- Companies
- JOLED
Last JOLED valuation
$2B
Strategic investment · Aug 2018
Last JOLED funding round
$186M
Strategic investment · Jun 2020
Cumulative funding JOLED raised
$838M
across 3 funding rounds
Key investors in JOLED
Sony
Innovation Network Corporation of Japan
Panasonic
Toyota Tsusho
Denso
Sumitomo Chemical
About JOLED
JOLED was a Japanese display manufacturer specializing in inkjet-printed organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technology, formed in January 2015 by combining the OLED display divisions of Sony and Panasonic. The company aimed to make inkjet-printed OLED production a lower-cost, higher-quality alternative to conventional OLED manufacturing, shipping its first product, a 21.6-inch 4K OLED display, in December 2017 and building production capacity in Ishikawa prefecture for medium-sized panels aimed at automotive and high-end monitor applications. JOLED filed for bankruptcy in 2021 after struggling to compete with South Korean OLED manufacturers on production yields, transferring its technology and development operations to Japan Display.
Founded
2015
HQ
Website
Status
Privately held
Customer focus
B2B
Revenue model
Product sales
Valuation
$2B (Aug 2018)
JOLED Valuation
JOLED is currently valued at $2B, based on its strategic investment round in August 2018.
The $423M round was led by Denso, with participation from SCREEN Holdings Co., Sumitomo Chemical, Sony, Toyota Tsusho and Panasonic.
JOLED valuation by funding round
| Date | Stage | Valuation |
|---|---|---|
| Aug 2018 | Strategic investment | $2B |
JOLED Funding History
JOLED has raised a total of $838M across 3 funding rounds.
JOLED's first fundraising round was a $423M strategic investment round in August 2018. The most recent completed round was a $186M strategic investment round in June 2020.
JOLED funding rounds
| Date | Stage | Investors | Raised | Valuation | Deal Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 2020 | Strategic investment | CSOT (lead) | $186M | - | JOLED Inc. is a Japanese display manufacturer specializing in organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technology, particularly inkjet-printed OLED displays. The company was formed in January 2015 through a combination of the OLED display development divisions of Sony Corp. and Panasonic Corp. JOLED was establishing production capabilities for inkjet-printed OLED displays, which the company positioned as a lower-cost, higher-quality alternative to conventional OLED manufacturing methods. In June 2020, TCL CSOT (the display manufacturing subsidiary of Chinese electronics conglomerate TCL Technology Group Corp.) invested JPY 20 billion (approximately $187 million USD) through a third-party allocation of new shares, acquiring a 10.76% stake in the company. The additional JPY 10 billion component of the total investment was raised through bond issuance. Following this investment, TCL CSOT and JOLED formed a strategic alliance to jointly develop large-sized OLED displays for televisions using inkjet printing technology with RGB pixels. At the time of the 2020 investment, JOLED was producing medium-sized OLED panels primarily for PC monitor manufacturers and had been seeking capital to advance its production capabilities. The partnership aimed to reduce risks in developing inkjet printing OLED manufacturing technology and increase TCL's competitiveness in the global semiconductor panel industry through joint R&D and patent cooperation across materials, equipment, processes, and products. |
| Apr 2019 | Strategic investment | Nissha; Sony; Innovation Network Corporation of Japan | $228M | - | JOLED, formed by the merger of Panasonic and Sony's OLED divisions, was a Japanese manufacturer of OLED panels and products focused on developing production processes to improve yields and lower costs for competitive global market positioning. In 2019, the company raised approximately $229 million (hundreds of millions) from a consortium including INCJ to fund construction of a new state-of-the-art OLED manufacturing plant in Japan. INCJ had previously invested ¥139 billion in loans and investments into JOLED, marking it as the second-largest in their portfolio, with additional 2018 investments from Denso, Toyota Tsusho, and Sumitomo Chemical to support mass production efforts. Despite these funding efforts, JOLED faced significant challenges competing against dominant South Korean players in the OLED market, where manufacturing difficulties like poor panel yields increased costs. The company ultimately filed for bankruptcy in 2021 with debts of ¥33.7 billion ($257 million), announcing exit from display manufacturing and closure of factories in Ishikawa and Chiba prefectures, leading to layoffs of at least 280 of its 380 employees. JOLED signed an agreement to transfer its technology and development operations to Japan Display (JDI), securing jobs for the remaining approximately 100 employees. JDI later received $635 million from INCJ to expand its OLED business and increase its stake in JOLED. |
| Aug 2018 | Strategic investment | Denso (lead); SCREEN Holdings Co.; Sumitomo Chemical; Sony; Toyota Tsusho; Panasonic | $423M | $2B | JOLED Inc. is a Japanese developer of printed organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays, specializing in solution-process OLED technology. The company achieved a milestone by commercializing the world's first solution-process OLED products and began shipping its first product, a 21.6-inch 4K OLED display, in December 2017. In July 2018, JOLED established the Nomi site in Ishikawa prefecture to expand production capacity, targeting mass production by 2020 for medium-sized (10-32 inch) OLED panels aimed at automotive and high-end monitor applications. In August 2018, JOLED raised approximately JPY 47 billion ($424 million) through a third-party capital increase from strategic investors including Denso (JPY 30 billion / $270 million, lead), Toyota Tsusho (JPY 10 billion / $90 million), Sumitomo Chemical (JPY 5 billion), and SCREEN Finetech Solutions / SCREEN Holdings (JPY 2 billion). The investors are not purely financial; collaborations include Denso for automotive OLED displays in human-machine interfaces, Toyota Tsusho for sales channels, Sumitomo Chemical for OLED printing materials, and SCREEN for production support. The funding accelerates JOLED's mass production setup at the Nomi Office and targets the middle-sized OLED market with solution-process technology, particularly for automobiles where OLED offers advantages like lightweight design and formability over TFT-LCD. JOLED had previously operated a G4.5 pilot line since 2016 to refine productivity. |
Who has invested in JOLED?
