The OLED-Info newsletter (June 24, 2025)

Reports detail LG Display's $925 million OLED investment plan

Last week, LG Display announced plans to invest $925 million to develop "advanced OLED technologies", saying that the funds will be invested over a period of 2 years (until June 30, 2027). The company did not share more information, but recent reports from Korea break down the project in more details.

So first of all, there are reports that LG Display will mostly focus on small and medium sized displays, for smartphones and IT devices. LG will also upgrade its WOLED production technology, for TV panels. Most of the funds will go into enabling LG to produce a higher percentage of high-end panels out of its OLED production lines.

OLEDWorks to invest $46 million to double its OLED lighting panel production capacity in Aachen

OLEDWorks announced that it is launching a new $46 million project to double its production capacity at its Aachen OLED lighting fab, as the company sees increased demand for its OLED lighting systems in the automotive sector.

The project involves expanding and modernizing the existing OLEDWorks production infrastructure, the building and the production lines. The goals of these measures are to reduce production cycle times and increase operational efficiency. Once complete, OLEDWorks will have a capacity to produce around 40,000 sqm of OLED panels per year. 

5 Pivotal Moments in OLED History, and thoughts about the future of OLED

OLED technology has transformed the display industry, enabling thinner, lighter, efficient and flexible displays, with superb image quality than ever before. The journey from laboratory discovery to mass-market dominance is marked by a series of pivotal moments. Here, we explore five of the most significant milestones that shaped the OLED landscape, followed by a look at other critical achievements and what the future may hold for the OLED industry and market.

1. The original Kodak OLED moment (1987)

The story of OLED began in 1987 at Eastman Kodak, where Ching Tang and Steven Van Slyke built the first operational OLED device. Their breakthrough combined modern thin-film deposition techniques with suitable organic materials to create a double-layer OLED that could emit light efficiently at low voltages. This foundational work proved that organic materials could be used to make practical light-emitting devices and laid the groundwork for decades of innovation. Kodak continued to develop OLED technologies, until it sold its entire OLED IP to LG for $100 million in 2009.

2. The invention of PHOLEDs and the founding of Universal Display Corporation (UDC, 1994-1998)

While early OLEDs used fluorescent emitters, the next major leap was the development of phosphorescent OLEDs (PHOLEDs). PHOLEDs, pioneered by researchers at Princeton University and the University of Southern California (and commercialized by Universal Display Corporation, founded in 1994), dramatically improved efficiency by allowing nearly 100% internal quantum efficiency, compared to about 25% for fluorescent OLEDs. This efficiency gain was crucial for battery-powered devices and large-area displays.

UBI says that SDC ramped up its foldable OLED panel production, and is expected to remain the market leader

UBI Research says that during the first quarter of 2025, Samsung Display shipped about 250,000 foldable OLED panels, far below the shipments of BOE, CSOT and Visionox. In May, the company ramped up its shipments dramatically (to 1.78 million units) as the company started to supply panels for Samsung Electronics' upcoming Galaxy Z Flip 7 and Fold 7 series.

During May and June, SDC will ship a total of 3.3 million foldable OLED panels. In the whole second quarter, SDC will hold a market share of 52%. Meanwhile, during Q2 2025, BOE shipped 1.8 million panels, TCL CSOT shipped 900,000 panels and Visionox shipped 500,000 panels.

BCDTek raises $83.5 million in its pre-Series A round

OLED microdisplay developer BCDTek announced that it has raised 600 million Yuan (around $83.5 million USD) in its pre-Series A round. The company aims to finalize the round in the coming months, with plans to raise a total of 1 billion Yuan ($139 million USD).

BCDTek says that this round was led by Anshu Capital and CDF Capital, with participation from QCapital, the Zhenjiang State-Owned Assets Investment Company and others. In addition to the investment, the company also secured lines of credit from several China-based banks, to the total sum of 'hundreds of millions of Yuan'.