Urgent.ly, a Tysons-based startup that connects drivers in distress with nearby roadside assistance providers, announced yesterday (Wednesday) that it has secured $21 million in funding.
New investors in the project include car manufacturers BMW and Jaguar.
“Global automotive and new mobility companies are increasingly designing and marketing more transportation options with varying tasks, sizes and complexity,” the company said in a press release. “This level of innovation will render traditional roadside assistance obsolete, evolving into mobility assistance that can service today’s vehicles as well as fleets of the future that will include electric vehicles, autonomous vehicles, micro-mobility vehicles, drones, robotic delivery and more.”
The company is headquartered at 8609 Westwood Center Drive, just off Leesburg Pike and west of the Dominion Square development.
Urgent.ly’s platform aims to make linking a driver to a roadside assistance program seamless and accessible. The company claims its product can provide a 50 percent reduction in response times and offers real-time tracking for both the driver in the crash and the roadside assistance company.
The BMW Group also selected Urgent.ly as a partner for further work with the manufacturer’s in-house roadside assistance system.
“We are truly gratified by the support of our investors, including some of the world’s top global automotive brands, as we work to define the future of mobility and roadside assistance and deliver experience customers demand and deserve,” Chris Spanos, CEO and co-founder of Urgent.ly, said in the press release.
Photo via Facebook
Tysons Gymboree Expected to Close — “Children’s clothing retailer Gymboree Group Inc. is expected to seek bankruptcy protection this week, with plans to close all 900 of its stores, according to people familiar with the matter.” The company has a Gymboree location at the Tysons Corner Center mall. [Wall Street Journal]
Black Ice Warning This Morning — From Fairfax County Fire and Rescue: “Be careful walking out your front door as well. Please also walk with caution on sidewalks and parking lots.” [Twitter]
Cybersecurity CEO Gives Up Salary — Moe Jafari, the CEO of Tysons-based cybersecurity company and government contractor Human Touch, has given up his salary to save money during the government shutdown. [WUSA 9]
‘Historic’ Tysons Apple Store May Move — “When Apple opened its first two retail spaces just hours apart at Tysons Corner Center and Glendale Galleria on May 19, 2001, nobody predicted the cultural impact and broad success Apple stores would have across the world. Now, that same success may cause Apple to leave the space that sparked a revolution in retail.” [9to5Mac]
New Tysons Chamber Chair Focusing on Growth — “‘When I look around Tysons, I can’t help but notice that we have one of the biggest darned fishing poles in the state of Virginia,’ he said. ‘There’s a lot of opportunity out there. All you have to do is look out these windows and see the construction, traffic and development.'” [InsideNova]
County Grappling with Government Shutdown — “One couple that contacted [Rep. Jennifer] Wexton had to return Christmas presents. Since they work for the same federal agency and are now both furloughed, they are now worried that they will not be able to pay their mortgage or the cost of their son’s preschool.” [Fairfax Times]
Vienna Council Squabbles Over Proclamations — “The Vienna Town Council on Jan. 7 approved, if a tad irritably, approved a pair of proclamations regarding social issues beyond its usual scope of duties… Council member Carey Sienicki, while not disputing the Council’s good intentions in signing off on the proclamations, wondered if those actions weren’t a little far afield.” [InsideNova]
Hedge Fund Gunning for Gannett — Tysons-based newspaper giant Gannett is considering a takeover offer from “a hedge-fund-backed media group known for buying up struggling local papers and cutting costs.” [Wall Street Journal]
Metro Eying Redevelopment of WFC Site — “Metro may soon seek developers to remake a 24-acre site by its West Falls Church rail station that could potentially be combined, or at least coordinated, with two adjacent projects in the works by the city of Falls Church and Virginia Tech.” [Washington Business Journal]
Progress on Vienna Police Station Project — “The Vienna Town Council on Jan. 7 approved an up-to-$318,950 contract with Downey & Scott LLC of Warrenton to provide project-management services for the upcoming renovation and expansion of Vienna Police Headquarters. Too small when it opened in 1994, the police station, located at 215 Center St., S. has remained open 24 hours per day ever since and badly needs upgrades and more room, police leaders have been saying for years.” [InsideNova]
