High-performance micro-LED company Mojo Vision has raised $22.4 million in a new Series A investment round to propel the development and commercialisation of micro-LED display technology for consumer, enterprise and government applications.
By utilising semiconductor technology, Mojo Vision is looking to build the next-generation micro-LEDs that will disrupt the global display industry.
The company has also identified opportunities in areas such as AR, VR, automotive, light field display, large format displays and others that require high-performance micro-LED displays in order to provide true value and to drive broader adoption.
In addition to the funding announcement, Mojo Vision also announced that Dr Nikhil Balram, who previously led the company’s display group, has been appointed CEO.
“The market opportunity in the display industry is big – over $100 billion. Sometimes in order to do something very big, you have to start very small. That is exactly what we are doing at Mojo,” said Dr Nikhil Balram, CEO of Mojo Vision.
“This round of funding will enable us to deliver our breakthrough monolithic micro-LED technology to customers and help bring high-performance micro-LEDs to market,” continued Balram.
“Dr Balram is widely recognised and respected throughout the display industry for his technical and business successes,” said Dr Achin Bhowmik, president of the Society for Information Display (SID).
Building a semiconductor technology
The company’s technology includes the following advances:
- Dynamic displays up to 28,000 pixels per inch
- Efficient blue micro-LED devices at sub-µm scale
- High-efficiency quantum dot ink for red and green
- High brightness at 1M+ nits
- A display system that incorporates an optimized CMOS backplane, wafer-to-wafer bonding, and custom micro-lens optics
- A high-volume manufacturing process that is based on 300mm gallium nitride (GaN) on Silicon, and an end-to-end 300mm flow
“We started by developing the world’s smallest, densest dynamic micro-LED display, and now we are applying that innovation to power the next generation of displays. Mojo is combining breakthrough technology, leading display and semiconductor expertise, and an advanced manufacturing process to commercialize micro-LEDs for the most demanding hardware applications,” said Balram.
Mojo’s team includes micro-LED, display, and semiconductor specialists with experience at companies such as Google, Apple, HP, Marvell, National Semiconductor, IBM, AU Optronics, Lumileds, and Philips. Mojo Vision’s innovations are protected by a portfolio of over 220 patents so far.
The funding round is led by existing investors, NEA and Khosla Ventures, with participation from additional investors including Dolby Family Ventures, Liberty Global Ventures, Fusion Fund, Drew Perkins, Open Field Capital, and Edge.
Mojo Vision had previously received significant funding to develop augmented reality smart contact lenses, as successfully tested by former CEO Drew Perkins last summer. The company has since pivoted to developing micro-LED displays that could be utilised in AR and VR implementations.
Isa Muhammad is a writer and video game journalist covering many aspects of entertainment media including the film industry. He's steadily writing his way to the sharp end of journalism and enjoys staying informed. If he's not reading, playing video games or catching up on his favourite TV series, then he's probably writing about them.
