Apple, LG and Valve invest $10M in OLED microdisplay maker eMagin,Emagin OLED microdisplay , II Emagin OLED microdisplay tech receives investment from Apple, LG, Valve

Virtual reality and augmented reality are considered the next frontier in tech.
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A small company that makes OLED microdisplays is getting some attention from tech giants with big plans for virtual and augmented reality.

Apple, LG and Valve are making a $10 million investment in eMagin, according to documents filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The Hopewell Junction, New York-based company makes microdisplays used in the military, medical and industrial fields, but it has recently turned its attention to companies building consumer headsets.

"We entered into strategic agreements with multiple Tier One consumer product companies for the design and development of microdisplays for consumer head mounted devices and, together with these companies, negotiated with mass production manufacturers for higher volume production capabilities," eMagin said in its filing.
The company's flagship product is a 2K display with a resolution of 2,048 by 2,048 pixels and a 70 percent fill factor, the percentage of each pixel that can be used to gather light.
The investment, made in the form of a new stock issuance, was expected to be completed before the end of January, according to the filing.
The investment underscores the tech community's commitment to virtual reality, which promises to transport goggle-wearing users to a computer-generated 3D environment. Augmented reality, meanwhile, overlays digital images on the real world via special headsets.
Apple amped up its AR play in January when it released its ARKit 1.5 to developers. The software, which is part of the upcoming iOS 11.3 release, will pack new features to enable richer apps, including the ability to places items on vertical walls and doors, not just horizontal surfaces like tables.
LG and Valve have also partnered on developing a VR head-mounted display.
Apple and eMagin didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

 

According to a filing made with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Apple, LGand Valve are teaming up to invest $10 million in a firm called eMagin. The company produces microdisplays used in the healthcare, military and industrial businesses. However, the SEC filing includes a statement from eMagin that gives us a clue for the interest by the three aforementioned companies.

In the statement, eMagin says that it is in talks with "multiple Tier One consumer product companies" to develop and design microdisplays for headsets that would be used on consumer devices. These could include VR and AR headsets, including the AR glasses that Apple is rumored to be developing with an eye on a release next year. Analyst Gene Munster has said that this product will become bigger than the iPhone. Valve, a gamingplatform, is working with LG on a head mounted VR headset. The current top-of-the-line display offered by eMagin features a resolution of 2048 x 2048.

"We entered into strategic agreements with multiple Tier One consumer product companies for the design and development of microdisplays for consumer head mounted devices and, together with these companies, negotiated with mass production manufacturers for higher volume production capabilities."-eMagin statement from SEC filing

In exchange for the $10 million, Apple, LG and Valve received a total of 6,451,613 shares of eMagin stock. The three also were given warrants allowing them to purchase an additional 2,580,645 shares of stock at a price that was not divulged on the SEC filing. As of Friday's close, the company's shares (listed under the symbol EMAN) closed at $1.45, up 5.45% on the day.

While not a household name in the OLED sector, the company Emagin seems to have gotten the attention of several tech giants with VR and AR plans in the works. Emagin produces OLED microdisplays that have been used in the military, medical, and industrial fields, but they’ve begun targeting their technology at the growing market for consumer headsets. According to new SEC documents, Emagin is now getting investments from the likes of Apple, LG, and Valve.

Emagin’s top OLED microdisplay offers a resolution of 2,048 x 2,048, and promises a fill factor of roughly 70%. The company says that pairing this tech with consumer VR headsets would offer a significantly increased image quality, as well as nearly eliminate the annoying “screen door effect” that plagues current generation VR.

With these specs in mind, it’s easy to understand why VR headset makers would be interested in Emagin’s technology. According to the SEC documents filed in January, Emagin made a $10 million new stock issuance to “specified investors” that specifically includes Apple, LG, and Valve, among others. The SEC filing also includes the following statement from the OLED microdisplay maker:

“We entered into strategic agreements with multiple Tier One consumer product companies for the design and development of microdisplays for consumer head mounted devices and, together with these companies, negotiated with mass production manufacturers for higher volume production capabilities.”

This seems to make it clear that these newly invested parties are highly interested in Emagin’s ability to produce in volume. As Road to VR puts it, Apple, LG, Valve, and others are likely to have “formed something of a coalition to create sufficient demand to help Emagin achieve large enough initial volume for mass production at reasonable prices.”