Alydia It unveiled its microLED factory and a $200 million production line to make augmented reality displays.
The Grenoble, France-based company wants to change the future of augmented reality devices and power the next generation of displays for vision applications. This announcement was issued in Consumer Electronics Show 2025the big tech trade show in Las Vegas this week.
The tech giants recently doubled down on microLED technology for smart glasses, releasing prototypes and targeting commercial launches as early as 2027. While AI-powered use cases for augmented reality have emerged over the past year, critical hardware challenges — power consumption, bulk, and manufacturing costs — remain Significant barriers to mass adoption.
Augmented reality requires displays that combine extreme brightness, small size, and low power consumption for long battery life. Current technologies such as OLED (organic LED) and LCOS (liquid crystal on silicon) fall short in these important areas, but have yet to reach the full potential of truly immersive augmented reality experiences, Aledia said.
AR devices need bright displays for all lighting conditions, both indoor and outdoor. The devices must also be small, fitting into the small form factors required for AR glasses and other devices. They also need a long battery life and must be affordable.
Both OLED and LCOS technologies emit light in all directions, while only light emitted in a narrow cone can be used by AR glasses.
After 12 years of continuous research and development, a portfolio of nearly 300 patents and $600 million in investments, Aledia says it has broken down these barriers. With its groundbreaking microLED-based display — its most efficient, monolithically developed using red, green and blue microLEDs on the same substrate on which they are natively oriented — the company said it can solve the toughest hardware challenges, paving the way for more immersive AI vision experiences. The augmented reality that was ever designed.
“Immersive technologies like augmented reality have not reached their full potential, as the industry has not yet designed displays that are seamless and highly effective,” Pierre Lapua, CEO of Aledia, said in a statement. “At Aledia, we have created nanowire technology that makes microLED displays thinner, more energy efficient, and easier to produce for use at scale. By next CES, OLED and LCOS will already be phased out in favor of our superior microLED technology.
Aledia’s microLED augmented reality platform
Aledia’s MicroLED technology based on 3D gallium nitride (GaN) on silicon nanowires opens the way for the next generation of smart displays.
The company said its 3D GaN nanowire technology provides improved brightness and power efficiency compared to 2D LED, along with superior pixel density and resolution. The 3D structure allows for precise, targeted light emission, making Aledia displays highly efficient and suitable for advanced applications such as augmented reality.
During R&D testing, Aledia nanowires improved the directivity and light efficiency in real-world settings, which are essential for immersive augmented reality experiences.
Aledia said it has superior battery life in a compact package. Aledia’s hybrid bonding technology combines microLED and drive electronics in the smallest and smartest chip on the market, resulting in thinner displays and superior power efficiency for longer battery life.
Cost-effective and measurable manufacturing
Aledia’s advantage is its more than $200 million in-house pilot production line at its “Display Valley” center in Europe, enabling faster iteration without initial size constraints. By utilizing semiconductor-grade silicon in 8-inch and 12-inch formats, Aledia reduces production costs to mass produce microLEDs, accelerating widespread adoption in a wide range of displays. Aledia is ready and able to support increased customer demand of up to approximately 5,000 wafer slices per week.
“Our Champagne factory is a major landmark of European innovation, and we are proud to represent it at the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes pavilion at CES,” said Labuisse. “We are redefining the global standards of display technology with our efficient, high-performance chips, positioning Grenoble as a global center for microLED production.”
To experience Aledia technology at CES 2025, visit Booth 60711-04 at Eureka Park, in Hall G of the Venetian Hotel.
Founded in 2011, Aledia has more than 300 patents and 60 of its employees have PhDs.
https://venturebeat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/aledia-2.jpg?w=1024?w=1200&strip=all
Source link