The display industry is a large, but highly centric industry, making it quite unique. On one hand, the display industry generates around $170-200 billion in yearly sales, with around 25% of these sales generated from OLED panel sales (around $50 billion annually). On the other hand, the entire industry is comprised of a handful of very large display makers, concentrated in three countries: Korea, China and Taiwan.
The display industry has experienced significant investment activity over the past decade, with total disclosed funding exceeding $4 billion across OLED, microLED, QD, and related display technologies. In addition, large tech giants such as Apple, Amazon, Meta, Google, and others, have invested billions in internal display-related R&D efforts. Many investors are cautious about investing in this area, as the low number of potential customers coupled with intensified competition, means that it is challenging to early stage companies to succeed. Industry veterans, however, know that while the stakes are high, so are the rewards - companies that manage to penetrate the supply chain of leading display makers are looking at high potential sales and their competitors will face similar challenges.
In this article, we look at recent investment patterns, detail display related investment in the past 15 years, discuss the companies involved and the outcome of these investment (38 companies under discussion), offer a directory of over 103 VCs and CVCs active in the display industry, and end with a strategic discussion and tips for early stage companies and investors alike. We hope this will be highly useful for early stage companies that seek to raise more capital, as VCs with experience in this industry are far more likely to be interested in display related early stage ventures.
Note that this article is not a comprehensive resource. Consult our OLED investment round spreadsheet for a complete list of recent OLED industry investments and acquisitions (LINK).
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