Percepto Flies Drone Facility into Riviera Beach

When Percepto, the leading autonomous drone inspection and monitoring solution provider, sought to fly its operations into Florida, it decided to land in Palm Beach County.The Israeli company’s new 11,000-square-foot building in Riviera Beach not only will bring 100 new high-wage jobs and several million dollars in planned capital investment. It will change the way drones are used to inspect facilities.Listed among Time magazine’s 100 Best Inventions of 2021 and the recipient of the Edison Gold Award and Frost & Sullivan Global Enabling Technology Leadership Award, the Percepto Air drone-in-a-box portfolio uses advanced machine learning and AI to provide autonomous inspection and monitoring to assess risk, minimize downtime, drive efficiency, increase safety and reduce operational costs.

This service is vital to Percepto’s Fortune 500 customers on six continents, including Florida Power & Light (FPL), with whom the company has been working since 2018, said Yorai Shmueli, Percepto’s VP of Global Operations, who heads the Palm Beach County offices. As the power utility’s plans for using autonomous drones developed, it was clear that Percepto needed a local operation.

Palm Beach County was the right destination for several reasons. The office supports Percepto’s operations globally, particularly in North and Latin America, where the company sees a massive demand ahead. The county also serves as the perfect gateway to these regions with great road, air, rail and water transportation options, Shmueli said.

As the company grows, the county’s pool of highly educated talent will help it fill dozens of open posts for technical support engineers, solution engineers and workshop integrators.

To help facilitate the move, FPL’s economic development department introduced Percepto to the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County for local help and guidance.

“Opening a major office in a new state is always better with local help. We got as ideal support as a company can get making such a move,” said Shmueli, noting the lifestyle component can’t be overlooked. “By being in Palm Beach County, we’ll continue to spearhead the autonomous drone industry, while having a great time getting things done.”

Percepto Founders with Air Max drone. From left to right: Sagi Blonder, Co-founder & CTO Raviv Raz, Co-founder & Chief Engineering Officer Dor Abuhasira, Co-founder & CEO Ariel Avitan, Co-founder & CCO