What Wintone does

Wintone (Beijing Wintone Science and Technology Co., Ltd.) is a Beijing-based technology company focused on optical character recognition and document imaging. Its core TH-OCR engine originated from a collaboration with Tsinghua University under China's National 863 Plan and has been continuously developed since the company's founding in 2008. The portfolio spans passport and ID document readers, license plate recognition systems, invoice recognition, and OCR software development kits (SDKs) covering more than 200 country passport formats, 10+ languages, and a 16,000+ character set, supported by 300+ software copyrights.

The company sells across government (customs, border inspection, public security), banking, transportation, telecommunications, and hospitality verticals. Named customers in the input include ICBC, Bank of China, China Customs, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Huawei, JD.com, Canon, FAW-Volkswagen, Gome, Shangri-La, China Life Insurance, and China National Travel Service Group. Hardware products carry 3C, CE, and FCC certifications, and the portfolio has been adapted for the Xinchuang (domestic substitution) stack, including Kylin OS and Chinese CPUs. Strategic partnerships include the PBOC Digital Currency Institute (2024), China Life Insurance and China National Travel Service Group (2024), and ICBC Technology's Xiongan AI Algorithm Open Platform (2021). The company holds a National Science and Technology Progress Award (Second Class, 2008) and a Ministry of Education Science and Technology Progress Award (First Class, 2008).

Wintone's revenue model is a combination of hardware sales (passport readers, scanners), software licensing (OCR SDKs and enterprise platforms), and embedded/OEM distribution, notably a 20-year TH-ORC authorization inside Microsoft Office. Go-to-market mixes direct enterprise sales, OEM channel partners, and international resellers across Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. Sub-brands include TH-OCR, Kuaihaotong, Kuaipiaotong, Huipiaotong, Huishi, Chesatel, Yiyunshikong, Xiangyun, and Identity Guardian. The company is privately held, has not disclosed funding rounds, and reports a headcount of 101–250 employees.

Name

Wintone

Legal name

Beijing Wintone Science And Technology Co., Ltd.

Website

https://wintone.com.cn

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Wintone is a Beijing-based OCR and document-imaging technology company that builds passport and ID readers, license plate recognition systems, and OCR SDKs for government, banking, transportation, telecom, and hospitality clients across China and international markets.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Document Recognition Software

SIC

Computer & Office Equipment (3570)

akta.pro primary industry

Optical Character Recognition (OCR) & Document Vision (HDAAAEAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Authentication (MFA/Passwordless/Biometrics) Platforms (BPAMAEAE), Digital Identity, Biometrics & eGate Enablement (THALAPAE)

Keywords

• Document recognition software
• Passport reader hardware
• OCR text recognition
• License plate recognition
• Identity verification devices

Headquarters

HQ city

Beijing

HQ country

China

HQ region

Asia

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Hardware Products: Sales of passport readers, ID card scanners, license plate recognition cameras and related hardware devices with various form factors (desktop, embedded, kiosk-mounted)
2. SDK/Software Licensing: License plate recognition SDK, OCR SDK, and document recognition SDK products sold with encryption locks or soft keys, supporting various authorization levels (single/multi-channel)
3. Enterprise Solutions: Customized industry solutions for government, finance, telecom, transportation, and hospitality sectors integrating OCR, document recognition and authentication technologies
4. Private Cloud/On-premise Deployment: On-premises deployment options for data security-conscious enterprises with SDK and API integration services

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Wintone develops and sells OCR-based document recognition technology, including passport readers (ICAO DOC 9303 compliant), ID document recognition systems, license plate recognition cameras and SDKs, and invoice/form recognition software. The company offers its offerings as hardware devices (desktop, embedded, kiosk-mounted), SDK software for integration, and customized enterprise solutions for government, banking, telecommunications, transportation, and hospitality sectors globally.

Product overview

Wintone (Beijing Wintone Science & Technology Co., Ltd.) offers a comprehensive OCR-based intelligent identification product portfolio built around proprietary TH-OCR technology developed in partnership with Tsinghua University. The portfolio spans three main categories: (1) Identity Recognition including passport readers (TH-SR, TH-ER, KR, TH-PR series), ID document scanners (AVA6 Plus2, B660+), and document OCR recognition for 60+ document types including ID cards, bank cards, passports, driver's licenses; (2) Intelligent Transportation including license plate recognition SDK, LPR cameras, and mobile/private cloud/DSP deployment options; (3) Commercial Document Imaging including invoice recognition, form recognition, bank receipt OCR, financial statement recognition, and AI OCR training platform. Products are deployed across government affairs, finance, telecommunications, transportation, and travel industries serving 6 million+ clients globally including Microsoft, ICBC, and various government agencies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• TH-OCR: Text Image Recognition Technology - core OCR technology developed from National 863 Plan project, supporting Chinese simplified/traditional, Tibetan, Uyghur, Japanese, Korean, and other languages
• Kuaihaotong
• Kuaipiaotong
• Huipiaotong
• Huishi
• Chesatel
• Yiyunshikong
• Xiangyun
• Identity Guardian

