SkyAlert

Founded in 2011 by Alejandro Cantú and Álvaro Velasco, SkyAlert is a technology company specializing in seismic and other natural hazard early warning systems. The inspiration for the company stemmed from co-founder Álvaro Velasco's childhood experience during a major earthquake in Mexico, which fueled his desire to use technology to save lives. Velasco, who previously worked as a lawyer and later ran a mobile app development company, and Cantú, an engineer with a background in telecommunications, combined their expertise to launch the venture. SkyAlert's journey began by adapting existing pager technology for alerts before evolving with smartphone advancements.

Operating primarily in Mexico and parts of the United States, SkyAlert serves both individual consumers and business clients, including schools, hospitals, and corporations. The company's business model is twofold: it generates revenue through paid subscriptions for premium features on its mobile application and by selling comprehensive alert solutions and safety services to businesses. These services include not just the alerts but also civil protection plans and safety training. The company has successfully raised at least $2.65 million in funding from investors such as Berkeley SkyDeck and G2 Momentum Capital to support its growth.

The core of SkyAlert's offering is its proprietary seismic sensor network, REDSkyAlert, established in 2014. This network, independent of government systems, allows the company to detect seismic events and calculate their estimated arrival time and local intensity for a user's specific location, delivering notifications in seconds. The alert is distributed through various channels, most notably its mobile app, which has over 11 million downloads. For business clients, SkyAlert provides IoT-powered devices that can automatically trigger safety protocols, such as pausing industrial machinery, activating emergency lights, or shutting off gas lines. A key differentiator is the ability to provide alerts with up to 120 seconds of advance warning, a significant increase over other systems. The company has become an official partner of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to distribute alerts in California, Oregon, and Washington.

Keywords: earthquake early warning, seismic alert, natural disaster notification, public safety technology, REDSkyAlert, seismic sensor network, disaster prevention, civil protection, emergency management, IoT safety solutions, Alejandro Cantú, Álvaro Velasco, natural hazard monitoring, mobile safety application, corporate security solutions, risk management technology, USGS partner, Latin America tech