AURA, the global emergency response platform, has surpassed one million emergency activations since its founding in 2017, marking a major milestone as the company continues to expand across South Africa, Kenya, the United Kingdom and United States.
During the first half of 2026, AURA helped save 389 lives and created more than 40,000 safe spaces through fixed location responses. The company also expanded through major customer and technology partnerships, new product capabilities, additional commercial channels and a 37% increase in its global workforce.
The milestone reflects growing demand for technology that can connect an emergency signal to professional, real-world intervention faster and with greater visibility.
“When you’ve passed one million emergency activations, you start to see the scale of what’s possible,” said Warren Myers, CEO and Co-Founder of AURA.
“For years, we’ve been proving that faster, more accountable emergency response can be delivered through technology and a distributed responder network. What’s changed now is the scale of the opportunity. We’re seeing the same gap between detection and intervention across industries globally, and our focus is on building the infrastructure that can close that gap consistently, wherever it exists.”
AURA continued to invest in the technology behind the emergency response journey during H1 2026, with a focus on improving how incidents are communicated, routed and managed from activation through to resolution.
The company rebuilt its responder application to provide security and medical responders with clearer incident information and more efficient workflows in the field.
AURA also became the first emergency response platform authorized to embed Google Maps Platform navigation natively into its responder application, creating a more consistent approach to routing, traffic information and estimated arrival times across its operating markets.
“Upgrading our in-vehicle navigation layer to be delivered with Google Maps Platform allows us to establish the global industry standard for mapping and navigation, delivering enhanced precision in ETA calculations, routing and incident coordination,” said Grant MacWilliam, Chief Technology Officer at AURA.
The investment forms part of AURA’s broader focus on ensuring the right responder can reach the right location with the right information as quickly as possible.
AURA also expanded the reach of its emergency response infrastructure through partnerships with businesses across insurance, delivery and security technology.
In South Africa, Discovery Insure selected AURA to power the security response component of Discovery 911, giving customers access to private security response through the Discovery Insure app.
In Kenya, Glovo deployed AURA’s emergency response infrastructure across its rider network, giving operations teams greater visibility into incidents from the moment an alert is raised through to responder arrival and resolution.
“Through our partnership with AURA, we are empowering the independent riders who use our platform with robust safety and health protections,” said Liz Wambua, Operations Manager at Glovo. “Knowing that they are securely covered against unexpected road risks, from breakdowns to emergency response, gives them the peace of mind to focus on what they do best. This reflects our deep commitment to urban safety and the well-being of every rider connected to Glovo.”
In the UK, integrations with security technology companies including EZVIZ and Texecom are helping connect digital security alerts with professional physical response, creating a more direct path from detection to intervention.
AURA also launched its Security Installer & Dealer Program in the UK and US during 2026, creating a new commercial channel for security installers, dealers and integrators.
The opportunity comes as the response landscape is changing. Police resources are under pressure, response to alarm activations is becoming more conditional, and in some markets an alarm signal alone is no longer enough to guarantee attendance. For installers and dealers, that puts greater focus on what happens after an alarm is triggered.
The programme enables security businesses to add professional physical response to the alarms, cameras and sensors they already install without having to operate their own vehicle fleets, employ response officers or build dispatch infrastructure.
AURA provides the underlying technology, intelligent dispatch capability and vetted responder network, while participating partners retain their customer relationships and determine their own retail pricing.
The company also introduced mobile site capture, enabling technicians to capture property information and activate response services from a customer’s premises during installation.
The programme is designed to close a longstanding gap between security systems that detect an incident and the physical response required when an incident occurs.
AURA’s growth and technology were recognized by several industry organizations during the first half of the year.
The Financial Times ranked AURA as Africa’s second-fastest-growing IT and software company in its 2026 Africa’s Fastest Growing Companies ranking, compiled with Statista. AURA placed 52nd across all industries.
In the United States, AURA received the 2026 ESX Innovation Award for Remote Guarding and Incident Response and was subsequently voted the People’s Choice Innovation Award winner by attendees at the Electronic Security Expo.
Alongside its technology and commercial expansion, AURA increased its workforce by 37% in H1 2026, adding 79 employees across its key markets.
Senior appointments included Taryn Winer as Global Head of People, Sareesha Beharilal Naidoo as Global Operations Director and Andy Fort as UK Operations Director.
AURA also strengthened its customer growth and success leadership, appointing Jessica Lazarus, James Wilson and Ryan Zylius to lead the function in South Africa, the UK and the US respectively.
The appointments are intended to strengthen AURA’s operational capacity, customer experience and ability to support partners consistently as the company expands internationally.
AURA also strengthened its investment in global growth in 2026 with the build-out of a new marketing department and the launch of a new global website.
The expanded marketing function is helping AURA build a more consistent global brand, support growth across multiple markets and create stronger alignment between its products, partnerships and commercial programmes.
AURA’s one-million-activation milestone comes as the company continues to expand the infrastructure connecting digital alerts with professional emergency response.
“One million activations got us here. The next million is about getting help to more people and places, faster,” said Myers.
AURA will continue investing in its responder network, technology platform and international partnerships as it works to make professional emergency response faster, more accountable and more accessible across industries and markets.
AURA is a leading safety network that delivers on-the-ground security responses through a network of private security responders, powered by smart, easy-to-use technology. Designed for rapid intervention, visibility, and accountability, AURA helps ensure every incident is actively managed from start to finish. Founded in 2017 in Johannesburg, it operates across South Africa, Kenya, the UK and the United States.
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