In September 2024, OTFT developer Smartkem, a MicroLED Industry Association member, announced that it has entered into a 12-month paid proof-of-concept agreement with a global consumer electronics leader to develop next-generation smart wearables that incorporate a conformable microLED display utilizing Smartkem’s proprietary OTFT backplane technology and its "Chip-first" architecture.
Smartkem says that the collaboration is expected addresses some of the most difficult challenges in wearables: extreme miniaturization, low power consumption, outdoor visibility and high impact resistance.
Smartkem says that while this is an early development project, the wearable devices that are being developed through this collaboration can be manufactured at scale on Gen2.5 production lines, similar to those on which Smartkem has already developed and proved the processes at ITRI in Taiwan.
In 2024 Smartkem signed an agreement with Shanghai Chip Foundation Semiconductor Technology (Chip Foundation) to co-develop microLED-based backlight units for LCD displays, and later in 2025 the company announced that it has completed the first sale of its TRUFLEX semiconductor materials to Chip Foundation.
Earlier in 2024, Smartkem announced that it has partnered with AUO to jointly develop rollable transparent microLED displays, based on Smartkem's OTFT backplane technology. Smartkem was granted $1.1 million from the Innovate UK fund to support this project.
Also 2024, Smartkem demonstrated its first microLED display, which was produced with its own proprietary OTFT materials. The company says that its materials could reduce the cost of microLED production thanks to their low-temperature processing. In August 2023 we posted a spotlight article on Smartkem.
