Houston startup designing emergency response drones lands $5.2M in seed funding

cha-ching

Paladin’s AI-enhanced autonomous drones help public safety agencies, such as police and fire departments, respond to 911 calls. Photo via paladindrones.io

Houston-based Paladin, whose remotely controlled drones help first responders react quickly to emergencies, has collected $5.2 million in seed funding.

Gradient, a seed fund that backs AI-oriented startups, led the round. Also participating were Toyota Ventures, the early-stage VC arm of Japanese automaker Toyota; venture capital firm Khosla Ventures; and VC fund 1517.

“We believe Paladin will drive meaningful change in public safety and redefine how communities are served,” Gradient said in an announcement about the seed round.

In 2019, Paladin received $1.3 million in seed funding from Khosla Ventures and Gmail creator Paul Buchheit, a group partner at Y Combinator. In 2018, the year it was co-founded by Divyaditya Shrivastava and Trevor Pennypacker, Paladin graduated from Y Combinator’s three-month boot camp.

Paladin’s AI-enhanced autonomous drones help public safety agencies, such as police and fire departments, respond to 911 calls. These drones provide aerial views of emergency scenes in an effort to decrease response times, improve “situational awareness,” and save lives, according to a Gradient blog post.

Among the agencies that have tried out Paladin’s technology is the Houston area’s Memorial Villages Police Department. The department participated in a three-month Paladin pilot project in 2019.

"(This is) one of the first departments in the country to be testing this technology," Shrivastava told InnovationMap in 2019. "We're very limited in the area that we cover, and that's just because we're taking baby steps and going as carefully and deliberately as possible."

Gradient says more than 12,000 drone missions have been performed using Paladin’s hardware and software platform. Agencies that have adopted the platform report average response times under 90 seconds. Furthermore, the technology has allowed them to resolve nearly one-third of 911 calls without dispatching first responders.

“Paladin keeps innovating, recently launching Payload Drop, a groundbreaking feature that enables drones to deliver lifesaving equipment — such as Narcan, life vests, and AEDs — directly to emergency scenes,” says Gradient.

On its website, Paladin says it envisions autonomous drones responding to every 911 call in the U.S. by 2027.

“The information is paramount, the technology exists and is rapidly improving, and the need is there. We want to help,” Paladin proclaims.

From Your Site Articles
This Houston company has rolled out its expansion plans following a $20 million series A. Photo via ridekolors.com

Houston smart bus platform raises $26M to expand operations in Mexico and beyond

money moves

A Houston-based company that's using tech and data to provide its intercity bus network has announced $26 million in funding.

Kolors has announced the close of its $20 million series A financing round led by UP.Partners with participation from Maniv Mobility, Toyota Ventures, K5 Global, Mazapil — plus contribution from existing investors Tuesday Capital, Garret Camp's Expa, Chris Sacca's Lowercase, Moving Capital, MGV, Brainstorm Ventures, Bling Capital and Amplifica. The round, which brings the company's total investment raised to $26 million, will allow Kolors to grow in Mexico, expand into new Latin American markets, and enable cross-border US travel.

The company has created a "smart-bus-platform," which is defined as being a combination of airline and ridesharing style technology. The service includes attendants superpowered by technology, according to a news release.

"Kolors is redefining the experience of intercity travel. We are thrilled to see Kolors advancing in Mexico and bringing its phenomenal service to other parts of Latin America in the coming months this year," says Ally Warson, partner of UP.Partners. "Kolors is thinking about the next phase for intercity bus travel and intends to design an ecosystem that prioritizes the passenger while providing more profitable and climate-friendly outcomes for bus operators."

The company's business model doesn't include owning its own fleet of vehicles, instead partnering with small and medium-sized bus operators. These partners are only responsible for driving the bus — Kolors does everything else, including route optimization, virtual stops, scheduling, pricing, marketing, sales, customer service, and more.

"Kolors is disrupting a mode of transportation that's often overlooked but relied upon by billions of people worldwide," says Jim Adler, founding managing director of Toyota Ventures, in the release. "There's a huge opportunity to advance intercity bus travel with higher efficiency, cleaner energy , and superior passenger experience. Kolors is at the forefront of this transformation."

