In recent years, Micro LED technology has been widely regarded by the industry as a strong contender for next-generation display technology due to its outstanding potential in brightness, contrast ratio, response speed, energy efficiency, and lifespan. With its significant technological advantages and broad application prospects, Micro LED has become a strategic area where major display companies are vying for investment and accelerating their deployment. A race to develop and industrialize Micro LED technology is underway.
Currently, panel manufacturers including BOE, TCL CSOT, Visionox, Tianma Microelectronics, AUO, and Innolux have begun to deploy in the Micro LED field. However, each panel manufacturer has different investment progress, scale, technology roadmap, and focus in the Micro LED field, showing a diversified development trend.
AU Optronics (AUO) collaborates with Ennostar, a key component manufacturer in which it holds a stake, in the Micro LED field. Ennostar provides Micro LED chips, while AUO focuses on subsequent mass transfer, testing, repair, and the manufacturing of modules and displays, creating a vertically integrated advantage.
AU Optronics has invested heavily in research and development of key Micro LED processes, particularly mass transfer technology, and has developed its own solutions to improve production efficiency and yield. Following the successful mass production of Micro LED watch panels at the end of 2023, AU Optronics is actively promoting larger-scale industrialization.
Currently, AU Optronics is building the world's highest-generation 4.5-generation Micro LED production line and plans to put it into mass production in 2025.
This new production line will not only be able to process larger backplanes, but the crucial Micro LED mass transfer process will also be moved here. AU Optronics plans to use this advanced production line to produce a diverse range of Micro LED products, including smartwatches, large-screen TVs, transparent displays, and automotive displays. AU Optronics expects to launch its first Micro LED automotive display products based on its 4.5-generation line in 2026.
Innolux Corporation <br /> Innolux Corporation's recent move in the Micro LED field is the establishment of a dedicated company—Advanced MicroLux—which focuses on the research and development and manufacturing of Micro LED technology. The new company has a registered capital of NT$150 million and is located at Innolux's T3 plant in Zhunan, which is currently Innolux's main Micro LED R&D base.
Innolux's Micro LED R&D focuses on AM (Active Matrix) driven Micro LED display technology, with its proprietary LTPS backplane driving technology at its core. Simultaneously, Innolux is also independently developing key technologies, including color conversion technology, selective mass transfer and repair technology, seamless splicing technology, and direct patterning technology.
Currently, Innolux's Micro LED technology has been implemented in automotive displays and large-screen TVs, and the company is in talks with customers about mass production plans. The company plans to first put Micro LED products into production on the 3.5-generation low-temperature polycrystalline silicon (LTPS) production line, and plans to expand its production capacity to the higher-generation 6th generation line in the future.
BOE Technology Group Co., Ltd. has been investing in the Micro LED field for many years. Through its strategic acquisition of Huacan Optoelectronics Co., Ltd. and the supporting Zhuhai Jingxin project, it has built a complete industrial chain capability from upstream IC design, midstream packaging to downstream applications.
Meanwhile, BOE is also developing RGB Mini/Micro LED direct-view solutions based on COG (Chip-on-Glass) and COB (Chip-on-Board) technologies, as well as Mini LED backlight solutions. Furthermore, BOE is collaborating with international equipment companies to develop mass transfer technology and has completed the construction of its 2.5th generation mass transfer pilot line.
On March 19, 2025, BOE's HC SemiTek 6-inch Micro LED mass production line achieved product delivery in Zhuhai. BOE's HC SemiTek Micro LED factory primarily produces Micro LED wafers and pixel devices, targeting ultra-large and ultra-small high-definition display scenarios, for applications such as large-size commercial displays, AR/VR head-mounted displays, and wearable devices. Upon full production, it will achieve an annual production capacity of 24,000 sets (6-inch wafers) of Micro LED wafers and 45,000 million Micro LED pixel devices.
On March 10, 2025, BOE's Zhuhai Crystal Core Project (MLED direct-view module production line) announced mass production, with construction completed within 9 months and a capacity of 10,000 square meters by the end of the year. This project, in collaboration with BOE's Huacan Optoelectronics base, will integrate the entire industry chain from chip to packaging to display, and launch high-end products such as P0.3 Micro LED.
