In recent years, Hefei has experienced rapid development in the fields of integrated circuits (ICs) and new energy, establishing a certain industrial foundation. Now, Hefei is once again turning its strategic attention to the highly popular extended reality (XR) industry. According to Tianyancha App, XR chip manufacturer Yaoyu Vision has recently added three Hefei-based investment funds as shareholders.
It is worth mentioning that this is not the first time Hefei has invested in XR manufacturers. Previously, Hefei has invested in several XR companies such as JBD, Visionox, Rokid, and NexGard. Further observation of these companies invested in by Hefei shows that they have accumulated certain technical expertise in advanced display technologies such as Micro LED and Micro OLED, or have already made this their strategic development direction.
Hefei XR Industry Layout: Focusing on Micro LED/OLED Core Display Technologies <br /> Display technology plays a crucial role in extended reality (XR) devices, directly determining the immersion and realism of the user experience. Previously, at a new display industry seminar, analysts pointed out that Micro LED and Micro OLED will continue to be key technologies in the near-eye display field in the future.
According to the "2024 Near-Eye Display Market Trends and Technology Analysis" report, although global VR/MR shipments are expected to reach 7.2 million units in 2024, with the maturity of OLEDoS technology and the optimization of the supply chain, shipments are expected to reach 40 million units by 2030, and the proportion of OLEDoS technology will increase to 27%.
JBD: Shanghai JBD Display Technology Co., Ltd. is a leading technology manufacturer in the Micro LED microdisplay field. It has completed multiple rounds of financing, with Anhui Chuanggu in Hefei participating in its Pre-A round. Ant Group led its most recent Pre-B round of financing, with funds earmarked for R&D, mass production, and market expansion.
JBD boasts a mature product line of monochrome and color Micro LED light engines, providing display solutions for over 30 AR glasses, including Shadow GO 2, Meta Orion, and Rokid Glasses. To achieve smaller size and higher image quality Micro LED microdisplays, JBD has launched the high-brightness color optical module Hummingbird I, the ultra-small AR light engine Hummingbird Mini II, and the AR waveguide image quality correction device ARTC. Furthermore, in February of this year, JBD also launched a Micro LED printhead module.
Image source: JBD
In terms of projects, the first phase of JBD's Hefei, Anhui microdisplay R&D and manufacturing project was completed in 2023, with a total investment of approximately RMB 1.5 billion. Upon completion, JBD's Hefei factory will become the world's largest Micro LED microdisplay production base, with an annual production capacity of 120 million Micro LED microdisplays.
Vishy Technology: Vishy Technology Co., Ltd. is a high-tech enterprise specializing in the research, design, and production of semiconductor OLEDoS displays. Founded in 2016 and headquartered in Hefei, it has received early-stage financing from Hefei Industrial Investment Group and attracted investment from well-known companies such as DJI and Xiaomi.
Visun Technologies' first-phase factory in Hefei covers an area of over 50,000 square meters and has three production lines with a monthly capacity of 27,000 units, producing OLEDoS displays ranging in size from 0.32 inches to 1.03 inches. In June 2024, the company announced an additional investment of 500 million yuan to expand its Micro OLED production line in Hefei, adding facilities such as array silicon substrate and color filter glass substrate production lines.
Image source: VisTech
Vishy also provides a variety of Micro OLED display optical solutions, including Pancake, Lens group, Birdbath, and Waveguide, which have been adopted by brands such as DJI, Xiaomi, XREAL, Thunderbird, and Rokid. To better promote the development of Micro OLED, Vishy officially launched its A-share IPO process on October 11, 2024.
Rokid: Hangzhou Lingban Technology Co., Ltd. (Rokid) is an AR smart glasses company. In January 2024, it completed a 500 million RMB C+ round of financing led by the Hefei Municipal Government. The funds will be used to improve B-end services and R&D capabilities. After the financing, Rokid will sign an agreement with Hefei New Station High-tech Zone to establish three projects: the Industrial Metaverse Headquarters, the Ecosystem Center, and the R&D Center.
Rokid initially focused on smart speaker products, but with the rise of the AR/VR glasses market, it gradually shifted its focus to AR glasses. In 2023, Rokid released the Rokid Max AR glasses equipped with a Micro OLED screen; on November 18, 2024, it released the Rokid Glasses Micro LED AR glasses co-branded with Tyrannosaurus Rex.
Image source: Rokid
NEDJIA: Beijing NEDJIA Display Technology Co., Ltd. is a company specializing in AR/VR optical modules. In December 2024, it completed a Series C financing round of over 100 million RMB. This financing was led by institutions such as Hefei Construction Investment Group, and the funds will primarily be used to promote innovation and development of key underlying technologies for next-generation display optics.
NEDGE focuses on fundamental technologies such as freeform surface optics and optical waveguides. In the field of XR display optics, the company has achieved mass production of freeform surface products and made breakthroughs in optical waveguide technology, including molecular bonding and high-precision glass grinding and polishing. The company has also successfully developed 30°-60° full-color high-transparency two-dimensional array optical waveguide products and applied them to optical waveguide micro-projection optical engines.
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It's worth noting that, due to its advantages of high transparency and thinness, waveguide technology has become one of the mainstream optical solutions for AR glasses. Many well-known brands, such as Meta, TCL, InnoLight Technology, Rokid, Vuzix, Meizu, Ewen Technology, and OPPO, have all launched consumer-grade AR glasses using Micro LED and waveguide technology.
According to analysis, the AR device market is expected to reach 25.5 million units by 2030, with Micro LED's market share projected to increase to 44%. The overall growth of the AR market is expected to bring broader market opportunities and cooperation prospects to core optical module suppliers such as NEDGE.
summary
Micro LED and Micro OLED, among other core display technologies, are considered key technologies for future near-eye displays and play a crucial role in enhancing the user experience of XR devices. Hefei City aims to build a technologically advanced local XR industry ecosystem by attracting and supporting companies with competitiveness in these core technology areas.
Considering the potential growth opportunities in the VR/MR and AR markets, as well as the future market position of advanced display technologies such as Micro LED and Micro OLED, Hefei's strategic layout in the XR industry may bring new growth momentum to the local economy.
