Why we invested in RapidDeploy

Today RapidDeploy, one of our newest portfolio companies, announced its $12 million Series A financing round. We’re excited to support the company as it seeks to empower first responders with technology to help them save lives.

At Samsung NEXT, we are always on the lookout for startups that leverage advances in technology to solve real-world problems. Our investment in RapidDeploy fits into this thesis, as we believe the adoption of Public Safety LTE (PS-LTE) will remove technology barriers around disparate and proprietary networks and devices used across all public safety verticals, including Law Enforcement, Fire, and EMS.

Yesterday’s legacy on-premise solutions are clunky, expensive, and slow to incorporate changes that are necessary to equip first responders with crucial life-saving information. RapidDeploy’s Cloud Aided Dispatch technology is more reliable, faster to deploy, more cost-effective, richer in interfaces and has more features than existing on-premise computer-aided dispatch software.

After experiencing a personal tragedy, RapidDeploy co-founder and CEO Steven Raucher trained to become a first responder himself. Throughout the process, he was shocked by the antiquated technology emergency responders were using. He has since made it his mission to equip them with the information they need to save lives faster and more efficiently.

As trained emergency responders, the RapidDeploy management team understands its customers’ pain points and workflows. They designed a platform using modern, cloud-based architecture to solve key challenges faced by emergency service providers who are often slowed down by legacy infrastructure. Furthermore, their culture alignment with first responders has created a strong community of early adopters generating organic sales for the company.

We’re excited to be working with them and look forward to seeing what comes next. Congrats to Steven, Brett, Reinhard, and the rest of the RapidDeploy team!