LEDinside listed out companies worldwide that have tapped into the development of Micro LED and what they have achieved so far. This up-to-date table covers the majority of the activities happening within the global Micro LED developing force. 

Nichia announced Tuesday that it had won another LED patent infringement suit against Everlight in Dusseldorf Court in Germany, and filed another four patent suits against Chinese LCD TV manufacturer TCL Multimedia Technology Holdings, LED retailers Lowe’s Hone, and LED distributors L G Sourcing and Feit Electric. Feit Electric is the most recent plaintiff to be included in the Japanese LED manufacturers list of companies where it is seeking for injunctions that prohibit the sale and distribution of infringing products, but there has not been much changes in its patent suit strategy. The company is following a trajectory similar to 2016 in its patent suit approach. LEDinside also estimates Feit Electric might cave into arriving a settlement in a similar way that it did with Cree in 2016.

Royal Philips Lighting finally sold its 80.1% stake in Lumileds for US $2 billion to Apollo Global Management, retaining only a 19.9% stake in its former LED component business.Will Lumileds sale result in a new owner of CSP LED technology? As a “senior stalker” of CSP LEDs, a stroll down the memory lane indicates the technology was launched by Lumileds nearly a decade ago, leading international players control the key technologies. However, Chinese manufacturers have also taken off in recent years.

Chinese investor Fujian Grand Chip Investment Fund (FGC) was supposed to have sealed deal between German semiconductor equipment manufacturers Aixtron on Oct. 6, 2016, but was abruptly called off by the German Economic Ministry this Monday over unspecified national security issues.

According to LEDinside’s latest findings, micro-LEDs will enter mass production by 2018. To understand micro-LED technology comprehensively, and tap into its market potential, LEDinside has organized its history, current situation, theory, manufacturing process, and related manufacturers.

Osram announced after one year of carefully selecting bidders that it would sell its general LED lighting business LEDVANCE to MLS for EUR 40 million (US $44.7 million), about three days ago. Chinese press have compared the deal to a marriage between couples, where MLS paid a hefty dowry to win over the German lighting giant’s general lighting division.

Osram announced Wednesday that a Chinese investment consortium headed by IDG that comprised of  MLS, and Yiwu State-Owned Assets Operation Center (Yiwu) acquired the German manufacturer’s general lighting business Ledvance for EUR 400 million (US $439.58 million).

Osram announced Tuesday the sale of its general lighting lamp business, LEDVANCE, to a Chinese investment consortium headed by strategic investor IDG for EUR 400 million (US $439.58 million), Chinese leading LED package manufacturer MLS was named among a key member of the consortium, as well as financial investor Yiwu.

Sony and Apple are the key to promoting micro-LED displays on the market, but the two have diverged in display developments. The Japanese company is making large micro-LED displays, and Apple small displays, but why have both chosen micro-LEDs? Sony has released its micro-LED display product, but the market is yet to see the delayed product from micro-LED transfer specialist Apple affiliated Luxvue.

It’s cliché in the lighting industry to state that there has been a light bulb moment, however the evolution of light bulbs from cheap incandescent bulbs to affordable LED lighting solutions has had a massive impact on the lighting industry as a whole and the trend is set to continue. For businesses, it brings lucrative opportunities while playing to the card of sustainability for corporate responsibility. Demands for sustainable solutions and lower energy prices have made LED lights become the lighting commodity of choice. As LED light bulbs and their energy consumption costs fall, a sharp rise in demand is expected across the residential and commercial markets. This has created a chasm in the lighting market which lighting retailers and manufacturers are keen to exploit over the coming years.

Epistar announced it will be raising certain LED chip costs by 15% in mid- May 2016, which excited certain media and investors, who projected LED chip prices would soar. There is nothing to support this theory, though. More than a month has gone by, and none of the other manufacturers have raised prices. A closer inspection raises questions on the LED chip pricing strategy, and whether it will reach the aim of reducing the company’s revenue losses requires further observations, however, the company is at risk of losing clients.

China is one of the world’s largest automotive consumer market, by late 2015 car ownership in the country reached 172 million cars, and the volume is accelerating. It can be projected in the next few years, Chinese market demands for automotive components and after sales services will increase, the automotive lighting market possesses huge market potential.

Changxin, a guest writer for LEDinside highlights several market trends ahead of the upcoming Guangzhou International Lighting Fair, including a thorough analysis of why the industry has escaped being sucked into the vicious cycle of low price wars this year.

Five Chinese LED manufacturers have been competing head-to-head in the bid for Osram’s lighting business, after the German company announced it would be spinning-off its less profitable general lighting business in April 2015. The five listed Chinese companies in the race for Osram’s lighting business include MLS (also known as Forest Lighting), ETI, Tsinghua Tongfang, Felio Acoustics and Foshan Lighting. All the potential Chinese buyers have the needed financing platforms, but for the German lighting company price is just one of the decisive factors, another main concern is the synergetic effect from the resulting partnership. In the article below, LEDinside evaluates the chances of the five companies’ succeeding in the acquisition of Osram’s general lighting business.

In part one of these series, LEDinside explored Philips, Osram and Cree’s vertical integration strategies. In the second part of this series we will take a closer look at major Chinese LED companies MLS and Elech-Tech International’s (ETI) vertical integration strategies.