Innovative Tysons Co. Keeps Low Profile — “From the exterior, Evans Federal Solutions’ first-floor office on Spring Hill Road in Tysons Corner is completely unassuming. A visitor needs to venture inside to appreciate Evans’ futuristic world of command-and-control centers, with high-resolution monitors, LED images and maps that jump off the screen in a semi-darkened showplace.” [FCEDA]
New Theater Coming to Tysons Galleria — “The soon-to-close Macy’s at Tysons Galleria will be replaced with multiple storefronts — including what appears to be an iPic movie theater — each with their own facade and materials to set them apart. That’s the word from a Fairfax County staff report published last week ahead of a planning commission hearing on an amended sign plan for the Galleria, which specifically addresses the 260,000-square-foot Macy’s. That store alone accounts for 30 percent of the upscale Galleria.” [Washington Business Journal]
Journalist’s Mosque Opposition Questioned — The leader of the community opposition to an expansion of the McLean Islamic Center’s prayer service is a reporter for the Wall Street Journal. The Washington Post’s Paul Farhi asks: should mainstream journalists be taking activist stances against religious institutions, even in a community setting? [Washington Post]
McLean Fire Causes Extensive Damage — The manage estimate from Friday’s big house fire in McLean is $1.1 million. Three people were displaced by the fire. The cause is still under investigation, according to the Fairfax County Fire Department. [Facebook]
Positive Results for I-66 Tolls — “Since HOV lanes went into effect on I-66 one year ago, the results have been largely positive. Carpooling has increased, and motorists are traveling at higher speeds and experiencing fewer collisions thanks to less congestion.” [Greater Greater Washington, WTOP]
DXC Makes Another Acquisition — “Tysons-based DXC Technology announced Monday plans to acquire Luxoft Holding Inc. (NYSE: LXFT) in a deal worth roughly $2 billion. The New York-based Luxoft provides digital strategy consulting and engineering services for countries across North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.” [Washington Business Journal, BusinessWire]
Photo courtesy @tysonspartners
Christmas Tree Pickup Underway — Fairfax County and Town of Vienna residents can dispose of Christmas trees with their regular trash collection through Jan. 11. [Patch]
Vienna Companies Celebrating Anniversaries — Two Vienna companies are celebrating 60 years in business: Ar-Jon Portable Toilets and the Parkwood School. [InsideNova]
Local Restaurants Participating in Restaurant Week — Nearly two dozen McLean, Tysons and Vienna area restaurants are participating in the annual Winter Restaurant Week from Jan. 14-20. [Patch, Patch]
Apple is opening new offices and expanding others across the U.S., but those plans do not include a Fairfax County presence, according to an announcement the company made yesterday.
The iPhone maker will be investing $1 billion in a new, expanded campus in Austin, Texas, while opening new offices in Seattle, San Diego and the Los Angeles area, and expanding existing offices in Pittsburgh, New York and Boulder, Colorado.
Absent from the announcement: any expansion into Fairfax County.
It is unclear how much the selection of Arlington for half of Amazon’s “HQ2,” and the demand for technical talent in the area that will bring, might have affected Apple’s decision. It’s also unclear whether the expanded offices in New York and Pittsburgh constitute the “large East Coast outpost” the company was reportedly considering, or if such an office is still in play given that the company is leaving the door open “for additional expansion elsewhere in the U.S. over time.”
Apple was seriously considering Fairfax County sites in Tysons at the Center for Innovative Technology campus on the Fairfax/Loudoun border. Apple was said to also be seriously considering sites in North Carolina, and the announcement left state leaders there scrambling to explain why they had been passed over.
Apple’s primary Tysons presence remains the Apple Store in Tysons Corner Center mall. Other Northern Virginia Apple stores are located in Reston, Fair Oaks, and Arlington’s Clarendon and Pentagon City neighborhoods.
Whether you’re actively looking for work or just idly browsing what’s around the area, there’s a bevy of new job postings around the area from corporate directors to start-up interns.