Service is at the forefront for Kolors, says Rodrigo Martínez, founder and CEO of the company. Passengers can expect on-board WiFi services and snacks and drinks — plus a completely redesigned in-cabin experience is in the works, per the release.

"As a third-generation bus operator, I know intercity bus travel is the lifeblood of LATAM," says Martínez in the release. "The opportunity to provide our passengers with an elevated bus platform will bring a better and affordable travel experience. Our buses run on data and our learnings have already enabled us to devise an effective strategy to address and reduce emissions across the global intercity transportation industry."

Efficiency is also on the roadmap for Kolors, which was founded by Martinez and Anca Gardea in 2020 amid the pandemic. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, 85 percent of transportation sector emissions are related to the surface transportation system, the release states. Kolors is working toward a fleet of electric vehicles.

"We have followed Kolors since the beginning, and considering they started at the height of the pandemic, the growth they've had is astounding. Transporting millions of passengers in such a short period of time speaks volumes about their tenacity and potential as a team and company, says Jake Wieseneck, principal at Maniv Mobility, in the release.

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Houston researchers develop dissolvable implant for targeted cancer drug delivery

cancer research

Researchers at Houston Methodist have developed a biodegradable implant that can be used to safely and consistently deliver drug treatments to tumors and then dissolve without the need for further surgery.

The implant is only the size of a grain of rice, but its potential is staggering. The biodegradable nanofibrous drug-eluting seed (b-NDES) works as a reservoir parked inside a soft tumor, where it can slowly release immune-stimulating drugs over time. This overcomes a consistent problem with drugs such as immune checkpoint inhibitors. Normal systemic administration sees comparatively little of the drug making its way to the tumor, with most of it circulating throughout the body. The b-NDES is like deploying a small guerrilla fighting force embedded in enemy territory, doing maximum damage to the entrenched tumor.

"To improve cancer treatment, we're trying to start a fire inside the tumor itself," Corrine Chua, associate professor in the Center for BioNanoengineering at Houston Methodist Research Institute, said in a news release. "By activating immune cells directly within the tumor microenvironment, those cells can then travel throughout the body and seek out cancer wherever it exists. The b-NDES platform was developed to help keep therapeutic drugs concentrated inside tumors while minimizing exposure to healthy tissues.”

Chua co-led the study with Alessandro Grattoni, chair and director of the Center for BioNanoengineering at Houston Methodist Research Institute.

The study included support from the Nancy Owens Breast Cancer Foundation and the National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute.

Chau and Grattoni used preclinical models of triple-negative breast cancer, an aggressive form of cancer that is estrogen receptor-negative, progesterone receptor-negative and HER2-negative. Because of the receptor negativity, some popular treatments like tamoxifen and trastuzumab are ineffective. Chemotherapy has been shown to be the best course of action.

The b-NDES implant is deployed alongside radiation drugs. It keeps the drugs focused on the tumor, reducing the amount of harmful side effects typically seen when drugs are circulated more widely in the body. In 60 percent of the models, tumors were eliminated and did not cause side effects beyond the tumor site. Once the drugs have been deployed, the implant breaks down naturally.

While promising, more research will have to be done to expand use to other tumor types.

"Although the study focused on triple-negative breast cancer models, the approach could have broader applications for solid tumors," Grattoni added in the release. "It could potentially be used in cancers where there is a tumor lesion accessible for placement, including pancreatic or lung cancers."

New Houston platform Same Day Reels launches for on-demand content creation

In The Moment

If an event doesn't happen on Instagram, did it even really happen? In today's social media-driven age of branding and audience engagement, the answer increasingly is no.

Houston entrepreneur Karen De Amat is looking to fill the online content creation needs of companies with her new venture, Same Day Reels, which launched in early August. It will serve as a platform to connect companies and brands with talent that can help turn an event into a viral moment as it is happening.