Products and services

• TH-OCR Text Recognition SDK Proprietary OCR text recognition SDK developed with Tsinghua University, supporting Chinese simplified/traditional, Tibetan, Uyghur, Japanese, Korean, English, and Arabic with 16,000+ character set. Powers Microsoft Office for 20+ consecutive years.
• Passport Reader Hardware Series (TH-SR, TH-ER, KR, TH-PR, QR, PSPR, EPR, APR) Multi-format passport readers supporting 200+ countries and 80+ document types per ICAO DOC 9303 standards, including ultra-slim embedded (SR), PC-free standalone (ER), kiosk (KR), desktop (PR), and premium (QR/PSPR/EPR/APR) models with RFID, UV/IR authentication.
• ID Document Recognition System (ID Cards, Bank Cards, Passports, Driver's Licenses, Vehicle Certificates, Business Licenses) OCR-based document recognition supporting 60+ document types including ID cards, bank cards, passports, driver's licenses, business licenses, and real estate certificates with 99% recognition accuracy and video stream/image recognition modes.
• License Plate Recognition (LPR) SDK and Cameras License plate recognition software and hardware supporting blue, yellow, new energy, Hong Kong/Macau/Thailand license plates, including PC SDK, mobile terminal recognition, private cloud deployment, DSP embedded authorization, and specialized LPR cameras.
• General Text Recognition (Printing/Handwriting) Universal OCR text recognition for printed and handwritten content with 7,000+ character set, single character recognition within 1 second, 99.5%+ accuracy rate.
• Invoice, Form and Financial Statement Recognition OCR-based recognition for invoices, forms, bank receipts, financial statements, customs declarations with invoice recognition speed up to 10 sheets/second and integration with authoritative invoice verification platforms.
• AI OCR Training Platform AI-powered training platform for custom OCR model development, enabling enterprises to train custom document recognition models with flexibility for various business form types.
• VIN Code Recognition System Vehicle Identification Number recognition system for automotive industry applications enabling efficient vehicle information extraction and database lookup.
• ID Card Scanner (AVA6 Plus2, B660+) Desktop ID document scanners for high-quality document image capture with automatic edge detection and image optimization for various ID document types.
• ID Card Scanner (AVA, AVA5) Second-generation document identification system used in government and enterprise document scanning applications.

Quantifiable outcome

• ID card recognition speed under 1 second, recognition accuracy rate of 99%
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers20 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability9 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and flagship.

• Digital Currency Institute of People's Bank of ChinacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Cooperation in 2024 on digital currency exchange identity authentication, integrating passport readers into RMB digital currency exchange systems.
• China National Travel Service Group (Xi'an)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Cooperation starting 2024 with China National Travel Service Group for tourism and travel industry solutions.
• China Life InsurancemajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Cooperation starting 2024 for insurance document processing and OCR workflow optimization.
• Kylin Software (Kirin OS)coreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2024Full product line adapted to Kylin operating system; passport readers and TH-OCR SDK received official adaptation certification.
• ICBC TechnologyflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Wintone signed contract with ICBC Technology in 2021, becoming one of the first companies to join the Xiongan Artificial Intelligence Algorithm Open Platform.
• Tsinghua University - Intelligent Graphics and Text LaboratorycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-term R&D cooperation with Tsinghua University's Intelligent Graphics and Text Laboratory in the Department of Electronic Engineering, resulting in successful industrialization of TH-OCR technology from the National 863 Plan project. This partnership enabled the perfect integration of TH-OCR technology and market applications.
• MicrosoftcoreTechnology or IntegrationTH-OCR technology has been continuously authorized for Microsoft Office operating system for 20 consecutive years, representing a long-standing technology integration partnership.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Anyline: Anyline provides mobile OCR SDKs for ID, passport, license plate, and barcode scanning, overlapping with Wintone's mobile LPR SDK and mobile ID-recognition product line for BYOD and field-force use cases.
• SenseTime: SenseTime is a leading Chinese computer-vision and AI company offering OCR, face recognition, and identity-verification solutions that overlap with Wintone's vision-based document and ID authentication capabilities, particularly in domestic Chinese markets.
• Megvii (Face++): Megvii provides AI-based face recognition and ID document verification products competing with Wintone's Identity Guardian and authentication modules, particularly for Chinese enterprise and government identity-proofing deployments.

Broad incumbents

• Kofax (Tungsten Automation): Kofax/Tungsten offers document capture, OCR, and intelligent automation platforms widely deployed in banking and insurance — the same verticals Wintone serves with its invoice, bank-receipt, and financial-statement OCR modules.
• Access-IS (now HID): Access-IS (part of HID Global) produces passport and ID readers used in airports, hotels, and government kiosks, providing global-scale competition to Wintone's kiosk-embedded KR series passport readers.
• 3M Cogent: 3M's Cogent business provides biometric identification and document-reading solutions for border management, law enforcement, and civil ID programs. Larger incumbent with overlapping passport-reading and identity-verification capabilities, serving similar public-sector buyers.

Direct peers

• Regula: Regula is a global provider of passport readers, MRZ/chip readers, and identity-document authentication devices, with deep ICAO DOC 9303 coverage and government/banking deployments. It is Wintone's closest international counterpart in passport-reading hardware and document authentication software.
• DESKO: DESKO manufactures passport and ID scanners widely deployed at airports, hotels, and border control, with similar OEM/embedded form factors to Wintone's TH-SR, KR, and PR series. Comparable in product category, customer verticals, and OEM integration model.
• ABBYY: ABBYY is a leading OCR and document-AI vendor with FineReader Engine, FlexiCapture, and ABBYY Vantage competing directly with Wintone's TH-OCR SDK and document recognition modules across enterprise and government accounts.
• Adaptive Recognition (ARH): ARH supplies passport readers and ANPR/license-plate-recognition cameras with international certifications (ICAO, CE, FCC). Directly comparable to Wintone in hardware portfolio and in serving border, traffic, and parking verticals.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

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Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Wintone