Carbyne: Heralding the Future of 911

The story of Carbyne started dramatically when Amir Elichai, Carbyne’s CEO and co-founder, was robbed on a Tel Aviv beach. He called the police, but struggled to get assistance because there wasn’t any street address on the beach, nor any technology-enabled method to provide his location to the authorities. It took nearly 17 minutes for the police to identify his position and actually arrive on the scene. In the ensuing weeks, he decided to create a company that not only delivers advanced IP-enabled communication features and state-of-the-art caller solutions but also emphasizes providing rich, accurate, and insightful data from any connected device to public safety answering points (PSAPs). “In the 21st century, when you order a pizza or call Lyft, they know exactly where you are. But, unfortunately, 911 operators aren’t equipped with similar capabilities. This is how the idea for Carbyne came to life,” asserts Mr. Elichai. Founded in 2014, the company is led by a team of entrepreneurs and technological experts. Former Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Barak and former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Michael Chertoff serve on Carbyne’s Boards. In August of 2018, Carbyne closed their Series B funding round, becoming the first Israeli company to be added to the prestigious Founder’s Fund portfolio.

Mr. Elichai highlights that presently, public safety organizations around the world are running on outdated technology that is often over 20 years old and is poorly built for smartphones and the digital age.

To address this problem, the company has developed a cutting-edge and holistic emergency response ecosystem which provides an upgrade for standard public safety and emergency response infrastructure, revolutionizing the outdated emergency technologies still prevalent in most cities around the world. With Carbyne’s end-to-end, digitized NG911 ecosystem, first response personnel can process and prioritize incoming emergency calls using a wealth of previously unavailable information. Being a global leader in public safety technology, the Carbyne ecosystem can deliver all the necessary information sources relevant to emergency services into one platform. The ecosystem can provide a caller’s location within 6m, along with live video streaming to help prioritize calls and gather information more efficiently. However, for scenarios where a caller may not be able to speak over the phone, the platform provides live chat functionality with 911.

We are taking people into the exciting future of 911. Not only does our tech need to be perfect, but the way we work with clients has to be perfect as well

As Carbyne has grown rapidly, communities around the world—including Mexico City, The State of Israel, Singapore and Fayette County, GA—have benefited from their innovations. In the spring of 2018, a police officer came to the aid of a citizen who had been shot in the hand. The officer called 911 using Carbyne, and the call-taker saw the video of the injury and also the location of the police officer as they were driving toward the hospital. While managing the call, the call-taker noticed that there was an ambulance not far from the route that they were taking and arranged a meet-up between the car and the ambulance within 4 minutes and 43 seconds of the shooting.

The future of Carbyne seems to be exciting as they continue to add clients and new future-facing functionalities. “We are taking people into the exciting future of 911. Not only does our technology need to be perfect, but the way we work with our clients has to be perfect as well,” concludes Mr. Elichai.