Auckland-based AI company MindHive was started in 2011. Photo: SUPPLIED/MindHive
A new deal will see a New Zealand technology company that uses artificial intelligence to grade cowhide expand its business into Brazil, the world's largest export market for beef.
MindHive was started in 2011 - well before the rise of AI software giants like ChatGPT - to use its technology for industry solutions.
In 2018, however, it pivoted to detecting blemishes and grading the quality of hides at leather tanneries.
The Auckland-based company with a team of 20 was backed by private investors like Snowball Effect, Flying Kiwi Angels and Triple M.
Its technology was installed in eight different countries including the United States, Italy and Japan - soon to be nine, as it expanded into Brazil.
The expansion was a result of a recent business delegation to Brazil in late October, spearheaded by Trade Minister Todd McClay.
A Government press release said during the visit to São Paulo, MindHive signed memorandums of understanding with the world's largest meat company, beef giant JBS - which supplies KFC, McDonald's, Walmart and Tesco - and law firm ASBZ.
MindHive's artificial intelligence technology detects blemishes on cowhides and grades them at leather tanneries. Photo: SUPPLIED/MindHive
Company director and chair Debra Hall said leather grading with its artificial intelligence-powered technology was the cornerstone of its business.
She said its grading "machine" was made up of two components: eyes and a brain.
She explained that a frame of lights and cameras sat over a conveyor belt in factories to assess the hide coming through.
"It's got six to eight seconds to look at the hide, that's how fast the process runs," Hall said.
MindHive's artificial intelligence technology detects blemishes on cowhides and grades them at leather tanneries. Photo: SUPPLIED/MindHive
Human graders could not deliver the same consistency or accuracy of a computer, she said.
"The fact that we're replacing human eyes and what they can see in six to eight seconds is why we have such an advantage, because the cameras and lights are truly optimised to see what's going on in that hide, right down to a tick bite or a healed scar or all sorts of things, a barbed wire poke."
The data was sent to "the brain" for assessment, she said.
"The brain is the processor that also sits on site in the tannery that has all the software connections. That's where our artificial intelligence resides and makes the decisions about what the hide looks like and how many defects it's got."
Each client had their own specifications on the hide they wanted, and any imperfections could be quickly detected, she said.
"I think now there are more than 25 types of defects that we can see when we look at the hide in a few seconds."
Hall declined to comment on the company's revenue, but said the new partnership would grow the business substantially.
According to a recent capital raise by Snowball Effect, the company was on track to break even in financial year 2025 - but set to rise, forecasting a total revenue of $14.5 million by 2027.
Snowball Effect said it had an "active pipeline of $18 million" - before it successfully raised $1.5 million in April.
MindHive had launched its Brazil-based subsidiary company so it could trade there, and expected to have the first installation up and running before Christmas, Hall said.
