Started with AI Drone Wind Turbine Safety Inspections, NearsLab
Expands Business into Defense and Security
Broadening Global Demonstration and Export Opportunities
Drone artificial intelligence (AI) company NearsLab is marking its 10th anniversary by taking flight once again as a 'K-defense company' in the global market. Having established a strong position in the wind turbine safety inspection sector based on its AI autonomous flight technology, NearsLab is expected to achieve concrete results this year in the defense and security sectors, which it began expanding into in earnest last year.
On the 16th, NearsLab announced that its swarm attack drone XAiDEN has been selected as a finalist in the Medium Unmanned Aerial Systems Defense category at 'AUVSI Xponential 2025,' North America's largest unmanned aerial vehicle exhibition, held in Houston, United States. Xponential is an exhibition hosted by the Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI), founded in 1972. This year, more than 500 companies are expected to open exhibition booths and showcase the latest technologies and industry trends from May 19 to 22. NearsLab explained that its defense drone technology and vision have once again been recognized at this venue, where unmanned systems and autonomous technology companies from around the world compete.
NearsLab also currently has defense contracts in the Middle East and Southeast Asia and is conducting multiple demonstration projects in parallel. In particular, the company recently signed a memorandum of understanding with RedCat Holdings, which secured a contract for the U.S. Army's Short Range Reconnaissance Program, thereby establishing a foothold for entry into the U.S. defense market. NearsLab has also strengthened its business development capabilities by appointing Kim Donghyun, former CEO of MochaSystem, as Vice President (CSO). Based on these efforts, NearsLab explained that it is expanding global demonstration and export opportunities in the United States, South America, Europe, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia.
NearsLab's rapid establishment in this market has been supported by its complete autonomous drone technology, spanning both software and hardware. CEO Choi Jaehyuk and CTO Jung Youngseok, both graduates of the Department of Aerospace Engineering at KAIST, founded NearsLab in 2015, and the company began its full-scale business in 2017 by entering the wind turbine safety inspection sector. The company's self-developed 'NearsWind Pro' has been officially adopted as a safety inspection solution by the world's largest wind turbine manufacturers, including Siemens Gamesa, GE, and Vestas. Currently, NearsLab supplies its technology to more than 30 countries across North America, Europe, South America, and Asia.
NearsLab, which had focused on AI solution technology, began hardware development in 2023, recognizing the need to develop drones that could fully meet on-site requirements. As a result, last year the company unveiled a series of products, including the small AI drone AiDEN, the high-speed interceptor drone KAiDEN, and a drone station. In February of this year, NearsLab also introduced the swarm attack drone XAiDEN, further strengthening its AI autonomous flight drone defense system.
CEO Choi stated, "The next 10 years at NearsLab will be a period in which we set new standards for the global defense, security, and safety industries through AI and drone technologies," adding, "We will fully realize technology-driven global leadership in the expanded fields of defense and security."
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