Virginia Startup Urgent.ly Partners with Uber to Offer Roadside Assistance

By CIOReview | Friday, August 10, 2018

Chris Spanos, CEO, urgent.ly

Urgent.ly, Virginia-based roadside assistance is working with Uber to make sure that drivers have the safety devices needed in case of an emergency. Urgent.ly is an API-based app that allows the individual to access roadside assistance from their phones.

Now, Urgently is providing that same system to Uber drivers, and those with the Uber Visa Debit Card will receive coverage at a discounted rate. If a driver breaks down on the road, they’ll receive live status updates from Urgent.ly, and they can watch in real-time as their towing and roadside assistance professional arrives.

“In partnering with Urgent.ly, Uber can expect fast, digital, loyalty-generating service experiences for their drivers and Uber Visa Debit cardholders,” said Chris Spanos, Urgent.ly CEO and co-founder, in a statement. “The Urgent.ly platform powers these partnerships and experiences all across the globe, and together with Uber we’re pushing the rideshare and roadside industries into the future.”

Back in June, Urgent.ly also launched a partnership with Silicon Valley-based Drivemode, a voice-enabled Android app designed to help drivers use their phones without ever taking their eyes off the road. Through the partnership, Drivemode users will be able to access Urgent.ly’s emergency services in the app.

And landing big names, like Uber, comes naturally to Urgent.ly. In February 2017, the company scored a multi-year deal with Mercedes-Benz to provide roadside assistance to Mercedes customers and to dispatch Mercedes technicians through its platform.

Founded in 2013, Urgent.ly has about 120 employees and has raised about $18.7 million in funding, including a $10 million Series B round that closed in October.