Seneca brings in $60M to develop fire suppression drones - The Robot Report

Seneca, a startup focused on autonomous aerial fire suppression systems, has raised $60 million to develop AI-powered drones designed to detect and combat fires early. Their portable suppression drones can be hand-carried, transported via utility vehicles, or deployed remotely, extending firefighting capabilities in unsafe or hard-to-reach areas. The company has demonstrated its technology with fire agencies across four states and continues to improve targeting accuracy, payload capacity, safety, and usability based on firefighter feedback. Seneca’s founding team includes experts in hardware, fire strategy, and technology, and they collaborate closely with fire chiefs and leaders to ensure their solutions meet frontline needs. The funding round was led by Caffeinated Capital and Convective Capital, with participation from several venture firms, and will be used to enhance the system’s robustness, scale production, and deploy the first units in time for the 2026 fire season. Seneca’s efforts come amid a growing wildfire crisis in the U.S., where wildfire intensity has nearly tripled