by DRONELIFE Staff Writer Ian M. Crosby
Today, autonomous inspection and monitoring leader Percepto announced a combined $67M Series C in equity and debt funding. The funding round was led by Koch Disruptive Technologies (KDT), with participation from new investor Zimmer Partners as well as existing investors U.S. Venture Partners, Delek US Holdings, Atento Capital, Spider Capital and Arkin Holdings. With the addition of the funding acquired from this new round, the total investment in the company now exceeds $120 million.
The company was also recently awarded a first-of-its-kind, nationwide Beyond Line of Sight (BVLOS) waiver from the FAA, enabling Percepto to provide remotely-operated automated drones to any US critical infrastructure site without site specific approvals. This waiver eliminates various logistical and cost hurdles, making the adoption of autonomous drone technology more accessible.
“KDT’s reinvestment underlines their confidence in our ability to make companies more profitable by keeping infrastructure operational in the face of the unpredictable,” said Percepto Co-founder and CEO Dor Abuhasira. “Organizations are increasingly discovering the benefits of autonomous and remote drone operations to automate facility inspections and data analysis across their sites. With this new round of funding, new strategic investors, and the new regulations that significantly increase the access to using autonomous drones, the conditions are ripe for the autonomous drone market to expand, and for Percepto to meet the growing demand for automated drone inspections and monitoring at industrial sites.”
Percepto assists industrial companies with lowering costs and meeting operational challenges by incorporating real-time visibility into their facility’s infrastructure integrity, detecting failures before they become a problem. For example, an oil & gas customer using Percepto’s Air Max OGI drone found a methane gas leak in a matter of hours, which could have gone unnoticed for months through conventional means.
“Percepto is a powerful force in boosting the accessibility of automated drones for industrial inspection and monitoring,” said Koch Disruptive Technologies Founder and CEO Chase Koch. “Having deployed Percepto’s technology across various Koch companies, we are experiencing first-hand how its innovative R&D improves inspection and monitoring. Their work to create a clear regulatory path for this technology puts it in a strong market position, firmly stationed at the forefront of the industry. We look forward to continuing our journey with Percepto as it sets the new standard for making industrial operations safe, efficient and sustainable.”
Percepto Autonomous Inspection & Monitoring (AIM), the company’s drone-powered visual inspection solution, lets critical infrastructure sites improve the frequency and quality of inspections through automation. With this solution, the full visual inspection workflow from data collection to AI-powered analysis and insights is entirely automated. Percepto AIM detects problems faster, allowing companies to take preventative measures to increase productivity while minimizing the risk of incidents to meet their environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) goals.
“Percepto’s unique AI technology provides heavy industry with a path to maximize their efficiency and ensure smooth operations both in terms of providing a safe environment for workers and generating high productivity levels,” said Siemens Energy Venture Partner Illai Gescheit. “We are impressed with Percepto’s growth within a turbulent market, and look forward to working with them as they continue to pioneer drone regulations and innovations that will help deliver commercial value to our customers while fulfilling their environmental responsibilities.”
Read more:
- BVLOS Inspections, No Humans Onsite: Percepto Wins FAA Waiver for Operations Within Shielded Airspace
- Streamlining the BVLOS Approval Process: Percepto’s Regulatory Milestone
- Percepto Wins FAA Approval for Automated BVLOS Ops in TX
- Percepto’s Waiver Allows Customers to Fly BVLOS on Qualified Sites Across the Country, with Central Control
- Percepto BVLOS Waiver First Under New European Drone Regulations
Ian attended Dominican University of California, where he received a BA in English in 2019. With a lifelong passion for writing and storytelling and a keen interest in technology, he is now contributing to DroneLife as a staff writer
Miriam McNabb is the Editor-in-Chief of DRONELIFE and CEO of JobForDrones, a professional drone services marketplace, and a fascinated observer of the emerging drone industry and the regulatory environment for drones. Miriam has penned over 3,000 articles focused on the commercial drone space and is an international speaker and recognized figure in the industry. Miriam has a degree from the University of Chicago and over 20 years of experience in high tech sales and marketing for new technologies.
For drone industry consulting or writing, Email Miriam.
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