BMW’s venture investing arm, BMW i Ventures, announced a new deal today, supporting Urgent.ly, a leading global mobility and roadside assistance platform. In a round of raising capital for the company, the Virginia-based startup managed to source $21 million from companies such as BMW, Porsche and Jaguar. According to them, the funds will be used to grown their roadside assistance network in the following years.
“The old model of roadside assistance must make way for a modern, more digital approach,” said Kasper Sage, Partner, BMW i Ventures. “Urgent.ly will allow OEMs around the world to provide their customers the kind of real-time and connected digital experience they now expect in everything from food delivery to ride-sharing. Urgent.ly enables unparalleled transparency connecting dealerships, OEMs, providers and customers in real time, with actionable data-driven insights to optimize the experience along every step of the way.”]
Urgent.ly’s platform is connected to more than half of all U.S. roadside operators covering over 45,000 connected vehicles. Geo-location of customers and their vehicles means the best-rated and closest providers with the right equipment are algorithmically matched, assigned and dispatched to help the customer. All of these steps, including ETAs, provider tracking, communications and ratings are connected via Urgent.ly’s seamless, end-to-end platform.
Founded by Chris Spanos, Surendra Goel and Luke Kathol in 2013, the company offers a digital-first roadside assistance service available 24/7. So far, they have over 200,000 members while another million have accessed the app’s resources through redirection from other apps such as Volvo Roadside Plus, Uber or DriveMode. This was the third round of raising money for the fir since 2015, $39.7 million being raised so far.
The aim of BMW’s investment in Urgent.ly is to integrate it into its BMW Assist program, which would allow BMW owners to call for help from the start-up using their in-car infotainment system. Furthermore, all BMW Group brands will benefit from it, from BMW to MINI and Rolls-Royce and even BMW Motorrad.
