PRESS RELEASE: Pano AI, the leading developer of AI-powered wildfire detection, today announced the close of its $44 million Series B funding round, bringing its total amount raised to $89 million. The round follows four consecutive years of rapid revenue growth, with contracted revenue exceeding $100 million to support coverage of nearly 30 million acres worldwide, and the round total includes both primary and secondary sales.
The round was led by new investor Giant Ventures, with additional new participation from Liberty Mutual Strategic Ventures and Tokio Marine Future Fund, as well as continued support from Congruent Ventures, Initialized Capital and Salesforce Ventures. Pano AI will use the growth capital to accelerate adoption and deployment of its AI-powered wildfire detection and intelligence solution at scale.
“We founded Pano AI based on one core belief: that the time to adapt to extreme weather events is now,” said Sonia Kastner, co-founder and CEO of Pano AI. “Wildfires are becoming more frequent and more destructive every year, and we have built powerful tools to put in the hands of emergency managers on the front lines to help combat this crisis. This additional capital allows us to accelerate our mission to equip first responders with the best technology to protect communities, safeguard our critical infrastructure, and build a more resilient future.”
Pano AI is addressing one of the most urgent threats of our time: the increasing frequency, speed, and severity of wildfires. In 2024 alone, wildfires burned nearly one billion acres globally, underscoring the scale and urgency of this growing threat. By delivering continual, AI-powered smoke detection and real-time situational awareness, Pano AI is designed to help detect fires in their earliest stages so first responders can coordinate a faster, more informed response.
“At Giant, we look for category-defining companies solving critical global challenges through the application of frontier technology,” said Cameron McLain, co-founder and managing partner at Giant Ventures. “Pano AI is creating a new layer of resilience that will massively reduce the impact of increasingly frequent fire events.”
“Tokio Marine is committed to combating wildfire and other risks rising with climate change, and we are focused on investing in technologies and partnerships that help entire communities prepare, respond, and recover more effectively,” said Masashi Namatame, group chief digital officer at Tokio Marine Holdings. “Pano is creating the early detection infrastructure needed in wildfire exposed regions of North America and Australia, but this is now a global challenge and we are proud to join Pano on its mission.”
The impact the technology can have is already being realized. One example came on June 16, 2024, when a lightning strike during Red Flag conditions ignited the Bear Creek Fire in a remote area of Bennett Mountain in Douglas County, Colorado. Pano AI was the sole source of early smoke detection and provided triangulated coordinates within minutes, prompting emergency officials to launch a rapid helitack response. While a 40-person ground crew hiked more than two hours to reach the site, helicopters dropped nearly 18,000 gallons of water over five hours. Early intelligence and immediate aerial response helped contain the fire to just three acres.
“In today’s wildfire environment, every minute counts,” said Mike Alexander, director of emergency management for the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office. “Pano AI gave us early confirmation and precise coordinates that allowed us to launch a rapid aerial and ground attack in a remote watershed that provides drinking water to over one million people. That critical lead time helped us contain the Bear Creek Fire before it became a more destructive event. Overall, Pano has become an essential part of how we conduct modern wildland fire fighting in Douglas County.”
Pano AI was founded by Sonia Kastner, chief executive officer, and Arvind Satyam, chief commercial officer. Since its launch in 2020, Pano AI has become a leading player in the rapidly growing wildfire technology sector. It is now one of the most well-funded companies in the space and a founding member of the Association of Firetech Innovation, which supports the adoption of next-generation tools for wildfire detection, prevention and response.
Today, Pano AI supports more than 250 first responder agencies at the federal, state and local levels, providing early detection and situational awareness in 10 states in the U.S., five states in Australia and in British Columbia.
The company is trusted by 15 U.S. electric utilities including major providers such as Arizona Public Service, Portland General Electric and Xcel Energy—and partners with nearly 40 organizations across sectors including government, renewable energy, forestry, ski resorts and community associations.
“At Portland General Electric, we’re focused on strengthening grid resilience while working in close partnership with the communities we serve,” said Maria Pope, president and CEO of Portland General Electric. “Pano AI’s early detection technology gives us the real-time visibility we need to reduce our risk from wildfire threats. It’s a critical element of our broader strategy to protect people, infrastructure, and essential service during increasingly complex fire seasons.”
About Pano AI
Pano AI is the leader in AI-powered wildfire detection. Launched in 2020, the company provides advanced early detection and situational awareness solutions to fire agencies, utilities, governments, and private landholders to help protect people, property, and infrastructure from catastrophic wildfires. With deployments across the U.S., Canada, and Australia, Pano AI is building a new standard for real-time wildfire intelligence. To learn more, visit www.pano.ai or follow the company on LinkedIn.
About Giant Ventures
Giant Ventures backs purpose-driven founders solving the world’s biggest challenges: from climate, to health, to economic mobility. Led by former founders, Giant invests in companies from Pre-Seed to Series B in Europe and the US.
About Tokio Marine Future Fund
Tokio Marine Future Fund is the Silicon Valley-headquartered CVC arm of Tokio Marine, a multinational insurance holding company offering an extensive selection of General and Life insurance products and solutions in 46 countries and regions worldwide. Founded in October 2021, the fund is focused on early-stage investments in seed-stage through Series A companies across a broad range of markets, including insurtech, fintech, mobility, health care, cybersecurity, AI/automation and climate risk.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Jocelyn Johnson, Pano AI, jocelyn.johnson@pano.ai, 917-406-5886
Jennifer Spoerri, Pano AI, jennifer.spoerri@pano.ai, 415-577-0171