9 investors have backed JOLED across its funding rounds, including Sony, Innovation Network Corporation of Japan, Panasonic, Toyota Tsusho, Denso and Sumitomo Chemical.
Lead investors include CSOT and Denso.
JOLED Investors
| Investor | HQ | Rounds | Role | First check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Participant | Aug 2018 | ||
| 1 | Lead | Jun 2020 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Aug 2018 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Aug 2018 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Apr 2019 | ||
| 1 | Lead | Aug 2018 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Aug 2018 | ||
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all 9 JOLED investors. Start Free Trial | ||||
Benchmark 350K+ Funding Rounds and Disclosed VC Valuation Multiples
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Start Free TrialInvestments by JOLED
JOLED has invested in 1 company to date.
Latest investment by JOLED was on April 6th 2016. JOLED invested in Kyulux in their $14M Series A round.
Latest Investments by JOLED
| Description | Kyulux is a Fukuoka-based developer of thermally activated delayed fluorescence materials for organic light-emitting diodes. The company supplies TADF and hyperfluorescence OLED emitters, dopants, and device solutions to display manufacturers such as Samsung Display and JOLED. Spun out from Kyushu University in 2015, Kyulux holds over 100 patents in phosphorescent and TADF technologies, enabling higher-efficiency panels for TVs, smartphones, and lighting applications. |
| HQ Country | |
| HQ City | Fukuoka |
| Deal Date | 6 Apr 2016 |
| Round | Series A |
| Raised | $14M |
| Investors | DBJ Capital; Samsung Display Solutions; Samsung Ventures; UntroD Capital; QB Capital; LG Display; Japan Science and Technology Agency; Japan Display |
| Valuation | undisclosed |
| EV/Revenue | |
| EV/EBITDA | |
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all JOLED investments and their VC round multiples. Start Free Trial | |
JOLED Competitors
JOLED competitors include listed companies like Shenzhen KTC Technology, DBG Technology Co, Hengmingda and Guangdong Ellington, and private ones like Razer and Eight Sleep.
| Company | HQ | Status | Revenue | EBITDA | Valuation | Revenue Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Publicly listed | $2.2B | $55M | $1.9B | 1.1x | ||
| Publicly listed | $1.3B | $152M | $2.2B | 2.0x | ||
| Publicly listed | $426M | $98M | $2.5B | 5.4x | ||
| Publicly listed | $601M | $108M | $2B | - | ||
| Private | $392M | - | $2B | - | ||
| Private | - | - | $1.5B | - |
JOLED Public Comps
JOLED is still privately-owned, but its public comps include Guangdong Ellington, Txc, Browave, Leyard Optoelectronic, Shenzhen KTC Technology, Jiangsu Cnano Technology, Unisem, Hana Micron, Ichor Holdings and InfoVision.
| Last FY | EV/Revenue | EV/EBITDA | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | EBITDA | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | |
| $601M | $108M | 3.1x | - | 17.5x | - | |||
| $419M | $109M | 4.3x | 4.0x | 16.6x | 14.2x | |||
| $70M | $19M | 27.3x | 26.8x | 98.3x | 91.1x | |||
| $1.1B | $96M | 1.6x | - | 17.7x | - | |||
| $2.2B | $55M | 1.1x | 1.1x | 43.1x | 17.9x | |||
| $194M | $66M | 9.4x | 7.1x | 27.6x | 20.3x | |||
| $458M | $89M | 4.3x | 3.8x | 21.9x | 19.9x | |||
| $1.1B | $218M | 2.5x | 1.7x | 12.5x | 7.5x | |||
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Common questions about JOLED
| When was JOLED founded? | JOLED was founded in 2015. |
| Where is JOLED headquartered? | JOLED is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. |
| Is JOLED publicly listed? | No, JOLED is a private, VC-backed company. |
| What is JOLED's valuation? | JOLED was last valued at $2B in its strategic investment round in August 2018. |
| How much funding has JOLED raised? | JOLED has raised $838M across 3 funding rounds. |
| What was JOLED's last funding round? | JOLED's last funding round was a $186M strategic investment round in June 2020, led by CSOT. |
| Who are JOLED's investors? | JOLED's investors include Sony, CSOT, SCREEN Holdings Co., Sumitomo Chemical, Nissha, Denso, Toyota Tsusho, Panasonic and Innovation Network Corporation of Japan. |
| Which companies are comparable to JOLED? | Companies comparable to JOLED include Shenzhen KTC Technology, DBG Technology Co, Hengmingda, Guangdong Ellington, Razer and Eight Sleep. |
| How many companies has JOLED invested in? | JOLED has invested in 1 company, including Kyulux. |
| What was JOLED's last investment? | In April 2016, JOLED invested in Kyulux's $14M Series A alongside DBJ Capital, Samsung Display Solutions, Samsung Ventures and 5 other investors. |
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