PALO ALTO — Prime Minute has emerged from stealth with $15 million in pre-seed funding led by Eclipse, with participation from 8VC. The company’s first offering addresses one of the most urgent challenges facing emergency responders today: rapid initial attack against wildfires, in all conditions, before they escalate out of control.
Natural disasters are becoming more frequent, costly, and operationally complex, placing increasing strain on the systems responsible for protecting our communities and critical infrastructure. Wildfires alone contribute an estimated $424 billion in annual damages across the United States, and the earliest moments of an incident often determine whether a fire is quickly contained or grows into a major disaster. Yet, critical gaps remain in integrating detection, coordination, and wildfire suppression capabilities.
Drawing on technologies and operational approaches historically reserved for national security missions, Prime Minute’s system combines real-time intelligence, AI-assisted mission analysis, and precision aerial suppression capabilities to help responders assess conditions, coordinate resources, and take action earlier, no matter the condition. The technology is designed to enable response when traditional suppression methods are unavailable: During high winds, nighttime incidents, degraded visual environments, and when ground crews cannot access the scene.
“Natural disasters are among the most urgent national security challenges we face today,” said Gabe Sganga, Chief Growth Officer and Prime Minute co-founder. “Yet, we still mobilize most resources after the damage is done. The first hour of an incident often determines its ultimate impact. Prime Minute was built to close that gap, giving responders the tools to detect threats sooner, assess them faster, and act when every second counts.”
Founded by leaders with experience across public service, aerospace, and national security, the team includes former operators and technology leaders from organizations including Palantir, Forterra, and Datorios. Their experience building and deploying systems in complex operational environments requiring rapid decision-making, coordination, and execution shaped Prime Minute’s approach to disaster response. The company focuses on identifying critical operational gaps, building technologies around real-world mission capability gaps, and helping responders act more effectively when minutes determine outcomes.
“Natural disasters are among the greatest threats to our communities, economy, and critical infrastructure,” said Lior Susan, founder and CEO of Eclipse. “Meeting that challenge requires more than another point solution. Prime Minute is building an end-to-end system that brings together technology and operations to help responders act faster and more effectively. Starting with wildfire response, the team is laying the foundation for the future of infrastructure resilience.”
The funding will support continued technology development, building out local manufacturing, team expansion, testing and validation activities, and the advancement of Prime Minute’s broader resilience efforts. The company is working with the State of Colorado to deploy prototypes for field evaluation of its wildfire suppression capability later this year.