"Events move quickly, and social media moves even faster,” said De Amat. “Same Day Reels was built to help brands capture the moment while it still matters. We are creating a more efficient way for businesses and creators to work together. Brands need content faster, and creators need more opportunities to turn their talent into real work. Same Day Reels brings those needs together.”

The company is focused on adding livestreams and concurrent short video content to "activations, launches, fundraisers, grand openings, conferences, hospitality experiences, and private celebrations." Such content can significantly increase the visibility of a product or brand according to digital marketing brands like Wyzowl, whose data found 63 percent of people in 2026 prefer to learn about new products via short video.

Packages offered by Same Day Reels will include filming, editing, and publishing content within hours of the targeted event.

De Amat says that her content creation platform will be a way to preserve the excitement of events and launches by enshrining them with immediate social media-driven memories.

“Event content is no longer just something you post after the fact,” De Amat said. “It is part of how people experience, remember and share the moment.”

Previously, De Amat is also the founder and CEO of Social Behavior, an influencer marketing company she launched from her home in 2014. It quickly garnered an array of clients and thrust De Amat into the spotlight, including numerous appearances on Fox 26's The Isiah Factor. Influencer Marketing Hub named her one of the top CEOs of influencer marketing companies in Houston in 2025.

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This article originally appeared on CultureMap.com.

Bristol Myers Squibb to build $2.3B Houston pharma manufacturing campus

coming soon

New Jersey-based pharmaceutical giant Bristol Myers Squibb Co. has officially named Houston as the home of its new state-of-the-art manufacturing site.

The 60,000-square-foot facility represents a $2.3 billion investment, according to a news release. It is expected to create 500 skilled jobs and will be located in Houston's Generation Park.

BMS first announced that it was considering Houston among 16 other cities for the facility in May. The new hub will manufacture small molecule, biologic and antibody-drug conjugates and is part of a $40 billion commitment to invest in the United States over five years. Construction is slated to begin next year, with the facility coming online in 2030.

"We're building the domestic manufacturing capabilities needed to deliver the next generation of medicines and support future scientific breakthroughs. Houston and the state of Texas offer the talent, infrastructure, and partnership needed to help bring that vision to life," Christopher Boerner, CEO and board chair of BMS, said in the release.

The new facility will feature a modular, multi-modal design, which will allow the company to reconfigure and add to its manufacturing capabilities over time. BMS says it expects the facility to "(grow) in scale and capability well beyond its opening configuration."

"Our decision to build this state-of-the-art manufacturing campus in Houston, Texas, reflects our confidence in the region’s ability to support a world-class, digitally advanced supply operation,” Karin Shanahan, EVP and chief supply chain and operations officer of BMS, added in the release. “This facility is designed to deliver the speed, quality, and reliability that patients depend on, combining flexible, modular manufacturing with advanced digital capabilities to ensure consistent supply across multiple modalities. It strengthens our ability to operate with resilience and positions us to reliably deliver medicines to patients today while adapting future demands.”

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott shared that the state has granted BMS a $4.89 million Texas Enterprise Fund (TEF) grant for the project. TEF grants, administered by the Texas Economic Development & Tourism Office, support business relocation or expansion projects that create "new, good-paying jobs in the community and attract significant new capital investment to the state." The development is also a qualified project under the Texas Jobs, Energy, Technology, and Innovation (JETI) program.

“Texas is a global hub for life sciences, where today’s innovations shape the future of healthcare,” Abbott said in a news release. “This $2.3 billion investment by Bristol Myers Squibb in the dynamic biotech ecosystem in Houston is a testament to the depth of our skilled workforce and the pipeline of talent coming through our nation-leading technical colleges and research universities. With lower operating costs and easy access to markets across the U.S. and the world, Texas drives affordability for consumers.”

"Bristol Myers Squibb’s announcement is a tremendous win for Texas and the Houston region, further reinforcing our position as a premier destination for life sciences and advanced manufacturing,” added Greater Houston Partnership President and CEO Steve Kean.

Last fall, Eli Lilly and Co. selected Generation Park, a 4,300-acre, master-planned commercial district near Lake Houston, for its $6.5 billion manufacturing plant. More than 300 locations in the U.S. competed for the factory. Read more here.

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