South Korea’s three-dimensional machine-vision startup CLE has successfully completed a Series A financing round of approximately USD 11.9 million(KRW 16 billion). The round was led by SBVA, with new investors including Mirae Asset Venture Investment, Kolon Investment, IBK Venture Investment, and KT Investment; existing investor FuturePlay also participated in this follow-on investment.

Machine vision — the technology that integrates cameras with machines to automate tasks such as assembly and inspection — has traditionally been dominated by two-dimensional solutions. CLE has developed its own 3D camera system and AI-driven vision software that enable the fully automated (unmanned) assembly and inspection processes in manufacturing and logistics environments. A key strength lies in its integrated hardware, AI algorithm and software stack, which allows the company to deliver custom-tailored, end-to-end applications for clients.

CLE’s machine-vision products have been applied to mass-production lines of global automobile manufacturers such as Hyundai and Kia, completing production-grade verification. Recently, to enter the Japanese market the company signed a partnership with a leading Japanese trading firm and is conducting multiple technology-verification projects with major Japanese OEMs such as Toyota and Honda. In addition, it is rapidly extending its applications from automotive production automation into electronics, materials and logistics industries.

Building on its proven technology in automotive mass production, CLE is supplying its machine-vision solutions to overseas plants of its domestic customers, thereby expanding its global reference base. Its core product, the “CoPick3D” series of 3D cameras, offers ultra-high precision measurement with ±0.1 mm error tolerance and real-time processing capabilities based on NVIDIA’s parallel-processing architecture(CUDA;Compute Unified Device Architecture) — enabling fully unmanned automation of complex precision assembly and inspection processes that were impossible with conventional 2D machine vision.

With this investment, CLE plans to accelerate its expansion into Japan, Europe and the Americas, and expand its technology-portfolio beyond manufacturing automation into logistics, semiconductors and defense & aerospace sectors.

SBVA Senior Investment Manager Hong Sang‑woo commented, “CLE has commercialised a 3D solution that overcomes the limitations of traditional 2D machine vision via AI technology. Its product offers high precision and reliability, and is expected to contribute to the expanded adoption of robotics in industries such as production, logistics and semiconductors.”

FuturePlay’s Investment Director Jeon Aram added, “CLE created a successful reference in Korea’s high-automation automotive sector and is using the competitive lead time gained in that process as a weapon for rapid global market entry — a role-model formula for Korean B2B tech startups. We judged the market size is further enlargeable by selling the 3-D camera itself as well as solutions, so we made this follow-on investment after seed and pre-A rounds.”

CLE CEO Lee Jin‑han stated, “Our philosophy is to ‘value people, give dangerous work to robots’. With this investment we will further advance our products into fully accurate, complete 3-dimensional machine-vision technology, and become a company that delivers greater value to the precious people, not only domestically but also in overseas markets.”