A core hardware supplier in the commercial space industry secures nearly 100 million yuan in financing. The team members are from the Chinese Academy of Sciences. | Exclusive report from Yingke.

Author | Qiao Yujie

Editor | Yuan Silai

Yingke learned that Jinan Perception Origin Information Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Perception Origin") recently completed a new round of financing of tens of millions of yuan. This round of financing was led by Shandong Financial Holding, and jointly participated by Xiamen High - tech Chuangzhen, Suzhou Rio Future, and Jinan Caixin Equity Investment. After this round of financing, Perception Origin has completed its angel round and angel + round financing. The company's cumulative financing amount is nearly 100 million yuan, and the funds will be used for the research and development and in - orbit verification of the first self - developed commercial synthetic aperture radar (SAR) payload, the pre - research of new spectrum products, and business expansion work.

Jinan Perception Origin was established in 2023 and is a manufacturer focusing on commercial SAR payloads. Dr. Ma Bingqiang, the founder, chairman, and chief engineer of the company, is a doctor in SAR system and signal processing from the Aerospace Information Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (formerly the Institute of Electronics, Chinese Academy of Sciences), with many years of experience in the research and development and delivery of large - scale radar system projects. Dr. Ju Zaiqiang, the co - founder and general manager, is a senior commercial aerospace practitioner and the person - in - charge of the project of China's first commercial SAR satellite, "Haisi No. 1", with rich experience in commercial aerospace project management and industrial collaboration.

Different from optical remote - sensing satellites, which can only conduct ground observations during the day with sufficient sunlight and cloud - free weather, SAR satellites are active microwave remote - sensing satellites with all - day and all - weather observation capabilities. They can perform ground observation tasks at night or under adverse weather conditions, thus becoming an indispensable technical means for remote - sensing applications and services such as target detection and disaster emergency response. As the core subsystem of the SAR satellite, the SAR payload is responsible for transmitting and receiving microwave signals and performing imaging processing, which is equivalent to the "eyes + brain" of the SAR satellite. The payload directly determines the satellite's imaging accuracy, swath width, and information processing ability, and is a core equipment with high economic value and high technological barriers.

Currently, as the competition in the global commercial aerospace industry intensifies, China's commercial aerospace industry has also entered a period of rapid development: the total number of satellites has increased significantly, and the launch frequency of SAR satellites has increased significantly. However, for a long time, the supply of SAR payloads has relied on specific scientific research systems, facing challenges such as high cost, long delivery cycle, and low imaging efficiency, which are difficult to meet the multiple requirements of commercial aerospace for cost, cycle, and efficiency. Perception Origin is trying to break this pattern.

In terms of technology, Perception Origin has mastered the full set of key software and hardware technologies for the phased - array antenna unit, central electronic unit, and ground imaging processing system of the space - borne SAR payload. Through an all - stack self - developed innovation mechanism, it reconstructs the cost structure of the SAR payload and provides a more cost - effective and more suitable commercial payload solution for large - scale production. Notably, the company has a first - mover advantage in the next - generation high - resolution wide - swath MIMOSAR technology route. This technology can significantly improve the imaging swath width and shooting efficiency while maintaining high resolution.

"There is a restrictive relationship between high resolution and wide swath in traditional SAR, which is a limitation at the principle level," said co - founder Ju Zaiqiang in an interview with Yingke. "The MIMO phased - array payload technology we have mastered can break through this limitation, covering a wide area with high resolution and achieving an effect similar to camera push - broom scanning. The imaging efficiency has increased by an order of magnitude compared with traditional solutions, and the cost of images per unit area has decreased by 1 - 2 orders of magnitude."

Schematic diagram of MIMOSAR high - resolution wide - swath imaging (Source/Enterprise) 

In terms of product progress, currently, Perception Origin's first set of commercial MIMOSAR payload has entered the prototype stage. According to the current plan, it is expected to complete in - orbit verification and start mass production within this year.

It is understood that there is currently no precedent for a fully self - developed commercial SAR payload to be successfully verified in orbit in China. Regarding whether Perception Origin can be the first team to achieve this goal, Ju Zaiqiang said, "We have a good chance to seize this opportunity. However, commercial aerospace is a'marathon'. Whether an enterprise can establish long - term advantages depends on building sustainable competitiveness in terms of cost, performance, and delivery capacity, and finally translating it into a sound financial performance. This process takes time. Meanwhile, Perception Origin will also seize the current opportunities in the development of commercial aerospace, accelerate the in - orbit verification of the first set of payloads, and promote the key leap from technological research and development to commercial delivery."

Investors' views:

Jinan Yuancuang Angel Investment, an old shareholder, said: The overall prospect of the aerospace information industry is positive. As an outstanding player in this field, Perception Origin has significant advantages and sufficient development support conditions. As a startup project of CAS talents and the first domestic supplier of commercial space - borne SAR payloads, the company is strong in SAR technology innovation and localization. Its core small - sized, low - cost, and highly integrated SAR products can be widely used in national defense security, emergency disaster relief, environmental monitoring and other fields, fitting the broad market space brought by the growing global demand for aerospace information data and the development of the digital economy.