Palona Leverages AI Expertise in Hospitality with Vision and Workflow Launch

Palona, a Palo Alto-based startup led by former Google and Meta engineering veterans, has made a decisive vertical push into the restaurant and hospitality space with the launch of Palona Vision and Palona Workflow. The new offerings transform the company's multimodal agent suite into a real-time operating system for restaurant operations, spanning cameras, calls, conversations, and coordinated task execution. This strategic pivot marks a significant shift from the company's debut in early 2025, when it first emerged with $10 million in seed funding to build emotionally intelligent sales agents for broad direct-to-consumer enterprises. According to Palona's leadership, the company's experience in building AI systems for high-stakes physical world problems has taught them the importance of a "multimodal native" approach, which involves building deep systems that solve complex problems rather than relying on "thin wrappers" that provide superficial solutions. "You're building a company on top of a foundation that is sand, not quicksand, but shifting sand," said a Palona co-founder, highlighting the challenges of building an enterprise AI company on a foundation that is constantly changing. Palona's new offerings are designed to provide a real-time operating system for restaurant operations, using a multimodal agent suite that integrates cameras, calls, conversations, and coordinated task execution. This approach allows restaurants to streamline their operations, improve customer service, and increase efficiency. The company's leadership believes that this approach can be a blueprint for AI builders on how to move beyond superficial solutions and build deep systems that solve high-stakes physical world problems. The launch of Palona Vision and Palona Workflow marks a significant milestone for the company, which has been working to develop a comprehensive AI solution for the restaurant and hospitality industry. The company's experience in building AI systems for high-stakes physical world problems has taught them the importance of a "multimodal native" approach, which involves building deep systems that solve complex problems rather than relying on superficial solutions. Palona's new offerings are part of a growing trend in the AI industry, where companies are developing more sophisticated AI solutions that can be applied to real-world problems. The company's leadership believes that this approach can be a model for other AI builders on how to develop more effective and efficient AI solutions. "We're excited to see how Palona Vision and Palona Workflow can help restaurants improve their operations and customer service," said a Palona co-founder. "We believe that this approach can be a blueprint for AI builders on how to move beyond superficial solutions and build deep systems that solve high-stakes physical world problems." As Palona continues to develop its AI solutions for the restaurant and hospitality industry, the company's leadership is focused on refining its approach and expanding its offerings. The company's new offerings are currently available for restaurants and hospitality businesses, and Palona is working to develop more sophisticated AI solutions that can be applied to a wider range of industries. With its new offerings, Palona is poised to become a leader in the AI industry, providing more effective and efficient AI solutions for businesses and organizations.