Arlington, Va.-based mobile safety startup LiveSafe has scooped up a $5.25 million Series B investment from FedEx CEO and founder Frederick Smith to help expand the scope of the company's work to new clients and markets. The new funding comes just a few months after closing a $4 million round led by Hearst Ventures and IAC.
"[LiveSafe CEO] Carolyn met him about five months ago and he could see the possibilities right away," LiveSafe founder Shy Pahlevani told DC Inno in an interview. "The deal came together very smoothly. Now it's all about scaling."
LiveSafe's public safety information crowdsourcing was originally aimed at college campuses in particular. There's around 100 universities and colleges that have signed up for LiveSafe, including a lot of local schools like Georgetown University, James Madison University and Virginia Tech.
"We started in the university market because it was so ripe for a safety solution," Pahlevani said. "But LiveSafe is really a ubiquitous solution and making a safer work environment is a lot like a university setting."
The startup has been making a concerted effort to bring its platform to new arenas, with malls, hospitals and other businesses making the platform how individuals and employees can report theft, noise problems or more serious crimes quickly without having to go through calling or searching for someone. Users can also send anonymous tips and their phone's GPS data to send for help faster.
"Putting safety information sharing in a mobile form is a no-brainer for a CEO."
"A lot of places already have safety systems, but putting safety information sharing in a mobile form is a no-brainer for a CEO," Pahlevani said. "[Safer settings] can even improve productivity."
LiveSafe had in total raised about $10.5 million before this new round, so it may fuel some rapid growth. But it's worth noting that $5.25 million is barely more than pocket change for Smith, who is worth about $3.7 billion according to Forbes, and led FedEx to a record-breaking $47 billion in revenue last year. He's also co-owner of the Washington, D.C. NFL team that plays at the field named for his company, so while he will be joining LiveSafe's board of directors, he won't likely be playing a day-to-day role at the company.
