Milwaukee-based Brady Corp., a maker of safety products, has invested $6 million into a Seattle-based panic button startup.
React Mobile, founded in 2013, announced the strategic investment on Tuesday. The startup has built a panic button system specialized for the hotel industry. Using React Mobile’s handheld panic button device, hotel employees and housekeepers can alert their managers if they’re in a distressed situation.
Using GPS and Bluetooth beacon technology, the device accurately deciphers where the distressed employee is so managers can send help. React Mobile says its device is so accurate that it can tell exactly which room an employee is in.
React Mobile created the device to help address incidents of harassment and assault that sometimes happen to hotel housekeepers, who often work alone.
The partnership with Brady is intended to build on React Mobile’s existing technology and create new forms of safety tech equipment. Additionally, Brady is expected to help accelerate installations of React Mobile's technology from 30 sites per month to more than 100. Brady manufactures safety signs, hazard tape and lockout tools, among other things, operating nearly 20 brands.
“This strategic partnership with Brady is a force multiplier that will enable React Mobile products to reach new verticals where our safety solutions can make a massive impact towards making the world a safer place,” said React Mobile CEO Robb Monkman in a statement. “This investment solidifies our financial stability and enables us to support hundreds of enterprise customers worldwide.”
React Mobile’s customers include Wyndham, Hilton and Caesars. To date, the startup has raised more than $10 million, according to Crunchbase.
Brady was originally founded in Eau Claire, Wisc., in 1914, but last year, moved its headquarters to Milwaukee. It employs about 6,100 people and reported $1.16 billion in sales in 2019.