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TCL CSOT <br /> In the field of Micro LED, TCL CSOT and Sanan Optoelectronics have established a joint venture, Chipwin Display, focusing on the development of transfer bonding technology for Micro LED. This joint venture primarily focuses on overcoming four major technological challenges: LED chip miniaturization, luminous efficiency improvement, transfer bonding technology development, backplane material and process research, and driving and compensation algorithm optimization.
In October 2024, Chipwin Display's Micro LED pilot line was completed, and small-batch trial production is expected to be achieved in 2025.
It is worth noting that the Xinying Display Micro LED Display Technology R&D Center project was approved by the Xiamen Huli Ecological Environment Bureau as early as July 22, 2021. The initial plan was to develop 1,056 G4.5 generation Micro LED displays per year, with a total investment of 300 million yuan.
In March 2024, the project underwent a restructuring, shifting its focus to the research and development of Micro LED displays based on G2.5 generation TFT substrates, with an additional investment of 5 million yuan. This adjustment reflects TCL CSOT's flexibility in the technology research and development process, aiming to better adapt to market demands and technological development trends.
Visionox <br /> Visionox has chosen to spin off its Micro LED business. In August 2020, it jointly invested with the Chengdu State-owned Assets Investment Platform to establish Chengdu Chenxian Optoelectronics Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Chenxian Optoelectronics"), which focuses on the research and development and industrialization of Micro LED technology.
Chenxian Optoelectronics focuses on TFT-based Micro LED display technology, particularly utilizing LTPS (Low Temperature Polycrystalline Silicon) glass substrates. Its core technological breakthroughs include mass transfer, high-precision resurfacing processes, seamless splicing technology, and driving algorithms and dedicated driver ICs based on TFT backplanes.
In December 2024, the first TFT-based Micro LED mass production line in mainland China, built by Chenxian Optoelectronics, was officially lit up and entered the mass production and shipment stage.
The project has a total investment of 3 billion yuan. The production line adopts a large number of independently designed and domestically produced Micro LED mass production equipment, and includes a fully automated intelligent production line for the transfer process, backplane process and module process.
Shenzhen Tianma <br /> Shenzhen Tianma began its foray into Micro LED technology in 2017 and established a dedicated Micro LED Research Institute in Xiamen.
Leveraging its strengths in the panel industry, Tianma Microelectronics is developing related Micro LED applications using glass-based LTPS technology. Tianma's development strategy for Micro LED technology primarily includes PID (Public Information Display), automotive displays, transparent displays, wearables, and AR. Among these, PID, automotive displays, and transparent displays are Tianma's key focus areas.
In December 2024, Shenzhen Tianma's G3.5 generation Micro LED production line, built with an investment of RMB 1.1 billion, successfully achieved full-process integration. This production line is a complete Micro LED production line covering mass production transfer to final display module manufacturing. Its highlight lies in the fact that, during construction, Shenzhen Tianma collaborated with upstream and downstream companies in the supply chain to jointly develop more than 30 key mass production equipment and materials, achieving production line integration driven by its independent core technologies.
This production line utilizes LTPS TFT glass substrates and advanced all-laser mass transfer technology to produce Micro LED display products with no size limitations and frameless splicing capabilities, providing a highly innovative solution for next-generation smart cockpit in-vehicle displays.
Conclusion <br /> According to the latest research, the output value of Micro LED chips is estimated to reach approximately US$27.9 million in 2024, with large displays remaining the primary contributor. Looking ahead, the output value of Micro LED chips is projected to grow to US$740 million by 2029, representing a compound annual growth rate of 93% from 2024 to 2029.
With the continued investment and strategic deployment of numerous panel manufacturers and LED industry chain companies such as BOE, TCL CSOT, Visionox, Tianma, AUO, and Innolux, Micro LED technology is rapidly maturing, and production costs are gradually decreasing.
Micro LED technology is expected to accelerate its large-scale application across multiple fields, from consumer electronics (such as high-end TVs and wearable devices) to commercial displays (such as large-scale video walls and control room screens), automotive displays, and emerging fields like transparent displays and AR/VR, thereby reshaping the entire display industry landscape. (Source: WitsView)
