Pano AI, a San Francisco, CA-based provides an AI managed solution for active wildfire detection, raised $17M in growth funding.
The round, which brought total funding to $45M, was led by Valor Equity Partners, with participation from Salesforce Ventures, T-Mobile Ventures (an affiliate of Pano’s connectivity partner T-Mobile US), and the 5G Open Innovation Lab, alongside the continued support of existing investors Initialized Capital, Congruent Ventures, Convective Capital, January Ventures, Kevin Mahaffey, and Jade Van Doren. Concurrent with this funding, Pano announced the expansion of its executive team including Ryan White, who formerly led high profile machine learning teams at Amazon and Meta.
The company intends to use the funds to continue advancing its AI-based active wildfire detection solution, support ongoing talent acquisition and facilitate market expansion across additional high fire-risk areas within North America and Australia to safeguard lives, communities, and the environment from the increasing threat of wildfires.
Led by CEO and Founder Sonia Kastner, Pano AI offers an integrated solution for active wildfire detection using artificial intelligence to identify and extinguish new ignitions before they become a threat. It provides fire agencies with real-time actionable intelligence and situational awareness to coordinate an informed rapid response to wildfires before they escalate, safeguarding lives, communities, and the environment. The solution integrates mountaintop cameras, satellite feeds, artificial intelligence, 5G connectivity, and modern cloud software to detect and pinpoint new ignitions and alert fire professionals within minutes. This actionable intelligence helps first responders get to the scene faster and more safely—with the right equipment, the latest information, and enhanced coordination—so they can stop a new ignition in its tracks.
Pano AI is actively present in six states within the United States: California, Colorado, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Montana. Additionally, the company operates in two Australian states: New South Wales and Queensland. Notable customers include PacifiCorp, Xcel Energy, Portland General Electric (PGE), Holy Cross Energy, Big Sky Fire Department, Aspen Fire Protection District, Telluride Fire Protection District, Boulder County, Washington DNR, Forestry Corporation of NSW (Australia), Southern Cross Forests (Australia), and Noosa Council’s FireTech Connect Program (Australia).
