How I Exited My Al Startup for $640M at Age 25 | Prepared, Michael Chime

Michael Chime, co-founder & CEO of Prepared, is revolutionizing America's 911 system. At 12 years old, a mass shooting in his neighboring town gave him a brutal awakening: safety is not a given. Years later, Michael and two Yale classmates dropped out, moved into a small apartment with folding tables, and started building. Today, Prepared protects 100 million Americans across 49 states. In October 2025, Axon acquired the company for $640 million, validating Michael's vision to transform emergency response with AI. But the real story is how they did it. Michael's insightful playbook is here. 00:00 Intro 01:19 From a School Shooting at 12 to a Lifelong Mission 02:45 3 Yale Dropouts Develop 'Active Shooter' Alert App 07:00 Let Customers Evolve Your Product 10:15 How We Hacked B2G- Launch Your Product for Free Now 13:20 Unlearn Fast, Change Faster 15:15 The Hard Way is the Easier Way #911 #AI #Prepared EO stands for Entrepreneur& Opportunities. As we're looking to feature more inspiring stories of entrepreneurs all over the world, don't hesitate to contact us at partner@eoeoeo.net X | @eostudi0 LinkedIn | @EO STUDIO Instagram | @eostudio.official Newsletter | https://www.eomag.io/subscribe?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description

Michael Chimeguest

Oct 16, 202517mWatch on YouTube ↗

EPISODE INFO

Released: October 16, 2025
Duration: 17m
Channel: EO Studio
Watch on YouTube: ▶ Open ↗

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

Michael Chime, co-founder & CEO of Prepared, is revolutionizing America's 911 system. At 12 years old, a mass shooting in his neighboring town gave him a brutal awakening: safety is not a given. Years later, Michael and two Yale classmates dropped out, moved into a small apartment with folding tables, and started building. Today, Prepared protects 100 million Americans across 49 states. In October 2025, Axon acquired the company for $640 million, validating Michael's vision to transform emergency response with AI. But the real story is how they did it. Michael's insightful playbook is here. 00:00 Intro 01:19 From a School Shooting at 12 to a Lifelong Mission 02:45 3 Yale Dropouts Develop 'Active Shooter' Alert App 07:00 Let Customers Evolve Your Product 10:15 How We Hacked B2G- Launch Your Product for Free Now 13:20 Unlearn Fast, Change Faster 15:15 The Hard Way is the Easier Way #911 #AI #Prepared EO stands for Entrepreneur& Opportunities. As we're looking to feature more inspiring stories of entrepreneurs all over the world, don't hesitate to contact us at partner@eoeoeo.net X | @eostudi0 LinkedIn | @EO STUDIO Instagram | @eostudio.official Newsletter | https://www.eomag.io/subscribe?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description

SPEAKERS

Michael Chime
guest
Founder of Prepared, an emergency-response/public-safety technology company building tools for 911/dispatch centers.

EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of EO Studio, featuring Michael Chime, How I Exited My Al Startup for $640M at Age 25 | Prepared, Michael Chime explores prepared built AI for 911, scaling via customer-led growth strategy Chime’s motivation stems from experiencing a nearby school shooting at age 12, shaping a mission to improve emergency response outcomes.

RELATED EPISODES