AETECH is a waste management startup leading innovation in the resource recycling sector with an artificial intelligence (AI) based waste sorting robot.

Founded in 2020 by a research team from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Seoul National University, the company has developed the AI waste optical sorting robot 'Atron', becoming the first in Korea to supply and commercialize it in both private and public recycling sorting facilities.

Atron is based on deep learning AI trained on over 2.6 million actual waste disposal data records from sorting facilities.

This robot can sort up to 96 pieces of waste per minute with an accuracy of 99.3% and can classify up to 43 subcategories based on color and material across seven types of recyclable waste. Currently, a total of 13 units are installed and operating in domestic recycling sorting facilities.

AETECH is participating in a climate tech startup incubation project led by Gyeonggi Province and the Gyeonggi Creative Economy Innovation Center. Through this, they are receiving support necessary for commercialization, including manufacturing costs, R&D personnel costs, and promotional expenses for Atron.

AETECH raised 8.6 billion won in a Series A investment last year and Atron was also selected as an innovative product by the Public Procurement Service. Additionally, they hold more than 10 registered patents and 7 international applications for intellectual property rights, and in July this year, they were honored to be selected as the first domestic company to win the Global Awards of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) under the United Nations.

Currently, AETECH is building a 1652㎡ (500 pyeong) unmanned robot resource recovery center called 'Airo-mrf (Ai Robot Material Recovery Facility)' in Gyeongseo-dong, Seo-gu, Incheon.

This facility is a smart factory where robots perform all processes of waste sorting without human intervention, and it is expected to achieve more than double the resource recycling rate compared to existing sorting facilities. Airo-mrf is expected to reduce landfill and incineration waste by half and cut down approximately 25 tons of carbon footprint daily.

In the future, AETECH plans to continue developing technologies to sort various types of waste, including not only household waste but also industrial and marine waste.

Along with this, they plan to build a global network by participating in prestigious overseas exhibitions, starting with Asia, and to venture into international markets. They will participate in various overseas exhibitions, starting with the 2025 CES in the United States, followed by Spain's SCEWC and Germany's IFA, to enhance their global presence and strengthen their position. AETECH has set countries like Vietnam, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taiwan as their primary target export markets in Southeast Asia.

Additionally, to launch a new Atron product for multi-family housing, they have been conducting a technology development project with domestic large construction companies under purchase conditions since the end of last year.

CEO Park Tae-hyung stated, "AETECH will do its best to respond to climate change and achieve carbon neutrality."

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