36Kr Exclusive | A Tsinghua University-affiliated team has developed an AI intelligent ore sorting machine and completed nearly 200 million yuan in Series C financing.

Author | Ou Xue

Editor | Yuan Silai

Hard Krypton has learned that Beijing Horist Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Horist"), an enterprise specializing in ore AI intelligent sorting equipment, has completed a nearly 200 million yuan Series C financing round. The round was led by China Merchants Capital, with follow - on investments from Jingguorui, Daxing Industrial Investment, Beijing Venture Capital, Kaiyuan Sichuang, and Chuhui Capital. The funds from this round will be mainly used for core technology R & D, global business expansion, and team building.

Founded in 2010, Horist is a domestic equipment supplier with a large number of intelligent sorting applications across all types of minerals (non - ferrous, ferrous, non - metallic, radioactive, and coal mines). The company's core team comes from the State Key Laboratory of the Department of Precision Instruments at Tsinghua University. The founder, Guo Jin, is a master's graduate from the Department of Precision Instruments at Tsinghua University and once worked in the CT department of GE Healthcare. The company has nearly two decades of scientific research accumulation in the fields of X - ray spectral analysis and AI intelligent recognition algorithms.

Hard Krypton has learned that traditional ore dressing mainly relies on manual sorting or wet processes. Manual sorting faces problems such as young people's reluctance to engage in the work, high labor intensity, and serious dust and noise pollution. Wet sorting consumes a large amount of water resources, and the use of reagents has a relatively large impact on the environment. With the advancement of the "dual - carbon" policy, the industry's demand for intelligent sorting equipment such as mechanical sorting and dry sorting has increased rapidly.

Horist's core product is an intelligent sorting machine based on X - ray fluoroscopy imaging and AI recognition algorithms. The equipment obtains the internal structural characteristics of ores through X - ray detectors, identifies waste rocks and useful ores in combination with AI algorithms, and finally uses air guns for precise separation. The whole process does not require water, which can significantly reduce the useless work and reagent consumption in the subsequent grinding and flotation processes.

The company's core technological barriers are reflected in three aspects:

First, self - developed and self - produced X - ray detectors. Detectors are the "eyes" of the sorting machine. Horist has over 15 years of R & D experience, and its acquisition speed, accuracy, and length are all internationally leading. The self - developed maintenance ability can significantly reduce the after - sales cost for customers.

Second, an intelligent recognition algorithm platform for all types of minerals. The company's product sales cover five major types of minerals, and it has accumulated a large amount of ore sorting data.

Third, the equipment has a high belt speed and large processing capacity; the accuracy of three - dimensional blowing reaches 99.9%; the power of the ray device is small; the equipment is stable and reliable with a low failure rate.

In addition, the equipment has the "four - proof" capabilities of waterproof, anti - mud, dustproof, and explosion - proof, which can adapt to the harsh environment of mines.

In terms of market performance, Horist has shipped more than 100 units per year in the past two years, with an annual output value of hundreds of millions of yuan. The compound growth rate in recent years has remained above 40%.

In terms of customers, Horist has covered large mining groups such as Zijin Mining, China Minmetals, China National Energy Group, and Shaanxi Coal. Its products are exported to many countries and regions such as Colombia, Turkey, Brazil, and Indonesia. In the segmented mineral types such as antimony ore, phosphate rock, fluorite ore, uranium ore, and weakly magnetic iron ore, the company has achieved the first domestic installation of its equipment, and the pay - back period of the equipment is generally less than one year.

According to the company, Horist has put into operation a smart manufacturing center covering an area of 40,000 square meters in Anji, Huzhou, Zhejiang. In the future, while continuing to deeply cultivate the main channel of ore AI intelligent sorting, the company plans to accelerate its expansion into new scenarios such as new mineral types, new applications, and new industries.

In terms of underlying technology, the company will continue to improve its algorithm capabilities with the help of large AI models. Next - generation technologies such as new X - ray detectors and multi - spectral fusion are also under simultaneous R & D.

We interviewed Guo Jin to discuss his ideas on the technical route and industry development.

The following is an excerpt from the interview:

Hard Krypton: How did the company's core technology originate? Why did you start with detectors and then move on to the whole machine?

Guo Jin: Our technology has two origins. The first was when we followed our tutor to develop the "distributed ten - thousand - channel seismograph" - a device to perform CT scans on the earth to determine the presence of oil underground. The second was when several of our founding shareholders later went to the CT department of GE Healthcare to develop medical CT scanners for the human body. Later, we combined these two technologies and started our business in 2010.

In the first five years, we mainly focused on researching and developing the core components of X - ray detectors and sold them to fields such as security inspection, industrial non - destructive testing, food, and medical. In 2015, we found that X - rays could be used for rock sorting, and our detectors had a fast enough acquisition speed and high enough accuracy. We believed that we could leverage our technological advantages by switching to ore sorting machines, so we made the decision to enter this field.

Hard Krypton: What are the certain development trends in the industry currently?

Guo Jin: There are four trends. First, mechanical sorting will replace manual sorting - young people are reluctant to do this kind of work, which has high labor intensity and the risk of occupational diseases. Second, dry sorting will replace wet sorting - traditional methods use a large amount of water, while our method uses no water at all. Third, photoelectric sorting will replace traditional ore - dressing methods. Fourth, there will be a significant introduction of AI and multi - spectral technology. These trends will continuously magnify our technological advantages.

Hard Krypton: What are the most important development goals for the company in the next two to three years?

Guo Jin: First, comprehensively integrate AI and multi - spectral technology in terms of technology, and apply the new detector technology to various difficult - to - process mineral types. Second, actively expand overseas and compete head - on with leading enterprises in Norway, Germany, and Poland in the global market. According to statistics, currently we rank first in the performance of non - ferrous mines, second in coal mines, and first in overseas markets in China. Next, we aim to improve our position in the international market.