Alarm.com, a technology company in Tysons that provides home protection systems, is looking for new talent. The jobs listed range from positions requiring several years in their respective fields to relatively entry level internships. The company is looking to hire the following:
- Talent acquisition specialist
- Manager of revenue operations
- Business analyst
- Business development associate
- Technical account associate
- Field technical account representative
- International technical support associate
- Test analyst
- Data analyst and video logistics specialist
- UX/UI designer
- Sales operations specialist
- Program manager international
- Product manager
- Product management – hardware and integration
- Product management associate
- Product management intern
- Management development program intern
Other recent job postings around the area include:
- Director of Associate Engagement and Culture at Capital One — the director would focus on improving associate engagement, culture, and organizational effectiveness. The position requires a bachelor’s degree of military experience, with 10 years of experience in process or project management, at least two years leading employee engagement projects, and five years managing direct reports.
- Engagement Editor for Military Times — the engagement editor would help editorial teams maximize the impact of their content on digital platforms. The engagement editor would be deeply involved in story creation and the decision making of the editorial teams. In addition to a bachelor’s degree and two years experience working in social media, the media organization is looking for a candidate who can “speak” in military terms.
- Sales manager at Eddie V’s — responsible for building business for the Eddie V’s, a seafood and stead restaurant, through direct and indirect sales. The manager would also work with partners to oversee events. The positions pays $55,000 to $65,000 a year and requires at least one year managing in a restaurant, hotel, retail or general business, with two years in restaurant management preferred.
- Part-time customer service specialist for Gallop A.I. — the specialist would be responsible for working with business travelers and customers for Gallop A.I., a Tysons startup that uses artificial intelligence to manage business trips. The pay is $15-$20 per hour.
- Fashion Advisor for Chanel — the advisor would provide fashion advice to clients, helping to drive retention, revenue, and brand loyalty.
Photo via Alarm.com
Vienna Mulling Economic Development Push — “Vienna is the only Northern Virginia locality without personnel expressly devoted to economic development, but that may change soon. Vienna Town Council members, in a joint work session Dec. 3 with their Planning Commission counterparts, supported town staff’s proposal to hire a consultant (for about $100,000) who would develop an economic-development strategy and conduct a market study.” [InsideNova]
NBC4 Covers Vienna Bike Corral — The Vienna Town Council’s concern about a bike corral potentially taking up a single parking space on Church Street was the subject of an Adam Tuss story on NBC4 yesterday. Via Twitter, the bikes@vienna store said in response: “Needless to say, we at bikes@vienna support the move. Will the Town get on board with providing much needed bike infrastructure, or will cars still rule?” [Twitter, Twitter]
Photos: Reindogs in McLean — “The 2018 Greater McLean Chamber of Commerce Reindog celebration, which took place Dec. 1… brought out the creativity of local residents and the understanding of canines who found themselves dressed up in holiday-themed costumes.” [InsideNova]
Fairfax Approves Funds for Tech Firm’s Tysons Move — “Cloud computing company Appian Corporation will receive $4 million from Fairfax County for the company’s expansion and new headquarters in Tysons… The Fairfax County’s Board of Supervisors approved the Development Opportunity Fund grant from the Commonwealth at its meeting on Tuesday (Dec. 4).” [Reston Now]
Wawa is still coming to Vienna, but not to the former BP station site at Maple Ave and Park Street in Vienna, as reported earlier.
“I apologize for confirming the Maple Ave and Park Street address,” a Wawa spokeswoman said via email. “This was incorrect and is not a location we are considering. We are still actively looking for new locations in Vienna and look forward to sharing confirms plans and locations as they take shape.”
The convenience store and gas station chain has been expanding throughout the Washington, D.C. area with plans to add 30-50 stores in the region.
News of Wawa’s plan to come to Vienna was greeted with jubilation on social media from the chain’s fervent fans.
“As a Philly native, I am thrilled to hear this!” said a reader on the Tysons Reporter Facebook page.
“Our new go-to lunch spot,” wrote another.
Tysons Reporter initially asked Wawa about plans for the site after hearing from a tipster and, subsequently, two local business owners that they heard that the company would be opening a new store there. It is unclear where else in Vienna Wawa may now be looking.
