Australian-founded bushfire detection platform Pano AI has raised US$44 million ($68 million) in a Series B round to capitalise on rapid growth of the business domestically and in North America.
The latest round boosts total capital raised by Pano AI since inception in 2020 to US$89 million ($138 million) and comes on the heels of rapid adoption of the company’s technology globally.
Pano AI, which uses artificial intelligence for early bushfire detection, has secured more than US$100 million ($154 million) in contracted revenue over the past four years with the platform currently deployed in five Australian states, 10 US states and the Canadian province of British Columbia.
The Series B round was led by new investor Giant Ventures, a London-based venture capital firm, which joins other new investors Liberty Mutual Strategic Ventures and Tokio Marine Future Fund. Existing investors Congruent Ventures, Initialized Capital and Salesforce Ventures also participated in the capital raise.
“We started Pano AI in the wake of Australia’s devastating Black Summer bushfires in 2020, recognising a clear need for better tools to support fire agencies and emergency services,” says Arvind Satyam, co-founder and chief commercial officer at Pano AI.
“As fire seasons become longer and more severe, there’s a growing demand for fast, reliable intelligence to support early response.
“This investment will help us accelerate our product innovation, scale our technology to more regions across Australia and internationally, supporting communities, infrastructure and the environment through smarter, earlier fire detection.”
The formerly Sydney-based Satyam is currently based in San Francisco where Pano AI is now headquartered.
The company has rapidly expanded its presence in Australia and now protects more than two million hectares across NSW, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania from the threat of bushfire disasters.
Pano AI says its technology is trusted by 13 forestry companies, including major players such as Australian Bluegum Plantations, New Forests, OneFortyOne, SFM, Forico and PF Olsen.
It also works with nearly 40 organisations globally across sectors, including government, utilities, renewable energy, forestry, ski resorts and community associations.
The technology proved itself in January last year after a fire broke out in a remote agricultural corridor in South Australia’s Green Triangle between a wind farm and forestry plantations in the late evening.
Pano AI’s cameras detected smoke within minutes, triggering alerts to Green Triangle members and fire agencies.
The system triangulated the fire’s location and delivered precise GPS coordinates, enabling the South Australian Country Fire Service to deploy five trucks and 25 crew members to the scene. Due to the rapid response, the fire was swiftly contained with minimal damage to assets.
Pano AI’s cameras continued monitoring the site for reignition over the next 48 hours – averting what the company says could have become a multimillion-dollar disaster for the forestry industry and the regional economies it supports.
“Pano AI’s solution provides not only early fire detection 24/7 but also enables the region to actively manage fire response in the landscape through situational intelligence provided by the camera network and mapping capabilities,” says Cameron MacDonald, chair of Green Triangle Forest Industries Hub.
“Fire doesn’t recognise boundaries so this collaborative partnership, supported by the South Australian Government, ensures we are using the best possible fire management tools to extinguish fire threats before they affect lives, property and the forestry industry.”
Pano AI notes that in 2024 alone wildfires burned nearly 400 millionhectares globally, highlighting the scope of its technology to minimise the loss of habitat by giving first responders the opportunity to detect fires in their earliest stages.
“It is crucial that we lessen the impact of bushfires through the adoption of early detection technology,” says Cameron McLain, co-founder and managing partner at Giant Ventures.
“At Giant, we look for category-defining companies solving critical global challenges through the application of frontier technology.
“Pano AI is creating a new layer of resilience that will massively reduce the impact of increasingly frequent fire events.”
New investor Tokio Marine, Japan’s oldest and largest property, casualty and marine insurer, says its backing of Pano AI aligns with its plans to support technologies and partnerships that help communities prepare, respond and recover from fire more effectively.
"Pano AI 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,” says Masashi Namatame, group chief digital officer at Tokio Marine Holdings.
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