Upheld as the classical business models in the LED industry, Dutch lighting giant Philips and leading German lighting manufacturer Osram business models have been the most discussed among market insiders. The two European companies vertical integration models are considered textbook cases in the industry. In contrast, many Chinese manufacturers have adopted a strategy of diversification in the industry, with the exception of ETI that has been diligently following the vertical integration creed. Since absorbing Guangdong Jiang Longda (健隆達) in 2009, through various investments ETI has been able to gradually piece together its missing links throughout the LED supply chain. The company has become a fully vertically integrated company with a comprehensive supply chain incorporating LED chips, LED packages and lighting products.

In recent years, countries around the world are becoming increasingly concerned with energy and environmental issues, which is closely tied with human survival. Low carbon economy has become a very popular global issue. LED lighting’s high reliability, low energy consumption, long lifetime, low pollution, and high quake resilience has made it a globally recognized energy efficient and environmental product. Driven by large market potentials and a positive industry outlook, many countries have launched industry development policies to spur rapid growth in the LED industry. After all these years, which country incentives spurred the proliferation of LEDs? LEDinside will be focusing on LED policies in Japan, India and Malaysia’s.

Traditionally, manufacturers have contended for a spot in Apple’s supply chain, despite of its draconian demands. As seen in GTAT and the Cupertino-based company’s ugly fall out in October 2014, Apple might change the spec requirements of its customized products anytime, and expect suppliers to deliver in a short time frame. Additionally, a heavy US $50 million penalty is placed on manufacturers that breach confidential agreements. With strong product sales and a loyal consumer base, Apple might be appealing to work with, but being its supplier can be taxing.

China’s strategic “One belt, one road” policy has sparked local manufacturers interests of exporting products abroad, but most are afraid to take action. Statistics from different research organizations have varied widely. Many research organizations only speak about potential opportunities at investor conferences, few talk about potential investment risks.

Korean LED chip manufacturer Seoul Semiconductor unveiled its breakthrough second generation CSP LED product Wicop2, and spoke about its future outlook during a press conference at the Marriot Hotel in Shanghai, China on Tuesday.

Twenty three LED manufacturers have released their financial results as of Aug. 25, 2015. A lot of analysis has been done to understand net profit and sales revenue. LEDinside focus on the most discussed “price war” and have organized related data to make it easier to understand by observing changes in companies’ gross margins.

In December 2014, the Chinese government announced it would no longer be encouraging local governments to issue financial subsidies to LED manufacturers. The announcement which could have brought a sigh of relief to foreign competitors, had come perhaps a bit too late for some. Yet, it is probably too early to make the Chinese government as the scapegoat for the woes of the LED industry. Here’s why.

Up to 80% of the Chinese companies listed on the Over-the-Counter Bulletin board (OTCBB) reported significant revenue growth as of Aug. 3, 2015, according to LEDinside observations.

Recent patent disputes between Japanese LED manufacturer Nichia and Taiwanese counterpart Everlight has raged on, with new disputes every now and then. Will the two sides ever reach a settlement? And how will these patent issues affect the LED industry as a whole? Below is LEDinside’s observation and analyses.

The LED industry has seen bulb prices nose-dive in recent years. When Walmart sold its 60W LED bulb two years ago for under $9, it was considered at the time an “aggressive pricing strategy.” But the same GE 60W LED bulb prices today has lost almost more than two thirds of its value, with three pack LED bulbs expecting to be sold for $3 each in August 2015. Over competition from Chinese manufacturers and the maturing technology has led to plunging prices in the LED bulb market, but has smart LED bulbs arrived to similar crossroads?

The LED luminaire industry started to attract market attention, after Japanese manufacturer Panasonic launched its first glass omnidirectional LED bulb. The pioneer bulb had a transparent substrate with a dual-sided light emitting surface. Since then the industry luminaire design has evolved.

The LED chip market balance is hanging on a string, according to LEDinside Senior Analyst Figo Wang. In this article Wang outlines San’an Opto’s LED chip production expansion strategies.

In part one of smart lighting article series, LEDinside addressed traditional lighting manufacturers’ profit-oriented business strategies as one of the main factors driving the development of smart lighting products. As mentioned in part one of these series, lighting manufacturers will have to turn to smart LEDs as a method to generate sustainable revenue, which ABI Research projected could increase overall LED revenues by 30% in 2020. In this article, LEDinside will explore how budding Internet of Things (IoT) has spurred none traditional lighting manufacturers to enter the smart lighting market, which has led to growing cross-industry collaborations.

About two years ago, LED manufacturers that turned up at LED Forum 2013 were skeptical about smart lighting taking off anytime soon. Many industry insiders projected it would be a niche market that would take another two years before fully blossoming, while others believed at the time only gadget lovers would warm up to the products. Their predictions have been fairly accurate so far.

A mother’s “personal grudge” against China’s haze issues gave birth to the trending environmental documentary 'China's Haze: Under the Dome.’ The country’s serious air pollution became very personal for former State TV Reporter Chai Jing, when she became pregnant with her daughter. Concerned about her daughter’s health, the former environmental issue investigative reporter probed into the causes behind China’s serious air pollution. The documentary has gone viral online and has received more than millions of views on major online video websites.