South African-born Steve Raucher transformed a local startup into RapidDeploy, a globally recognized leader in emergency response technology. The company’s journey culminated in its recent acquisition by network infrastructure giant Motorola Solutions. This deal marks a significant milestone, considered one of the largest tech exits in South Africa’s history. A key aspect of the acquisition is that a significant portion of RapidDeploy’s technical team will continue to operate from its Cape Town base.
“We are thrilled to announce that RapidDeploy — a HAVAIC Fund 2 and Fund 3 portfolio company — has been acquired by Motorola Solutions in a landmark transaction,” a company statement read. “In partnership with founder and CEO Steve Raucher, we have been privileged to support the company’s incredible growth journey from a South African startup to a globally recognised leader in emergency response technology.”
Before founding RapidDeploy, Raucher worked for over two decades in finance. He gained experience on financial trading floors in London and New York City. This included two associate director positions at UBS, one based in London, England, and the other in Connecticut. He later worked in Index Arbitrage and Program Trading at Credit Suisse in London.
In a pivotal life change, Raucher took a nearly two-year sabbatical, embarking on a motorcycle journey from London to Australia. During this trip, he gained a deeper understanding of humanity. In a 2020 interview with Authority Magazine, Raucher described experiences in impoverished Asian countries, where he often relied on the kindness of strangers. He contrasted this experience with his observations upon returning to the Western world.
Raucher recounted, “I learned that the less people have, the more they give. We need to remember that and let that ground us. Otherwise, we will be swept up in our first-world lives and risk losing our humanity.”
After his sabbatical, Raucher returned to finance. Tragedy struck in 2006 when his brother Robert died in a swimming accident off the coast of Cape Town. In 2015, seeking a ‘reset,’ the family relocated to a vacation home in Cape Town. It was there that Raucher trained as a Sea Rescue First Responder with the same organization that had tried to save his brother.
“Inspired by the first responders that I worked with, I knew from that point on that I wanted to help those that serve on the front lines,” Raucher said.
This experience led Raucher to identify a new path. He partnered with volunteer paramedic Brett Meyerowitz, who had developed an emergency dispatch system called RapidDeploy. After seeing a demonstration of Meyerowitz’s software, Raucher acquired half of the company.
Originally intended for deployment in South Africa, RapidDeploy’s scope expanded when Raucher met Brian Fontes, the CEO of the National Emergency Number Association, at a European conference in 2017. By March 2019, California had adopted RapidDeploy statewide, and the company established a base in Austin, Texas.
As of September 2024, RapidDeploy employed 110 people and had secured $90 million (R1.6 billion) in venture capital funding. The technology is currently implemented in over 1,700 emergency communication centers across 23 U.S. states.
Reflecting on his brother’s death, Raucher stated, “If that was available in 2006 in Cape Town, South Africa, we’d be having a different conversation. But I think we’re going to change a lot of lives, a lot of outcomes.”
