国产3D线激光传感器实现“软硬一体化”，「唯琴科技」完成数千万元Pre-A轮融资 | 36氪首发

Written by | Lin Qingqing

Edited by | Yuan Silai

36Kr has learned that 3D vision sensor manufacturer "WeiQin Technology" has recently completed its Pre-A round of financing. The amount of financing is several million yuan in Chinese currency, and the investor is Xiamen Hi-Tech Investment. This round of financing will be used for the mass production investment of high-precision sensors and the expansion of overseas markets.

"WeiQin Technology" was established in 2013, focusing on the research and development of core algorithms, sensors, and software systems for machine vision. It is a provider of integrated software and hardware solutions in the industrial inspection field. Based on its independent technology accumulation, it has launched a code-free visual inspection platform, 3D line laser profile sensor, and AI inspection system, covering scenarios such as 2D/3D visual inspection, high-precision measurement, and industrial quality inspection. Its solutions have been implemented in the 3C, lithium battery, military, semiconductor, and other fields.

With the integration of new technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, and 5G, the machine vision market has developed rapidly in recent years. According to the GGII report, the scale of the Chinese machine vision market is expected to exceed 20 billion yuan in 2024, with a year-on-year growth rate of nearly 12%. Among them, the high-precision 3D line laser profile sensor is one of the core components of industrial inspection equipment, which has long been monopolized by foreign-funded manufacturers, and related foreign-funded enterprises occupy more than 60% of the market share.

"Back in 2013, the domestic machine vision industry was almost monopolized by foreign capital. Customers could only purchase imported components at high prices, and the software adaptation cost was extremely high," introduced Lin Shaobin, the founder of "WeiQin Technology". The team started to get involved in the field of machine vision around 2011 and is one of the earlier domestic teams to enter this field.

High-precision detection requires a multidisciplinary integration of technologies, including optical design, algorithm optimization, and hardware manufacturing, with a high technical threshold. Moreover, the manufacturing cost of high-precision sensors is also high, resulting in a high product price, which greatly limits its market application. Not only that, the data accumulation in the field of machine vision is crucial for algorithm optimization and product performance improvement, but the former requires a long time of accumulation and a large user base.

Therefore, the first stage of the development of "WeiQin Technology" focused on the research and development of machine vision software, accumulating a large number of software-level core products; in the second stage, by opening the software platform, it accumulated more than 20,000 enterprise-level users, and then entered the hardware field to develop high-precision 3D sensors and inspection software.

In the early stage, "WeiQin Technology" entered from the software. In 2019, it launched the code-free visual system SGVision, which supports more than 300 algorithms and is compatible with the protocols of mainstream industrial equipment such as PLC, robots, and industrial cameras. Through the free model, it has accumulated more than 20,000 enterprise users. Lin Shaobin said, "Making the software free is to lower the industry threshold, but to solve customer needs, we must rely on integrated software and hardware products."

From the perspective of core products, the MTD-L series 3D line laser profile sensor independently developed by "WeiQin Technology" has a maximum repeat accuracy of 0.1 micron and a scanning frequency of 30KHz, which is 100% higher than similar products (15KHz), and is suitable for high-speed detection scenarios, but the unit price is much lower than that of similar products of foreign competitors. This cost advantage comes from two technological innovations: First, through the optimization of optics, algorithms, and hardware architecture, the integrated design of the sensor is realized, and the hardware cost is reduced by 50%; second, the 3D inspection software is built-in, and customers do not need to purchase an additional inspection system.

This product has been verified by leading customers in scenarios such as 3C component measurement, military precision component inspection, and lithium battery defect identification. Since mass production at the end of 2024, it has received orders from many leading customers in the industry.

It is worth mentioning that, in addition to technology, the machine vision open community "MarkLab" of "WeiQin Technology" has more than 20,000 registered users, including Foxconn, BYD, FAW, Han's Laser, CATL, Flex, etc. It provides functions such as general visual inspection software, AI model training, standard visual components, and technical service transactions, helping customers complete the entire link from software application to hardware procurement through the platform.

"The core of the ecosystem is to enable customers to deploy multi-dimensional technologies at the lowest cost," Lin Shaobin emphasized. The AI inspection platform of MarkLab supports cloud-based annotation, training, and local reasoning. Users can import the training model into the SGVision system with one click to achieve zero-code deployment.

At the same time, "WeiQin Technology" plans to launch more standardized inspection sensors in 2025 to further reduce the threshold for customers' industrial inspection deployment and expand into the European, Japanese, and South Korean markets. "The window period for domestic substitution has arrived, but technical stability and ecological synergy are the keys to long-term competition. Achieving large-scale implementation in the high-end manufacturing field may become a key variable to rewrite the situation of foreign monopoly."

In terms of the team, Lin Shaobin, the founder of "WeiQin Technology", has more than ten years of experience in machine vision. The core members include Ph.D.s from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and many industry experts. The R & D proportion is 60%, and they hold more than 40 patents and intellectual property rights.

Currently, "WeiQin Technology" is conducting its A round of financing.

Investor's View:

Wu Junkun, Investment Director of Xiamen Hi-Tech Investment: The core product of WeiQin Technology is the core component of advanced visual equipment. Compared with the equipment, the technical difficulty of the core component is higher, but the product is more standard and easier to scale. Therefore, it has a good investment potential. WeiQin Technology has polished and precipitated the industrial vision software through 10 years, and it has taken nearly 5 years to make the 3D line laser profile sensor with performance comparable to imports and the lowest cost in the industry. Now they combine these two advantages, which will form a very prominent industry competitiveness. We believe that they will become a dark horse in this industry.