Percepto, the Austin-based maker of the autonomous drone-in-a-box systems Florida Power & Light signed up for in 2022, launched Axion on Tuesday, a subscription platform that analyzes inspection data from other companies’ drones, fixed sensors and old inspection archives.
Percepto’s previous launch, on June 22, packaged its AI with next-generation Percepto Air drones, and co-founder Dor Abuhasira was quoted as CEO. Tuesday’s announcement names Julien Bellanger as chief executive and does not mention Abuhasira.
Axion Runs 160-Plus AI Models on Data Percepto’s Drones Never Collected #
Axion applies more than 160 AI models to RGB photos, radiometric thermal data, gas-imaging video and orthomosaic maps from any supported source. Percepto says it trained those models on more than 100,000 hours of autonomous inspection data. It sells Axion as software-as-a-service and has not published pricing.
The platform sorts every image and finding by asset, so a tower’s history sits in one place. In Percepto’s launch announcement, the company says the models judge condition in context: a downed wire is identified by where it sits relative to the hardware around it, and a hot spot is scored against how that asset normally runs and the weather at the time.
Operators can also type questions about an asset in plain English. In Percepto’s own demo, a utility worker sending a lineman to a pole asks what else is wrong with it, and Axion answers that a deteriorated crossarm was detected on June 3 and a vegetation crew trimmed a nearby tree two months ago.
Percepto Keeps Its Drones and Moves Their Production to the US #
Percepto still sells hardware under the Ranger drone and Harbor station names, for operators who need more frequent coverage. The company says it is consolidating engineering, manufacturing and assembly in the United States, alongside its existing US remote operations, tying the move to “American Drone Dominance.”
The phrase is the administration’s: its first White House Drone Dominance event hosted roughly 40 drone makers in August, about two weeks before Section 232 tariffs on drones took effect on September 3. Percepto’s website lists the Ranger with 61-megapixel full-frame RGB and radiometric thermal cameras and says the Harbor is tested for Category 5 hurricane winds.
Flights still run under the nationwide BVLOS waiver the FAA granted in 2023, alongside a $67 million funding round. Percepto also says a “leading U.S. energy company” has signed a multi-year contract for aerial data collection and AI analytics across its transmission network, extending a long relationship. It did not name the utility or the contract’s value.
Percepto’s AI Read DJI Footage in 2021, and Now the Software Leads the Sale #
Axion’s hardware-agnostic design is not new. Percepto’s AIM software accepted footage from DJI drones and from fixed cameras as of its November 2021 release. For most of Percepto’s history, though, that AI reached customers through Percepto’s own drones and stations, and Axion is built to be sold without them.
Percepto also partnered with Boston Dynamics in 2020 to bring Spot’s inspection data into AIM. In a post published with the launch, Bellanger says most operators already run drone programs, sensors and inspection contracts, and the bottleneck has moved to reviewing what they collect. He says the drones and stations stay a core part of the business.
Bellanger comes from software. He was CEO of application-security company Prevoty when Imperva bought it for $140 million in 2018. Percepto’s leadership page, which describes a team based in the US and Israel, now lists 12 executives, and neither Abuhasira nor co-founder Sagi Blonder is among them. Bellanger’s post credits the founders with starting Percepto in 2014 and says he is “grateful to the founders for building it.” Neither the post nor the release says what roles they hold now.
DroneXL’s Take #
Selling the AI without the drone is the right call. Percepto’s own 2021 DJI integration shows it has known for years that its customers fly other companies’ aircraft. Percepto hasn’t published which drones Axion supports, and its product page names none.
If the list includes DJI, as AIM’s did, Percepto will build drones in the US under a Drone Dominance banner while selling software that makes the Chinese fleets those drones are meant to replace more useful. I think that’s good business, and it’s the honest answer to the DJI ban for American operators: they keep the hardware they paid for and still get the analytics. Any inspection manager with a shelf of DJI Matrices should ask for that list on the demo call.
Sources: [Percepto via PR Newswire](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/percepto-launches-hardware-agnostic-axion-platform-bringing-physical-ai-to-mission-critical-operations-302920292.html), [Percepto: next chapter post](https://percepto.com/perceptos-next-chapter-a-software-first-physical-ai-company/), [Percepto June 22 release](https://percepto.com/percepto-launches-next-generation-inspection-intelligence-for-energy-infrastructure/), [Percepto leadership page](https://percepto.com/about/), [Percepto Ranger](https://percepto.com/ranger/), [Percepto 2023 Series C release](https://percepto.com/percepto-raises-67m-series-c-receives-faa-waiver-ushering-in-new-era-of-autonomous-drone-inspections-at-industrial-sites/), [Percepto: Sagi Blonder](https://percepto.com/author/sagi-b/), [Percepto AIM 2022 release](https://www.prnewswire.com/il/news-releases/percepto-launches-new-drone-and-advanced-ai-powered-analytics-for-its-2022-autonomous-inspection-amp-monitoring-platform-872552057.html), [SDxCentral](https://www.sdxcentral.com/news/imperva-acquires-application-security-vendor-prevoty-for-140m/)
DroneXL uses automated tools to support research and source retrieval. All reporting and editorial perspectives are by Haye Kesteloo. Read our editorial standards.