French manufacturer of display LEDs, Aledia, has completed a €30 million series C financing round, including investment from Intel Capital. Aledia's 3D LEDs are based on a gallium-nitride-nanowires-on-silicon platform.
Aledia is developing a new generation of LEDs for mobile display applications that are manufactured on large-diameter silicon wafers (200mm, scalable to 300mm). The LED technology is expected to lead to more efficient, brighter displays that can be manufactured at a moderate cost. The silicon-based technology is also well suited for the integration of electronics.
‘Energy efficiency, display quality and cost are three critical characteristics of mobile consumer electronics displays, and we feel Aledia’s 3D LED technology, based on large-area silicon fabrication, can impact this space,’ said Gregory Bryant, senior vice president and general manager of the Client Computing Group at Intel. ‘We’re excited to work with Aledia to innovate display technologies across client platforms.’
In addition to working on a new generation of displays for smartphones, laptops and tablets, Aledia is also working on smaller displays for virtual reality, augmented reality and smartwatch applications, using its megapixel integrated silicon chips.
‘The opportunity for Aledia’s breakthrough nanowire-LED display technology is huge,’ said Giorgio Anania, CEO, chairman and co-founder of Aledia. ‘Today more than three billion people interface to the internet with mobile displays, and LED technology is expected to be used in a majority of these displays in the next few years. The unique advantages that 3D LED technology delivers position it as the driver of a once-in-a-generation shift.’
According to Anania, the completed series C financing will support Aledia’s plans to accelerate the speed of its LED technology development, including acquiring critical equipment.
‘This financing round and collaboration with Intel reflect this potential and underscores the interest that our 3D nanowire-on-silicon technology is getting in the mobile display market and from leading global technology investment firms,’ he commented.
In addition to Intel Capital, the majority of Aledia's existing investors also participated in the round, including Braemar Energy Ventures, Demeter, the Ecotechnologies Fund of Bpifrance (the French national industrial bank), Ikea Group, Sofinnova Partners and Supernova Invest.
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