Perceptual Robotics: Greek drones ready to hit the US market

Transatlantic flights are being planned by the Greek subsidiary of Perceptual Robotics, which is launching its development outside of Europe after securing new financing from Brookstreet Equity Partners.

The startup, which uses autonomous drones, advanced robotics and machine learning to provide comprehensive inspections of grid infrastructure and wind turbines, is already backed by international investors, including TSP Ventures, Future Fund, Humble Holdings and Metavallon VC.

Although the funding amount was not disclosed, it is certain that it will give Perceptual Robotics the momentum it needs to expand beyond the European airspace, where it has - since last year - had a presence, specifically in Spain and France.

London-based Brookstreet will support Perceptual Robotics in the first quarter of 2023 to expand its products and explore new markets, including the US.

The company was founded in 2016 by Kostas Karachalios, Dimitris Nikolaidis and Kevin Lind.

In practice, the startup was born out of Bristol Robotics Laboratory, which is one of the largest robotics research centres in the world, while in 2019 it acquired its European base in Athens.

The Greek startup is using drones, artificial intelligence and machine learning which can offer autonomous inspections on wind turbines four times faster than traditional solutions. Today, the Bristol-based spin off carries out independent audits for some of Europe's largest wind farm operators.

According to the founder and CEO of Perceptual Robotics, the company will use the new funding to support its expansion plan to become the number one self-service provider for wind turbine inspection.

The startup's first product, Dhalion, is a first-of-its-kind autonomous drone for infrastructure inspections that combines robotics and artificial intelligence. It offers comprehensive inspection capabilities, from data acquisition and defect detection using machine learning.

It thus drastically reduces the time and resources required by inspections, most of which were "traditionally" carried out manually.

In this way, the Greek startup reduces costs and improves efficiency in the wind turbine inspection market, helping the entire wind energy industry to become more efficient and cost-effective.

On the radar of investors

The Greek startup has already entered the radar of investors, having completed a funding round of 1.6 million pounds in 2021, led by TSP Ventures, Humble Holdings and Metavallon VC.

In 2019 Perceptual Robotics raised €600,000 from Metavallon VC, while since its inception - in 2016 - it has received grants of several hundred thousand pounds.

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