A Northern Virginia software platform has caught the attention of industry giants.
Tysons Corner-based Urgent.ly, whose mobile platform connects users with nearby roadside-assistance providers, raised $21 million in a Series B funding round with investments from major automotive brands.
BMW i Ventures, Jaguar Land Rover's venture fund InMotion Ventures and Porsche Ventures joined current investors in the round, which was oversubscribed. Urgent.ly previously had raised nearly $19 million in funding.
Separately, BMW Group will work with the company to provide roadside assistance and extended mobility services to owners of all four of its U.S. brands, including MINI and Rolls-Royce.
“The old model of roadside assistance must make way for a modern, more digital approach,” BMW i Ventures partner Kasper Sage said in a statement. “Urgent.ly will allow OEMs around the world to provide their customers the kind of real-time and connected digital experience they now expect in everything from food delivery to ride sharing.”
Drivers access Urgent.ly through a smartphone app for towing, tire changes, fuel delivery and locksmith services, among other things, and are connected with the nearest on-demand help with flat-rate payments. It is available in North America, Europe and Asia.
In the U.S., more than half of all roadside assistance providers are connected to the platform, according to the company, which serves around 45,000 networked vehicles.
"Urgent.ly is an innovative platform solution which impresses with its speed and transparency. It is also internationally scalable," said Kilian Sauerwald, director of market development at Porsche. "We are convinced that it can help increase customer satisfaction levels in critical situations."
The startup, founded in 2013, is no stranger to big-name sidekicks. In February 2017, it scored a multi-year deal with Mercedes-Benz to provide roadside assistance to Mercedes customers. In April last year, it inked a partnership with Uber to have its drivers use the platform in the event of a breakdown, and followed up in June with a partnership with Silicon Valley-based Drivemode.
