A new partnership 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 Global was started in 2011, well before the rise of AI software giants such as 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 such as Snowball Effect, Flying Kiwi Angels and Triple M.
Its technology has been installed in eight different countries, including the United States, Italy and Japan, and it will soon be nine as it expands into Brazil.
A Government press release said MindHive Global signed memorandums of understanding with beef giant JBS – the world’s largest meat company and a supplier to KFC, McDonald’s, Walmart and Tesco – and law firm ASBZ during the visit to Sao Paulo.
Company director and chairwoman Debra Hall said leather grading with its AI-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.
Human graders could not deliver the same consistency or accuracy as a computer, she said.
MindHive's artificial intelligence technology detects blemishes on cowhides and grades them at leather tanneries. Photo / RNZ / MindHive
“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.
MindHive's technology will soon be in use in nine different countries. Photo / RNZ /MindHive
“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 the financial year 2025 but is set to grow, with a total revenue of $14.5 million forecast by 2027.
Snowball Effect said the company had an “active pipeline of $18m” before it successfully raised $1.5m in April.
MindHive Global had launched its Brazil-based subsidiary company so it could trade there and hoped to have the first installation running before Christmas, Hall said.
