Partnership Will Use AI, Autonomous Systems, To Help Fight Catastrophic Fires

PG&E is teaming up with Lockheed Martin, Salesforce, and Wells Fargo to launch a purpose-built venture that aims to better identify and fight catastrophic wildfires.

The collaboration, Emberpoint, LLC., plans to use artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, and integrated command and control technologies to help first responders identify fires earlier, prevent their spread, and enhance coordination for mitigation efforts.

PG&E will bring its wildfire mitigation experience, Lockheed Martin will contribute its layered approach to prediction and detection, Salesforce will develop the digital foundation (integrating data streams into a unified, real-time response engine), and Wells Fargo is a financial backer.

The goal is for the firefighters to receive information more quickly and allow them to work more safely.

Following the announcement about the collaboration, the Emberpoint team, and its technologies, will be built over the coming months, and the goal is to start providing demonstrations later this year.

Lockheed Martin President and CEO Jim Taiclet says, “It’s time to change the way we think about wildfires and bring the best of American technology and know-how to this growing threat to lives and property. Devastating wildfires are on the rise, and this new partnership brings four leading companies in the aerospace, electrical power, tech, and financial industries together to address this national problem.”

Salesforce Chief Corporate Development and Investments Officer, John Somorjai, says, “Agentforce and Slack are powerful tools that can be used to solve the most pressing challenges. We look forward to integrating our world-class AI capabilities with the specialized expertise of our partners to combat the escalating threat of wildfires.

PG&E CEO, Patti Poppe, adds, “This partnership underscores our commitment to ending catastrophic wildfires. We plan to seek regulatory approval to pair Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s on-the-ground experience with our partners’ advanced technology, and properly scale how we identify risk, prevent incidents, and protect the people and ecosystems we serve for the benefit of all society.”