 8 years, have been building this with us.

Moved by these personal experiences, Michael spent the next three months blindly calling 911 agencies to understand their problems and challenges. This endeavor expanded as he completed his graduate school, where he would develop the concept, working with a team spun off from the Harvard Innovation Lab and the MIT Center for Entrepreneurship.

Whether she had to drive 3,000 miles across the country to meet with the team or had to attend conferences—like the National Emergency Numbers Association (NENA) conference in Tennessee—first responders were always eager to help. Michael to solve these challenges. Time and time again, the public safety community strove to answer millions of questions and test early versions of RapidSOS technology.

After eight years and with more than $100 million invested, more than 5,200 first responders have partnered with RapidSOS to develop the world’s first emergency response data platform.

Today, we work with more than 5,200 emergency response centers in multiple countries and manage more than 250 million emergencies a year with data from more than 350 million devices. Together with public safety and our RapidSOS Ready certified partners, we are protecting lives and strengthening communities to be safer and smarter.