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Open Call
The recent wildfires in Los Angeles have ravaged major swathes of the city, destroying more than 12,300 structures and setting the stage for a long and costly recovery. While $2.5 billion in initial relief funding has been allocated, the true cost of rebuilding—particularly restoring public infrastructure—will likely reach tens of billions of dollars.
Several Newlab-affiliated startups are deploying their technology to support Los Angeles’ recovery. Companies building impactful critical technologies (i.e., innovations designed to address the most pressing challenges of our time) are especially well-situated for this, as their tech is designed to address issues like climate change and complex challenges foundational to the global economy.
While emergency responders often receive an influx of support during active fires, the recovery phase tends to be under-resourced. Post-fire environments are filled with airborne dust, toxic particles, unstable debris, and hidden embers—all posing health and safety risks.
Recognizing this issue, startup Carbon Origins dispatched "Bobby," an autonomous, remote-assisted construction robot with fire-fighting abilities. Amogha Srirangarajan, CEO and Founder of Carbon Origins, explains his team’s mission is to make robots commonplace in industries where they can save lives, with wildfire protection and recovery being key focus areas.
Featuring a 500-gallon Fyrebx system, thermal cameras, and AI-controlled water guns, Bobby addresses operational gaps where human crews face significant risks in post-fire recovery. The robot symbolizes the next step in the evolution of traditional firefighting and recovery equipment, transforming the role of construction tools like bulldozers, water trucks, and loaders.
Armada, a company partnering with Newlab to scale infrastructure to power real-world AI at the edge, played a crucial role in overcoming communication barriers in majorly affected areas like the Palisades, where telecom providers were restricted and first responders were stuck in a dead zone with poor connectivity.
When Orange County Fire Division Chief Kevin Fetterman urgently requested Armada-enabled Starlink Minis–compact satellite internet terminals–to support overwhelmed firefighters in need of connectivity, Armada donated 10 units, shipped the same day. As soon as the Minis arrived, Fetterman deployed them to strike teams battling the fires. Word spread quickly, with more fire chiefs turning to Armada for help, and the company rapidly scaled up its support.
“[Armada’s] founders have a mentality of ‘we’ll send whatever is needed now and work out the rest later’ to make sure first responders are getting what they need during emergencies like this’,” said Taylor Robinette, Armada’s Director of Growth.
By enabling greater coverage, Armada helped first responders share crucial information on evacuations, team deployments, and more. This connectivity was vital for active monitoring and effective coordination, bringing some clarity amid the crisis.
Armada is also enhancing Starlink’s offer of a month of free service for entities affected by the wildfires with a free period of Armada Connect, a platform that allows users to manage Starlink terminals and gain real-time insights on additional connectivity needs.
Armada’s Tamiko Sianen, who initiated the outreach to Chief Fetterman and facilitated the donation of Starlink Minis, believes that the key lesson for public sector agencies, from police to transportation departments and everything in between, is to weave reliable and redundant technology into emergency response preparedness. As climate emergencies become more frequent, she argues, agencies would greatly benefit from more advanced tools to enhance their response capabilities.
For instance, AI-powered systems could assist transportation agencies by analyzing drone footage to detect debris in critical zones, while police departments could use it to analyze real-time surveillance data for better situational awareness during evacuations and rescues.
Srirangarajan notes that disaster response is often slow to adopt new technologies due to bureaucracy, funding constraints, and risk aversion. He stresses the need for proactive adoption, urging governments to integrate robotics, AI, and advanced communications into emergency preparedness. He also highlights decentralized response models, where autonomous systems like Bobby enable faster, localized action with less reliance on central resources.
“These wildfires are a wake-up call to leverage technology not just reactively but as an integral part of our disaster response strategy,” Srirangarajan noted.
Both teams agree on the importance of cross-sector collaboration, noting that partnerships between public agencies, private companies, and startups can accelerate innovation and deployment during crises.
Armada’s wildfire recovery efforts are part of the company’s broader mission to bridge the digital divide. Earlier this month, Newlab and Armada entered a strategic partnership centered around deploying Armada’s edge computing infrastructure across key global geographies. The distributed platform, which provides localized edge compute and connectivity capabilities, will enable a global ecosystem of researchers and startups developing edge and AI applications that address industrial-scale challenges.
Robinette said the partnership is an opportunity for entrepreneurs to build solutions to prevent future wildfire and climate emergencies.
“As we move forward with Newlab, it’s exciting to continue giving entrepreneurs access to solve problems in places that were previously disconnected or bandwidth-constrained,” said Robinette.
This type of collaboration is a hallmark of Newlab's ecosystem, which Srirangarajan highlights as a key factor in influencing his team’s work—not just in wildfire recovery, but also in broader innovation efforts.
“This ecosystem encourages rapid iteration, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and access to resources that would otherwise take months to secure,” said Srirangarajan.
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