Prepared Raises $27M to Transform 911 Dispatch with AI Tech

Prepared, a New York City-based provider of AI platforms for emergency communications, has secured $27 million in Series B funding. Led by Andreessen Horowitz, the funding round saw participation from new investor NewView Capital and returning investors First Round Capital and M13. This brings the total funding raised by Prepared to $57 million.

Prepared intends to use the newly raised funds to enhance its product development and expand its operational capabilities, including increasing its workforce by 40 percent by the end of the year.

Founded in 2019 by CEO Michael Chime and co-founders Dylan Gleicher and Neal Soni, Prepared focuses on transforming public safety systems. Initially created to address school shootings, the company pivoted to develop solutions for 911 call centers.

“The goal of our technology is to reduce the burden of each individual call so that emergency response can move faster. If we can save even a few seconds on a 911 call, we want to do that,” said Michael Chime.

Its flagship product, Prepared Assist, is an AI platform for emergency communications. It offers dispatchers multimedia tools, such as video, photos, and text, to better assess emergency situations.

New iOS Integration for Faster Response Times

Prepared’s latest feature, launched with Apple’s iOS 18, allows iPhone users to share live video or media during emergency calls, providing 911 dispatchers with real-time context. This integration enables faster and more informed responses, significantly reducing the time for first responders to reach the scene.

The company’s AI technology also assists dispatchers by transcribing, translating, and highlighting critical details in real-time, streamlining the emergency response process.

“With a growing non-English speaking population, especially in larger cities, this has been a high-priority request from agencies, which otherwise depend on language translators that can sometimes take several minutes to join a call after a request,” added Chime.

Prepared currently partners with nearly 1,000 public safety agencies across 49 states, serving 97 million people. The platform provides dispatchers with real-time GPS location tracking, allowing them to locate callers more accurately, even in emergencies where traditional methods may fail.

Moreover, the company’s AI-powered features aim to reduce the reliance on third-party translators by offering real-time voice translation for non-English speakers, improving communication during critical moments.

Prepared, Balancing Benefits and Risks of AI Technology

While Prepared’s AI platform for emergency communications brings significant advantages, some risks are related to the accuracy of AI-generated transcriptions and translations. CEO Michael Chime emphasizes that the AI features are optional, allowing agencies to choose whether or not to implement them.

“We have pioneered AI in public safety to synthesize data and make it actionable. Prepared’s summarizer allows dispatchers to read short AI-generated summaries of incidents rather than listening to minutes of call audio or reading lengthy notes. And we believe that our translation feature will prove crucial in enhancing accessibility for Spanish speakers while simultaneously improving response times for Spanish-speaking calls,” he added,

Despite these challenges, the company’s technology aims to reduce 911 response times, a crucial factor that could save thousands of lives annually.

With the additional funding, Prepared plans to invest in further product development and expand its reach across the U.S. The company is also exploring global opportunities to take its technology, providing AI-powered solutions to enhance public safety systems worldwide.

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