# Sonia Kastner

> Sonia Kastner is the Co-Founder and CEO of Pano AI, a San Francisco-based climate technology company building AI-powered wildfire early detection and response infrastructure. Combining 360-degree mountaintop cameras, satellite imagery, and deep learning AI with a 24/7 human intelligence center, Pano AI monitors 24-30 million acres across the U.S., Australia, and Canada - alerting first responders to over 100 fires annually. Named to TIME's 100 Most Influential Companies of 2025, recognized on BBC's 100 Women 2023, and a World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer, Kastner brings a Harvard physics degree, Stanford MBA, and deep hardware/supply chain experience from Nest, PAX, and NYC government to the frontier of climate resilience.

- **Role:** Co-Founder and CEO at Pano AI
- **Organizations:** Pano AI, World Economic Forum, Stanford Graduate School of Business Energy Engagement Programs
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Bachelor of Arts in Physics, Harvard University, Master of Business Administration (MBA), Stanford Graduate School of Business
- **Known for:** TIME's 100 Most Influential Companies of 2025 - only wildfire-focused tech company on the list, BBC 100 Women 2023, Fast Company Most Innovative Companies in Artificial Intelligence 2023

## Career timeline

- **Pre-2007** — Graduated from Harvard University with a BA in Physics
- **2007-2009** — MBA at Stanford Graduate School of Business; entered green energy and solar sector
- **Pre-2009** — Senior Project Manager at New York City Economic Development Corporation under Mayor Bloomberg
- **2009-2012** — Senior Manager, Supply Chain Development at Alta Devices (solar energy startup)
- **2012-2013** — Director of Operations at Whistle Labs (IoT pet devices; later acquired by Mars Petcare)
- **2014-2015** — Global Supply Manager at Nest (Google), managing supply chain for 5+ products including early Nest Cam
- **2016-2017** — Vice President of Supply Chain at PAX
- **2020** — Co-founded Pano AI with Arvind Satyam, inspired by 2019-20 Australian wildfire season
- **2022** — Named to Entrepreneur Media's 100 Women of Influence
- **2023** — Pano AI named WEF Technology Pioneer; Kastner named BBC 100 Women 2023; Fast Company Most Innovative Companies in AI
- **2023** — Won WEF Trillion Trees United States Challenge for wildfire mitigation
- **2025** — Pano AI named to TIME's 100 Most Influential Companies; raised $44M Series B led by Giant Ventures
- **2025** — Became Agenda Contributor to the World Economic Forum

## Achievements

- TIME's 100 Most Influential Companies of 2025 - only wildfire-focused tech company on the list
- BBC 100 Women 2023
- Fast Company Most Innovative Companies in Artificial Intelligence 2023
- World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer 2023
- World Economic Forum Trillion Trees United States Challenge Winner
- Entrepreneur Media 100 Women of Influence 2022
- Raised $97M+ in total funding for Pano AI
- Built wildfire monitoring network covering 24-30 million acres across 3 countries
- Deployed cameras and AI to serve 250+ first responder agencies
- Washington state kept 95% of fires under 10 acres using Pano AI technology

## Latest updates

- **2025-06** — Pano AI raised $44M Series B led by Giant Ventures, with Liberty Mutual Strategic Ventures and Tokio Marine Future Fund as new investors
- **2025-04** — Pano AI named to TIME's 100 Most Influential Companies of 2025
- **2025-03** — Kastner featured in Public Utilities Fortnightly, discussing journey from solar energy to Pano AI and building trust with utilities
- **2025-01** — Kastner serving as Agenda Contributor to World Economic Forum
- **2023-06** — Pano AI awarded World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer 2023
- **2023-11** — Kastner named to BBC 100 Women 2023 for pioneering AI wildfire detection

## Links

- Website: https://pano.ai
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/soniakastner
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/Pano_AI
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/PanoWildfire

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/sonia-kastner
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-22