The start-up company, Percepto, which develops technologies for autonomous drones, has raised $67 million in a Series C funding round led by Koch Disruptive Technologies (KDT). This round brings the company’s total funding since its inception to over $120 million. About $50 million of this round was raised in equity, with the rest in debt provided by the credit fund, Kraus Capital, which was sold to BlackRock. This funding round comes after the company underwent two rounds of layoffs, during which it terminated 25% of its workforce.
Percepto develops autonomous drones that perform automated monitoring of industrial sites, including power plants, mines, chemical factories, and refineries, aiming to identify safety and maintenance issues in the site infrastructure. The drones autonomously depart from their stations, perform the tour along a predetermined route, and return on schedule for recharging, without the need for a human operator on site. The drones have also been designed to operate at night and under challenging weather conditions such as rain and fog.
