Autonomous site inspection solutions company Percepto has announced that it has raised $67 million in combined equity and debt Series C funding, led by Koch Disruptive Technologies (KDT), alongside new investors Zimmer Partners and a large US energy company. Existing investors US Venture Partners, Delek US Holdings, Atento Capital, Spider Capital and Arkin Holdings also participated in the round. A total of $120 million has been invested in the company to date.
Percepto recently received a nationwide Beyond Line of Sight (BVLOS) waiver from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), allowing the company to provide any US critical infrastructure site with remotely-operated automated inspection drones, without the need for site specific approvals. Percepto calls this "a game changer for the industry", saying that it removes logistical and cost barriers, such as the need for radars or people on the ground, which it says will fuel the adoption of autonomous drone technology.
"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 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 was founded in 2014 by Abuhasira, CPO Raviv Raz, CTO Sagi Blonder, and CCO Ariel Avitan. The company has offices in Modi'in, the US and Australia.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on June 13, 2023.
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