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Mithril

Category: Computer Vision

A deep-tech startup developing 'Guardian-Alpha', an AI-based industrial accident prevention solution that utilizes proprietary Vision-Language Models (VLM) to monitor and analyze safety risks in real-time. Mithril was founded in 2023. The company is led by Jo Jeong-hyeon. Based in Cheonan, South Korea. Team size: 10-50. Total funding raised: ₩4.5B. Latest round: Pre-A Bridge. Key investors include Xplor Investment (GS Construction CVC), The Invention Lab, Bluepoint Partners, Hoseo University Startup Support.

Founded
2023
Headquarters
Cheonan, South Korea
Team size
10-50
Total funding
₩4.5B

Value proposition

Transfers safety management from passive recording to active reasoning; the system understands complex worker behaviors and environmental risks, providing explainable alerts to prevent accidents before they occur.

Products and solutions

Guardian-Alpha (Core Industrial Safety AI), OPTIMA-ALPHA (Manufacturing Data & AI Integration), OPTIMA-VISION (Vision AI for Manufacturing Optimization), Manufacturing Process Analysis System, Work Quality Management AI, Equipment Anomaly Detection Solution, Physical AI (Robot Dog, Drone, Humanoid Integration)

Unique value

Unlike traditional vision AI that relies on simple object detection (e.g., 'worker is here'), Mithril’s system uses a 'Foundation Model' approach that reasons through visual and linguistic data to understand context (e.g., 'worker is performing a dangerous action without a harness').

Target customer

Heavy industry companies, construction firms, manufacturing plants (e.g., mortar and cement), and shipbuilding sectors requiring high-reliability safety monitoring.

Industries served

Construction, Manufacturing, Shipbuilding, Defense & Security

Technology advantage

Leverages Knowledge-Augmented Learning (KAL) to enable complex reasoning with minimal data, and Explainable AI (XAI) to provide clear justifications for its safety alerts, which is critical for high-stakes industrial environments.

How they differentiate

Uses proprietary Vision-Language Models (VLM) and Explainable AI (XAI) to understand 'contextual behavior' (e.g., specific dangerous actions) rather than simple object detection (e.g., helmet wearing). It utilizes 'Knowledge-Augmented Learning' (KAL) to enable high-reasoning accuracy with minimal industrial data.

Main competitors

IntelliVIX (인텔리빅스), Alchera (알체라), AIV (아이브)

Key partnerships

Sampyo Industry (Major client/deployment partner for mortar plants), Xplor Investment (CVC of GS Construction), The Invention Lab (Early-stage accelerator/investor), Hoseo University Startup Support Foundation, Chungnam Defense Venture Center (협약기업/partner company for defense industry AI), Elswedy Group (Middle East strategic MOU for global expansion)

Notable customers

Sampyo Industry (삼표산업), GS Construction (GS건설), Hoseo University, Aju (아주), Sungshin Yanghoe (성신양회), Hanil Cement (한일시멘트)

Major milestones

Founded in November 2023 by Jo Jeong-hyeon (PhD in Brain Engineering), Selected for the Ministry of SMEs and Startups TIPS program (2024), Awarded Minister of SMEs and Startups Commendation for industrial safety innovation (Sept 2025), Commercial deployment of 'Guardian-Alpha' to 4 Sampyo Industry mortar plants (Dec 2025), Secured final 1 billion KRW investment from Xplor Investment, completing the 4.5 billion KRW Pre-A Bridge round (Jan 2026), Won '2025 Korea AI Industry Grand Prize' for AI-based industrial safety solutions (2025), Launched OPTIMA-ALPHA and OPTIMA-VISION manufacturing AI solutions (Apr 2026), Selected as Chungnam Defense Venture Center partner company (May/Jun 2026), Showcased Physical AI (robot dog, drone, humanoid) integration at AI EXPO KOREA 2026 (May 2026)

Growth metrics

Reached cumulative funding of 4.5 billion KRW within two years of founding (Nov 2023); Selected for the TIPS program.

Market positioning

Deep-tech industrial safety AI challenger targeting heavy industry and manufacturing clusters.

Geographic focus

South Korea (Headquartered in Cheonan to be near manufacturing hubs), with future potential for global expansion via GS Construction's network.

Patents and IP

Holds multiple proprietary patents related to Vision-Language Models (VLM) and industrial environment-specialized foundation models (specific patent numbers not public, but verified by Innoforest/NextUnicorn database).

About Jo Jeong-hyeon

Jo Jeong-hyeon is the founder and CEO of Mithril. He holds a PhD in Brain Engineering (뇌공학), a field he entered following the inspiration of the AlphaGo match in 2016. He specializes in Vision-Language Models (VLM) and Explainable AI (XAI). Prior to founding Mithril, he was a researcher focused on deep learning applications. He founded Mithril to address structural safety issues in industrial environments using advanced Vision AI that requires minimal data for complex reasoning.

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