A group of former GrubHub executives is launching a new digital roadside assistance service, aiming to challenge the long-standing market dominance of AAA. The move follows last month's merger between Curbside SOS and Honk Technologies, backed by private equity firm Frontenac.
Reuniting the GrubHub Leadership Team
The merger brings together several key figures from GrubHub's past leadership. Matt Maloney, co-founder of GrubHub, is now working alongside former colleagues including Adam DeWitt, who served as GrubHub's chief executive, and Eric Ferguson, the former chief operating officer. This team aims to apply their experience in food delivery logistics to the roadside assistance market.
Combining Consumer and Business Platforms
The newly combined entity operates through two main brands. Curbside SOS focuses on individual motorists through a consumer-facing mobile application, while Honk Technologies provides business-to-business services for insurance companies and fleet managers. Together, these platforms completed over one million service jobs last year.
Modernizing Roadside Assistance
The platform functions similarly to contemporary service applications, offering users transparent pricing upfront, real-time tracking of assistance vehicles, and digital payment processing. In an innovative approach to speed up response times, Curbside has begun training gig economy workers to perform basic vehicle repairs such as tire changes and jump-starts that don't require heavy-duty tow trucks.
Challenging a Century-Old Market Leader
The merger represents a direct challenge to AAA, the non-profit federation of motor clubs that has dominated the American roadside assistance market since its founding in 1902. AAA currently boasts more than 60 million members nationwide, making it the established market leader the new venture aims to disrupt.
From Food Delivery to Vehicle Breakdowns
Matt Maloney's pivot to roadside assistance follows his departure from GrubHub in 2021. GrubHub, once a pioneer in the U.S. food delivery space, faced intense competition from rivals like DoorDash and was eventually sold to Europe's Just Eat Takeaway.com in 2020 before being resold at a significantly lower valuation than its peak.
The new combined company will continue trading under the Honk Technologies name for corporate operations while maintaining both the Curbside and Honk brands for their respective consumer and business markets. The financial terms of the merger were not disclosed, but the combined entity will be majority-owned by private equity firm Frontenac and led by the Curbside management team.
