News
Gig Economy · Logistics Tech · Private Equity · Roadside Assistance
Former Grubhub executives, led by co-founder Matt Maloney, are challenging AAA's roadside assistance dominance by merging Honk Technologies and Curbside SOS, creating a unified digital platform that completed over one million jobs last year.
The private equity-backed Honk Technologies acquired Curbside SOS last month, with the combined entity majority-owned by Frontenac and led by the Curbside management team, as reported by The Wall Street Journal. This deal reunites Maloney with former Grubhub CEO Adam DeWitt and COO Eric Ferguson, aiming to apply the logistics-heavy model of food delivery to vehicle breakdowns.
Curbside SOS focuses on individual motorists through a consumer-facing app, while Honk Technologies operates primarily as a business-to-business service for insurance companies and fleet managers. The platform offers transparent upfront pricing, real-time tracking, and digital payments.
Curbside has also begun training gig economy workers for basic repairs like tire changes or jump-starts to speed up response times. This merger directly challenges AAA, the non-profit federation of motor clubs that has led the American market since 1902 with over 60 million members.
Maloney's pivot follows his departure from Grubhub in 2021, after the company struggled against rivals like DoorDash and was resold at a significantly lower valuation in 2020. The new combined company will continue to trade under the Honk Technologies name for corporate operations, while maintaining both the Curbside and Honk brands for their respective markets.
