PlayNitride press conference, June 23, 2022; Credit: DIGITIMES

PlayNitride, a Taiwan-based microLED chip maker, aims to have its business operation break even on a monthly basis at the end of 2023 and generate handsome operating profit in 2024, according to company founder and CEO Charles Li at a June 23 investor conference.

In line with the target, PlayNitride aims to reduce production cost for microLED chips cumulatively by 95% in 2025 as compared with that in 2020, Li said. Reduction in the size of microLED chips is key to decreasing the production cost, and PlayNitride aims to reduce the size to one-quarter of the current level in 2025, Li noted.

As compared with other display panels, microLED has the advantages of high efficiency in display, low power consumption, high pixel density (resolution), high brightness and contrast, long service lives, fast response and flexible/bendable.

PlayNitride 2019 set up its first microLED production line consisting of epitaxy of microLED wafers, mass transfer of microLED chips from such wafers onto backplanes, mass inspection/testing/repair of microLED chips. The company also makes its own equipment and owns adjustment ability.

Production of microLED chips entails mass transfer of several ten thousand to a few one hundred thousand microLED chips from a microLED epitaxial wafer onto a backplane at a time, Li explained. There are more than 10 mass transfer technologies available, including stamp, ink-jet printing, laser and monolithic, and choices of technologies depend on clients' requirements and product specifications, Li said.

PlayNitride has a monthly production capacity of 1,000 6-inch COCs (chip-on-carriers, equivalent to microLED panels) currently, and will expand the capacity to 1,500 ones soon and further to 3,000 ones in the future, Li noted. In terms of application of COCs, TVs account for 63% of sales revenues, wearable devices for 17%, automotive displays for 12%, small- to medium-size displays and AR glasses for 8%.

Founded in 2014, PlayNitride has raised funds in a few rounds and thereby Samsung Electronics has become the largest shareholder, followed by Taiwan-based TFT-LCD panel maker AU Optronics, LED maker Ennostar and EMS provider Lite-On Technology.

PlayNitride suffered a total net loss equivalent to double paid-in capital in 2020 and 2021, and thinks that continued investment can result in increased sales revenues but will prolong the time for operation to swing from net losses to profitability. Therefore, PlayNitride, along with increasing demand for microLED, considers outsourced production to replace part of in-house production to minimize further investment.

In addition to sales of microLED chips or COCs, PlayNitride plans to license its patents, for it has applied for 683 patents covering the entire scope of technologies concerning microLED.

PlayNitride will raise additional paid-in capital by issuing 6.305 million new shares and expects to be listed on Taiwan Innovation Board of the Taiwan Stock Exchange, the first on the board, in the third quarter.