Led by Partech and the Cathay AfricInvest Innovation Fund (CAIF), AURA’s total funding has reached over €21 million. 

The company’s goal is to build a global emergency dispatch system that connects individuals with the closest verified responders, across borders, in real time, and through a single platform.

Founded in 2017 by Warren Myers, Ryan Green, and Adam Pantanowitz, AURA began operations in South Africa. Since then, it has scaled its model to the UK and Kenya. 

Today, the platform supports over 1.2 million users and protects more than 200,000 properties through fixed-location security services.

AURA connects users, both individuals and businesses, to nearby private and public emergency service providers, including security, ambulance, and roadside assistance. The technology functions through an API that integrates into mobile apps, wearable devices, and security infrastructure.

“We’ve built a profitable and trusted presence in the UK and Africa. We’re now ready to take personal safety global. Our mission is to make access to life-saving services seamless, borderless, and available through a single API — empowering individuals and the platforms that serve them,” said Warren Myers, AURA’s CEO.

But AURA isn’t simply chasing new markets for the sake of expansion. There is a structural gap in public safety response systems, especially in the US and UK. 

According to Myers, “In markets like the UK and US, police are stepping back from responding to unverified alarms owing to pressure on time and resources. This creates a huge opportunity for private sector players to fill the gap.”

In the US alone, the emergency response services market is estimated at $7 billion. South Africa’s alarm response market, by comparison, is projected to reach $121.4 million by 2025. 

For AURA, the opportunity lies not just in market size, but in its fragmented nature, where traditional alarm systems still dominate and verification delays remain a problem.

AURA’s business model is business-to-business-to-consumer (B2B2C). It charges a monthly per-user subscription fee and offers its platform to insurers, security firms, app developers, and mobility platforms. Current partners include Uber, Samsung, First National Bank (FNB), and a wide range of private ambulance and security operators.

“AURA addresses the challenge that, traditionally, access to private security or ambulance services is expensive and limited to those who can afford monthly contracts and alarm systems,” Myers said. 

“Our solution democratises access to safety by enabling anyone with a phone to access rapid emergency response at an affordable subscription rate.”

In practical terms, this means that idle private ambulances and armed responders can monetise their excess capacity while users get faster and more reliable service, a win-win model.

Patricia Rinke, investment director at CAIF, said, “We trust the team’s powerful vision and extraordinary execution capabilities as it scales its life-saving technology to the U.S. market and beyond. We are equally thrilled to welcome Partech as partners in our shared mission to make emergency response universally accessible.”

AURA is not stopping at expansion. The company is now working to develop what it calls a “global clearing house” for emergency response, a universal platform that functions like an international switchboard, connecting users to the closest verified responders through a single integration, no matter where they are.

The company estimates that in South Africa alone, 46 million mobile users fall within its addressable market. With subscriptions priced between ZAR 40–50 monthly ($2.20–$2.70), the potential scale is massive. It’s a bet on two things: the universal human need for safety, and the ubiquity of mobile phones.

What makes AURA’s approach interesting is its capacity to work within existing systems while improving them. It doesn’t aim to replace police or public ambulance services. It steps in where those services fall short, whether from delays, lack of coverage, or policy restrictions.

“Our goals are to make alarm verification faster, homes and businesses safer, and to help law enforcement focus on higher-priority incidents,” Myers said.

The post SA’s AURA Raises $14.6M to Expand Emergency Response Tech into the US Market appeared first on Tech | Business | Economy.

This is because every second counts in medical emergencies. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, after just five minutes without oxygen, brain cells start to die, and every minute thereafter 10% more die, with complete brain death occurring within 14 minutes.

Stroke victims lose the use of two million brain cells every two minutes, and arterial bleeds can result in death in mere minutes.

Warren Myers, CEO of AURA, South Africa’s on-demand security and medical response platform, says that the current response landscape is falling far short of delivering a vital service that all South Africans deserve.

The Gauteng Department of Health reports that the current average response time for an ambulance in Gauteng ranges from 30 to 60 minutes, well short of the international standard of seven minutes for life-threatening calls.

To make matters worse, there are a few numbers a person can call in a medical emergency in South Africa, complicating the process for the person who is already under pressure to help someone and help them fast.

You can call 10111 or 10177, 112 from any cell phone, and some private health insurance providers have their own medical emergency numbers.

Modern tech can save us

Myers says that current technology has huge potential to improve emergency response times for all and streamline the process of getting help. “With the introduction of smart technology into the emergency response sector, the outdated practice of phoning an ambulance, explaining the nature of the emergency as well as your exact location, and then waiting for the agent to dispatch a vehicle, can be simplified to a single touch of a panic button.

The AURA platform does all the hard work for you – pinpointing your location and, using a connected device installed in the response vehicles, ensuring that the closest vetted private ambulance is dispatched to you, saving precious time. Think of it like Uber for ambulances,” explains Myers.

However, good medical outcomes don’t just depend on how fast a patient is attended to, but also on the quality of care received once reached. Doctors refer to the period of time immediately after a traumatic injury as ‘the golden hour’, when prompt medical and surgical treatment is most likely to prevent death. “A person’s chances of survival are greatest if they receive high quality care within a short period of time after a severe injury,” shares Bernadette Breton from Alliance International Medical Services (AIMS).

But what if you don’t have medical aid? The good news is that if you are signed up with an AURA network partner, the cost of a private ambulance is covered by the fee you pay through the partner.

Those without medical aid can be taken to a state hospital for further care but can at least rest assured that they had prompt care, from trained personnel, using state-of-the-art equipment in those crucial moments after a traumatic incident.

How to access an on-demand emergency response application

“We believe that instant emergency response driven by smart technology like that of applications, and the large network of emergency response providers it connects to can help to eradicate the current inefficiencies in the emergency response system and positively improve the lives of countless patients,” says Myers. So, in your panicked state, instead of googling the nearest ambulance service, searching your phone for a number or trying to find that emergency pamphlet you stuck on your fridge, you could have a simple panic button on your phone to do all that work for you.

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