Paladin provides remote-control, drone-agnostic software that dispatches drones to 911 calls (drones can be airborne within about 90 seconds) so dispatchers can view live feeds and triage incidents. Its platform is designed to work with any drone and to be easy for public safety teams to operate from a central location, even when roads, cell service, or internet are down. The company has added capabilities to drop supplies (like Narcan or life vests) and to spot and navigate around other aircraft. Paladin was started by Divy Shrivastava, formally launched in 2018, and began selling in 2021 after work in the Thiel Fellowship. It has landed contracts with dozens of public safety departments and is active in dozens of cities, and says revenue is nearly doubling quarter over quarter. The company says its software only activates in response to 911 calls, is compliant with drone regulations in all 50 states, and can help clear an estimated 10–25% of 911 calls that don’t require a response. Paladin Drones provides software that dispatches drones (currently compatible with DJI hardware) to emergency scenes to give first responders a live feed and map hazards before arrival. The platform aims to close the information gap from unreliable 911 calls by arriving within 30–90 seconds, compared with average emergency response times of 8–15 minutes. Paladin's system is designed to let responders scope dangers, locate hotspots, and gather analysis ahead of on-site entry so teams can act immediately when they arrive. Co-founders Divyaditya Shrivastava and Trevor Pennypacker launched the company out of Y Combinator after Shrivastava learned from firefighters that 911 calls often provide unreliable locations. The startup is running a pilot with the Memorial Village police department near Houston, Texas. The company announced a $1.3 million seed round and says it plans to work with local, state, and federal authorities while building privacy safeguards (recording the sky en route and only panning down on site).

Total raised

$7M

Funding rounds

2

Latest round

Seed

Latest activity

Oct 2024