JOLED Inc. (headquartered in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director & President: Tadashi Ishibashi), which develops, manufactures, and sells organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays, has raised a total of JPY47 billion in capital through third-party allocation of new shares to mass produce OLED displays using its printing method.
The new shares were underwritten by DENSO Corporation (headquartered in Kariya, Aichi Prefecture; President & CEO: Koji Arima), Toyota Tsusho Corporation (headquartered in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture; President & CEO: Ichiro Kashitani), Sumitomo Chemical Company, Limited. (headquartered in Chuo-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director & President: Masakazu Tokura), and Screen Finetech Solutions Co., Ltd. (headquartered in Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture; Representative Director, President: Toshio Hiroe).
JOLED plans to start mass production of OLED displays at JOLED’s Nomi Site in Nomi, Ishikawa Prefecture, in 2020 in cooperation with Japan Display Inc. Aiming to commence mass production swiftly at the best timing in the rapidly changing display industry, JOLED will use the funds raised through this capital increase to develop the world’s first printed OLED display mass-production line. It also plans to raise funds at appropriate times as needed in the future.
With the addition of four new shareholders through this third-party allocation of new shares, JOLED will accelerate commercialization of printed OLED displays by further enhancing cooperation with shareholders in areas such as joint R&D, business tie-ups, and development of sales channels, under a new governance structure. Specifically, it will cooperate with DENSO, which develops and produces auto parts, in R&D and business development of onboard displays, while receiving from Toyota Tsusho, which as a general trading company has a broad-ranging global network across various industrial fields, strong support in sale of a wide range of display products. It also will further enhance its structure for cooperation with Sumitomo Chemical, a comprehensive chemicals producer with which it already has formed cooperative ties in development and supply of OLED materials. It will cooperate with Screen Finetech Solutions, which delivers display manufacturing equipment and related services, in development, manufacture, sales, and services of printing equipment.
Based on its R&D capabilities and manufacturing expertise, which have realized commercialization of the world’s first RGB printed OLED display, JOLED intends to quickly set up mass production line and realize efficient production, as well as establish JOLED’s display panels in the market for OLED panels. At the same time, JOLED will continue striving toward becoming the leading company in the OLED display field to realize its mission of developing the most advanced devices to achieve a world full of excitement and emotion.
About JOLED
JOLED Inc. is headquartered in Tokyo and uses its Ishikawa, Kyoto, and Atsugi Technology Development Centers as bases to conduct research, development, manufacturing, and sales activities for OLED displays, their parts, materials, manufacturing equipment, and associated products. JOLED was founded in January 2015, combining the OLED display development divisions of Sony Corporation and Panasonic Corporation, with the goal of accelerating mass production development and commercialization of OLED displays.
In 2016, the company started up a pilot line (substrate size: G4.5), establishing a mass production technology and improving productivity. Later, in December 2017, JOLED began shipment of its first product, the 21.6-inch 4K OLED display. To further expand the business, in July 2018, JOLED established Nomi site in Nomi city, Ishikawa prefecture. Now the company started establishing the world’s first mass production line for printed OLED, aiming to commence production in 2020.
About printed OLED displays
Characterized by their simple structure, ultra-thin profile, and light weight, OLEDs are gaining attention as next-generation displays that can deliver superb picture quality.
The printing method, which is one of the methods for manufacturing OLED displays, is a technology in which OLED materials are applied to the substrate through a printing technique to form an electroluminescent (EL) layer. Due to the simplicity of the production process, it is expected that this technology will be easily adaptable to OLED production in various screen sizes. JOLED plans to popularize its printed OLED displays in the medium-sized OLED market in which the current mainstream chemical vapor deposition method is considered difficult to use.
