Executive Perspective: Harnessing AI to Transform Safety Globally

Already in 2025, the US set a new record for hourly 911 volume around 1 AM ET on New Year’s Eve. We face a growing safety challenge seen in the highest number of school shootings in US history (83 in 2024), continuing violent crime, and major disasters like the LA fires and hurricanes.

RapidSOS spun out of MIT in 2015, pioneering artificial intelligence for safety, security, and emergency response.  Today their platform fuses billions of data feeds from 200+ tech companies into 21,000+ state and local agencies covering six countries and supporting over 170 million emergencies per year.

Michael started his career in hard-tech venture capital before having personal experiences with emergency response which led him to found RapidSOS in graduate school.  He’s a frequent media contributor for Fox News, CBS, and NBC was named to Forbes 30 Under 30 for Healthcare, has spoken on AI to predicting emergencies in advance at TEDMED, and has over 100 patents or patents pending in the space of artificial intelligence and emergency response.

We sat down with RapidSOS founder and CEO Michael Martin to talk about how we can harness AI to transform the safety and security of communities globally.

What are some of the most significant safety gaps that RapidSOS sees in the world of safety and physical security?

Michael Martin Headshot

We spend over $600B annually on safety, security, and health monitoring services, most of which rely on the nation’s 911 system—a network of thousands of local systems built in the 1960s that remain largely analog and voice-based.

This outdated infrastructure means first responders often lack critical information, such as a caller’s name or precise location, and rely on human-to-human voice relays for sophisticated security and life-safety systems—sometimes even spelling out addresses in emergencies despite our connected world.

The impact is severe: in 2022, an estimated 1 in 3 American fatalities occurred during emergencies, contributing to over $1T in insurance costs. First responders handle these challenges heroically, managing 200 million emergency calls annually in the U.S. (over 2 billion globally).

In this digital era, we have the opportunity to better support their life-saving work by enabling our connected technologies to seamlessly integrate with public safety when it matters most.

How can we better enable first responders to mitigate these risks?

21,000+ state and local governments now operate on the RapidSOS AI safety and response platform called HARMONY.  This presents an opportunity for enterprises and consumer device companies to transform how they think about safety, security, and health monitoring services.

For example, an enterprise security operations center can now seamlessly coordinate response with local first responders and employee devices – from AI-enabled detection of a fire, hazmat incident, medical, or security emergency to immediate coordination with local public safety and on-site personnel.  HARMONY plugs into onsite sensors or operational centers to immediately escalate to 911 and first responders, dropping key data feeds (location, sensor data, blueprints, multimedia, location of trapped occupants, etc.) into one unified picture of the incident  Simultaneously, HARMONY pulls in additional sensor feeds from RapidSOS’ ecosystem of 200+ tech partners and 540 million devices – updating the incident in real-time and provide specific pre-arrival instructions to on-site personnel.

 What new technologies are available to help close the safety gap for these first responders?

RapidSOS bridges the safety gap by integrating data from connected devices directly into 911 and public safety workflows. At the heart of this transformation is RapidSOS HARMONY AI, which processes and contextualizes data to deliver real-time, actionable intelligence to first responders.

Any connected device can now work in harmony with 911 and first responders in an ecosystem of safety.  This is a transformation in the ability of 911 and first responders to protect our communities.

For example, human voice transmits information at a rate of 39 bits per second. Multimedia capabilities in RapidSOS transmit data at 128,000x that rate.  The result is business with security cameras, dashcams, schools, and home security systems can immediately pass video to 911 and first responders in an emergency – transforming response.  In 2024, RapidSOS introduced the integration of multimedia capabilities into smartphones through Apple Emergency SOS Live Video and Google RCS, enabling live video and enriched messaging to 911.

How can AI be a tool to support emergency response?

After years of building with public safety agencies, in 2024 RapidSOS announced HARMONY, the first purpose built / trained AI platform for emergency response.  HARMONY fuses critical data from millions of devices directly into specific local systems and standard operating procedures.  

For example, in a train derailment HARMONY takes real-time data from the train, surrounding camera feeds, and transport records to immediately generate a full picture of the incident for 911 and first responders, fusing data into their specific local systems and policies and recommending response based on authoritative information like the PHMSA Emergency Response Guidebook.

During Hurricane Helene, HARMONY supported public safety agencies overwhelmed with call volumes by managing low-priority calls, allowing responders to focus on critical emergencies. Additionally, agencies leverage HARMONY for real-time language translation, keyword detection, and workflow automation, enhancing their efficiency and effectiveness.

Michael Martin was also quoted in our recent Physical Security Market Report. Read the full report here.