--- title: "AI Startup That Raised $81 Million to Detect Wildfires Bamboozled by Clouds, Still Relies on Humans" description: "A new \"AI\" company meant to detect wildfires is easily duped by clouds and dust, ultimately requiring humans to remain in the loop." date: "2025-06-21" modified: "2025-06-21" authors: - name: "Joe Wilkins" job_title: "Correspondent" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jwilkins" url: "https://futurism.com/ai-startup-pano-wildfires" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" tags: - "Startups" - "venture capital" - "wildfires" --- # AI Startup That Raised $81 Million to Detect Wildfires Bamboozled by Clouds, Still Relies on Humans ![A new "AI" company meant to detect wildfires is easily duped by clouds and dust, ultimately requiring humans to remain in the loop.]() *\Image: Nav Rahi / AFP via Getty\* It's boom time for AI startups. Across the world, enterprising tech types are being rewarded with millions for forcing AI into all kinds of gadgets, like an [autonomous lawnmower](), an [AI-powered robo-mattress](), and even an [AI-enabled toilet](). While the [vast majority]() of even the most well-funded AI startups tend to collapse like [houses of cards](), VC spending on outlandish techno slop — like the [Lemonflow](), a "voice-based AI agent for charging infrastructure" — isn't slowing down. In the first three months of 2025 alone, AI startups accounted for $52 billion, or [41 percent]() of all global venture capital investments, including a record-smashing [$40 billion]() to OpenAI. And with AI investors are content to spend like sailors, one startup by the name of Pano is raking in the dough. Founded in 2019 in San Francisco, Pano calls itself the "leader in early wildfire detection and intelligence." Basically, it's a camera plugged into a large language model (LLM) meant to detect early warning signs of wildfires. Pano recently completed a Series B funding round of about $44 million, [according to the *Wall Street Journal*](), a cushy sum to add to its [$37 million]() in earlier funding. It likewise has over $100 million worth of government contracts in force with emergency agencies, public utility companies, and state and local governments across the US, Canada, and Australia. The company's co-founder, Sonia Kastner, told the *WSJ* she takes direct inspiration from the way [weapons tech companies]() have partnered with the government in recent months. "We need to replicate that in the wildfire space," she said, indicating that wildfires are no longer a devastating threat, but a lucrative industry to game for profit. On the surface, Pano's efforts are laudable. The startup purports to detect wildfire smoke during the day and heat signatures during the night across vast tracks of remote land, alerting first responders to early threats. However, there are a few problems with Pano's AI solutionism. Like, for example, its struggle to [identify wildfires]() from clouds, dust, and controlled burns. Thanks to these false flags, humans remain an [essential part of the chain](), making Pano seem less like a passive AI tool and more like a for-profit CCTV network. Zooming out a bit beyond Pano itself, the public-private tech partnership represents a long and [perfidious trend]() in which crucial public utilities are outsourced to the private market — a dynamic which [tech moguls and their backers crave](). With wildfires, for example, what was once a vast array of federally organized [Civilian Conservation Corps]() lookout towers has now become a scattered mess of profit-driven [satellite startups]() and "[Drones as a Service]()" subscription models. What happens if Pano goes insolvent, or decides to [start upcharging]() for its crucial services? And on the flipside, who is holding Pano [accountable]() should it be found to infringe on the privacy of remote or indigenous communities, or fail to do its job of detecting fires effectively? With the Trump administration exploring more and more ways to outsource the country's [emergency services]() to tech companies, Pano certainly won't be the last bizarro AI startup we hear about. Let's just hope the humans behind the wheel know the difference between a nimbus cloud and a plume of smoke. **More on startups:** [*College Dropout Entrepreneur Boasts That Peter Thiel's Book Is "Probably the Best Book I've Read, and I've Only Read a Few Pages"*]() ## Author At Futurism, I focus on the intersection of technology and power — examining the economics, history, and politics behind today’s dystopian headlines. As a writer, I’m interested in topics ranging from AI’s impact on labor to startups nobody asked for. My prior work includes bylines in Jacobin, Verso, and Blue Labyrinths. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Forbes, The Guardian, MIT Technology Review, Time, The Nation, Mother Jones, The Verge, and Wired. I grew up in Michigan, attending Central Michigan University as well as Ball State University, where I earned a master of music. I now live in Brooklyn with my girlfriend and our cat Ziti. On weekends, you can find me hunched over a cold pint arguing geopolitics with the other transplants. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()