Taiwan-based MicroLED developer PlayNitride announced its financial result for Q1 2025, with revenues of 299 million TWD (about $9.8 million USD), up 4%5 from Q1 2024 (205 million TWD). The net loss was about $1.7 million, down from $2.8 million last year.

At the end of the quarter, PlayNitride reported it had about $106 million USD in cash and equivalents. A couple of months ago PlayNitride secured 800 million NTD ($24.3 million USD) in a convertible bond private placement (the company also raised 800 million NTD in a bonds issue towards the end of 2024).

Most companies in the display industry believe that microLED is the leading next-generation display technology, that will be able to replace LCDs and OLEDs in many applications. MicroLEDs offers many advantages – both technical such as higher durability and higher brightness and efficiency, but also in unique production processes and models.

The two leading Taiwanese display makers, AUO and Innolux, have been pushing forward aggressively with their microLED projects. This is mainly due to the fact that both companies do not have any real OLED projects, which means that it is easier for them to develop microLEDs as their next-generation technology. MicroLEDs could provide a way for both AUO and Innolux to “leapfrog” over OLED technology.

Against this backdrop, a potential merger between AUO and Innolux presents an intriguing strategic opportunity. By combining their technological expertise, manufacturing capabilities, and financial resources, a merged entity could potentially accelerate microLED development, and perhaps also receiving meaningful financial support from the Taiwanese government, as such as move could strengthen Taiwan's position in the global display industry.

Note that we have no indications that such a merger is even considered by the two companies, but we feel this is a fascinating topic that should be explored and is supported by several strong arguments.

LED screen designer and producer Nanolumens announces a strategic partnership with AUO Display Plus, to co-develop microLED large-format displays.

Nanolumens says that together with AUO, it will deliver advanced solutions for markets such as transportation, enterprise, retail, public art and cultural institutions. The two companies will showcase first prototypes next month.

The Fraunhofer IPMS institute announced that it has developed a custom microLED microdisplay backplane, based on its high-performance OLED backplane technology.

Developers at the Fraunhofer IPMS, funded by third-party Vuzix customers with targeted applications in mind, adapted its existing OLED microdisplay backplane to the requirements of a high-current microLED frontplane. The samples, supporting 1080P+ resolutions in both monochrome and full-color displays, were tested first with an OLED frontplane and then with microLED arrays.

MicroLED-Connect 2025, the premier industry-focused microLED event, is set to be a powerhouse of innovation in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, on September 23-25, 2025. Co-located with ARVR-Connect 2025, this will be the perfect opportunity to explore cutting-edge advancements in microLED technology, meet with leading industry experts, and engage in tours, masterclasses, and other networking activities. MicroLED-Connect also offers a chance to gain access to a year-long program of online events.

Confirmed speakers include as Google, Intel, Meta, ASML, PlayNitride, JBD, Corning, CEA-Leti, Mojo Vision, Fraunhofer, Trendforce, LAM Research and many early stage companies, researchers, and dozens more - click on the image above to see the preliminary agenda. This will be a truly global event, with speakers and exhibitors from North America, Europe and Asia, covering the entire value chain and representing the leading microLED innovators, developers and application makers. 

Pyramidical GaN microLED developer Polar Light Technologies announced that it has fabricated its first microLED microdisplay prototype, using its pyramidal micro-LED devices. The company says that this important milestone confirms the possibility of integrating the pyramidal micro-LED frontplane onto a CMOS backplane.

The prototype uses monochrome (red, likely 625 nm) microLEDs, built on high-performance Sapien CMOS back-plane. The flip-chip bonding was carried out by Finetech.

Researchers from China's Shenzhen Technology University, the Southern University of Science and Technology, and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, are proposing a new microLED-based underwater wireless optical communication (UWOC) architecture.

The researchers design a massive GaN microLED array, which includes over 5000 pixels fabricated via flip-chip technology. This array can achieve 165-Mbps and 90-Mbps at 37.7 m and 73.5 m, respectively - and so it is said to be feasible to realize a high data rate and long transmission distance in an underwater setting. 

Aixtron reports its financial results for Q1 2025, with revenues of 112.5 million Euro, saying that it demonstrated a strong performance in a soft market environment. The company exceeded the upper end of its guidance range. Particularly encouraging are the positive developments in the market for photonics applications. The company did not change its guidance for the full year 2025. 

Aixtron says that demand in its send markets is still weak, though, and especially its LED and microLED revenues were lower (and will remain lower throughout the year) compared to 2024.

In January 2025, microLED developer VueReal launched reference design kits (RDKs) to enable product designers to buy microLED display samples and integrate into new designs. There were three different kits: monochrome microLED lighting panels, microLED microdisplays, and passive matrix and active matrix (LTPS) transparent microLED displays, ranging in size from 3.5-inch to 10-inch.

Now VueReal announced that it is expanding its RDK portfolio, with new industry-specific bundles (what they refer to as vertical RDKs). These new kits are specifically built for automotive and consumer electronics.

Seoul Semiconductor announced that the Local Division Paris of the Unified Patent Court (UPC), which has jurisdiction across 18 European countries, has issued a judgment that Laser Components SAS infringed Seoul Semiconductor core WICOP microLED technology patent. The court ordered an immediate ban on sales, as well as the recall and destruction of infringing products.

The UPC found that Laser Components, a global electronic components distributor, have sold products that infringed upon Seoul’s WICOP No-Wire microLED technology and structure.