A first-generation Percepto Sparrow at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in an October 2025 file photo, not the new Axion software. Photo: ZLEA / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized.
Percepto launched a subscription software platform Tuesday that lets industrial operators analyze inspection data from drones and sensors they already own, widening its business beyond customers using its own autonomous inspection equipment.
The Austin-headquartered company, which describes its team as based in the United States and Israel, said the new Axion platform accepts data from supported third-party drones, fixed and mobile sensors and existing inspection archives. It is available now as software as a service, the company said.
The business shift addresses a practical problem for power companies, oil and gas operators and factories: collecting more images of equipment does not automatically tell a maintenance team which problem needs attention first.
From gathering images to deciding what to inspect
Axion organizes inspection information around individual assets, combining past findings with new data and applying AI to help assess equipment condition, Percepto said. The company says users can ask questions in ordinary language and receive answers and recommendations drawn from the information in the platform.
Percepto gave two examples of the work it is designed to do: recognize a downed wire from its position relative to nearby components, or assess an unusual heat reading against how the equipment would normally behave and the surrounding conditions.
Those are company descriptions of the product’s capabilities. The announcement does not provide independent comparisons of its accuracy, evidence of a measured reduction in outages or a guaranteed saving on maintenance bills.
Percepto says the system uses more than 160 specialized AI models trained on more than 100,000 hours of autonomous inspection data. The size of that training base is not, by itself, a measure of how well the software will perform on a particular customer’s equipment.
A wider market than its own drone fleet
Opening the software to other suppliers’ equipment changes who can buy it. An operator with an established drone programme or a library of inspection images can use supported data without first replacing its entire collection system, according to the company.
That does not mean every drone or sensor works with Axion. Percepto describes support for third-party platforms but does not provide a complete compatibility list in its announcement. It also does not disclose subscription prices. Those remain details for buyers to establish alongside how the software fits their inspection and maintenance processes.
Customers can add Percepto’s own autonomous systems and managed remote operations when they want more frequent data collection, the company said. Its Ranger drones and Harbor autonomous station are part of that offering.
New leadership and a U.S. production shift
The announcement names Julien Bellanger as chief executive, with Kurt Nantkes as chief revenue officer and Amir Khoshniyati as chief marketing officer. Percepto presents the team as leading its software-first expansion.
The company also said it won a multiyear contract from a U.S. energy company to supply aerial data collection and AI inspection analysis for transmission lines, extending an existing relationship. It did not name the customer or disclose the contract’s value, so the announcement does not establish how large that business is.
Percepto said it is consolidating engineering, manufacturing and assembly in the United States, alongside existing U.S. remote operations. The effort is under way, it said, without giving a completion date or a staffing breakdown by country.
Founded in 2014, Percepto says its operations are backed by a nationwide Federal Aviation Administration waiver for flights beyond a pilot’s visual line of sight. Tuesday’s product launch is a software announcement, not an announcement of new FAA permission.
JBizNews Desk | Austin
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