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Paladin provides a Drone-as-First-Responder (DFR) platform — autonomous drones deployed from fire stations directly to 911 calls, streaming live video to dispatchers and first responders within 90 seconds. Its Knighthawk drone carries dual optical/thermal cameras over LTE. The software platform manages fleet dispatch, mission logging, and situational awareness for public safety agencies.
Paladin provides a Drone-as-First-Responder (DFR) platform — autonomous drones deployed from fire stations directly to 911 calls, streaming live video to dispatchers and first responders within 90 seconds. Its Knighthawk drone carries dual optical/thermal cameras over LTE. The software platform manages fleet dispatch, mission logging, and situational awareness for public safety agencies.
Co-founder Divyaditya Shrivastava was moved to act after a friend's house burned down while the family was away on vacation. Firefighters explained that they had been given the wrong address — a problem that occurs in roughly 70% of 911 calls because callers are panicking. Shrivastava and Trevor Pennypacker built Paladin to give first responders eyes-on-scene before they arrive. The company joined Y Combinator's W19 batch and launched out of Houston, Texas.
Paladin debuted Knighthawk 2.0 in February 2026, featuring upgraded autonomous capabilities and improved payload options for police and fire departments.
Paladin's hardware and software platform has powered more than 12,000 drone missions, with agencies reporting average response times under 90 seconds and resolving nearly one-third of 911 calls without ground units.
Stamford, Connecticut launched its Paladin-equipped DJI M30 drone program in October 2025, joining a growing roster of cities adopting Drone-as-First-Responder technology.
Dublin, Ohio approved roughly $492,000 over three years for four DJI M30T drones running on Paladin's autonomous dispatch platform.
Paladin closed a $17.01M Series A on September 9, 2025, with an SEC exempt offering filed for up to $18.1M, to expand its autonomous drone platform for public safety agencies nationwide.
Paladin's drone network proved critical during Hurricane Helene in September 2024, providing Asheville with aerial situational awareness for emergency coordination across flood-damaged areas.
Paladin raised a $5.2M seed round led by Gradient Ventures with participation from Toyota Ventures, Khosla Ventures, and 1517 Fund to scale its Drone-as-First-Responder platform.
After years of private pilots, Paladin unveiled its Knighthawk drone with dual optical and thermal cameras, designed specifically for emergency response over LTE with sub-second latency.
Paladin closed a $1.3M seed round led by Khosla Ventures to deploy drones that stream live video to first responders en route to 911 calls.
$24M raised total