Drones for wind power generation inspection
[This article was reported on "Radar M," a paid media outlet specializing in the capital market in Mail Business, on June 25 (14:33)]
Nears Lab, an artificial intelligence (AI) drone company, announced on the 25th that it has received preliminary review approval from the Korea Exchange for listing on the KOSDAQ. The goal is to complete the listing within this year.
If listed, Niers Lab is expected to be the first Korean drone company to enter the KOSDAQ market. The listing organizer is Samsung Securities Co.
Niers Lab is pursuing a listing as a technical special case. Previously, it obtained the 'A·A' grade in the technical performance evaluation of specialized institutions.
In this screening, the guidelines for "Special Listing of Customized Technologies" newly established by the Korea Exchange in January were applied. The AI industry evaluates whether it has core competitiveness by dividing it into △AI semiconductor △ AI model and application △ physical AI.
Niers Lab has met the evaluation criteria for physical AI companies and has been approved for screening. Self-flight technology applying physical AI and commercialization performance in the wind power inspection and defense sector were highly evaluated.
Founded in 2015, Near Lab started a safety inspection project for wind turbines with drones equipped with AI. It has entered the defense industry in earnest in 2024.
Based on the technology accumulated in the field of wind power safety inspection for 10 years, we have developed a drone hardkill solution "KAiDEN" and a cluster self-destruct drone "XAiDEN".
Last year, Zaiden carried out exports to the Middle East by winning a $10 million project, the largest single contract among domestic defense drones.
Redcat Holdings, a U.S. defense company, has also joined the global defense network to target the North American market. It is also continuing its export of defense drones to Southeast Asia.
It is also speeding up the establishment of a domestic defense ecosystem. It signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with LIG D&A to establish an integrated air defense network.
The plan is to jointly develop and supply a drone defense system that ranges from detection to interception by combining LIG D&A's integrated air defense network operation capabilities and Niers Lab's autonomous flying drones.
Choi Jae-hyuk, CEO of Niers Lab, said, "The approval of the preliminary screening of KOSDAQ listing is the result of recognizing the physical AI technology and future growth potential that Niers Lab has pioneered over the past 11 years."
Meanwhile, Niers Lab is also a key portfolio invested by SBI Investment in the early stages. After investing in SBI Investment, Niers Lab succeeded in attracting more than 65 billion won in accumulated investment.
SBI Investment currently operates assets worth 1.5 trillion won (AUM). It has invested in more than 1,000 companies and led more than 220 IPOs, focusing on AI, bio-healthcare, semiconductors, and manufacturing.
