Leading investor Koch Disruptive Technologies (KDT), along with new investors Zimmer Partners and one of the biggest U.S. energy firms, announced today a combined $67M Series C in equity and debt funding for Percepto, the top provider of autonomous inspection and monitoring solutions. Existing investors U.S. Venture Partners, Delek US Holdings, Atento Capital, Spider Capital, and Arkin Holdings join the round, bringing the company’s total investment to more than $120 million. This investment level reflects Percepto’s strong performance and confidence in its comprehensive offering.
Percepto recently secured unprecedented, countrywide Beyond Line of Sight (BVLOS) permission from the FAA, which enables the company to send remotely piloted autonomous drones to any US critical infrastructure site without the requirement for site-specific FAA approval. This waiver, a game-changer for the sector, eliminates logistical and financial obstacles like the requirement for radars or people on the ground, accelerating the use of autonomous drone technology.
According to Percepto Co-Founder and CEO Dor Abuhasira, KDT’s reinvestment “underlines their confidence in our ability to make companies more profitable by keeping infrastructure operational in the face of the unpredictable.” The advantages of autonomous and remote drone operations to automate facility inspections and data analysis across their sites are being realized by organizations more and more. The market for autonomous drones is poised for growth, and Percepto is well-positioned to meet the rising demand for automated drone inspections and monitoring at industrial sites thanks to this new round of funding, new strategic investors, and the new regulations that significantly increase access to using them.
The heavy industry faces significant difficulties in maintaining reliable essential infrastructure, meeting high production standards, and raising safety standards – all while dealing with complex, dangerous, and frequently aging infrastructure assets. By giving industrial firms real-time visibility into the integrity of their facility’s infrastructure and identifying breakdowns before they develop into incidents, Percepto assists them in saving seven figures and overcoming these challenges. In one case, an oil and gas customer utilizing Percepto’s Air Max OGI drone discovered a methane gas leak within hours that may have gone undetected for months using conventional methods, saving the business millions of dollars, reducing safety hazards to employees, and eliminating environmental damage.
“Percepto is a powerful force in boosting the accessibility of automated drones for industrial inspection and monitoring,” stated Chase Koch, the founder, and CEO of Koch Disruptive Technologies. “Now that Percepto’s technology has been implemented by a number of Koch enterprises, we are directly witnessing how its cutting-edge R&D has improved inspection and monitoring. This technology is in a strong market position and firmly positioned at the forefront of the industry thanks to its efforts to establish a clear regulatory path for it. As Percepto establishes the new benchmark for making industrial processes safe, effective, and sustainable, we look forward to continuing our journey with it.
Through automation, critical infrastructure sites may boost the frequency and quality of inspections using Percepto Autonomous Inspection & Monitoring (AIM), the company’s end-to-end visual inspection solution driven by autonomous drones, robotics, and AI. The program automates every step of the visual inspection process, from data collection to AI-driven insights and analysis. With the help of Percepto AIM, issues like gas leaks, overheating, and deteriorating infrastructure can be identified more quickly, allowing businesses like Siemens Energy to take preventative action to increase site productivity while lowering the risk of environmental and safety incidents, helping them to achieve their environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) objectives.
According to Siemens Energy Venture Partner Illai Gescheit, “Percepto’s unique AI technology gives the heavy industry 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.” “We are impressed with Percepto’s growth in a challenging market, and look forward to working with them as they continue to lead drone regulations and innovations that will help deliver commercial value to our customers while fulfilling their environmental responsibilities,” the company said.
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