This month sees new Nanoco buy Kodak’s QD patents, Samsung acquiring QD Vision and other developments in cadmium-free quantum dots.
Nanoco Group plc has acquired a group of patents from the Eastman Kodak Company (“Kodak”) in connection with the use of quantum dots in electroluminescent displays, a future display technology. This patent acquisition, which is in line with Nanoco’s strategy of building its patent estate organically and by acquisition, reinforces the Company’s intellectual property position in quantum dot electroluminescent displays (QLED), a future technology in which quantum dots can be used to replace the current materials in organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays. Nanoco is building a patent position in anticipation of many future applications of quantum dots including QLED, a technology that Nanoco has researched for almost 10 years. Display sales in the medium term are expected to remain dominated by liquid crystal display (“LCD”) technology, which is Nanoco’s current commercial focus. The commercial terms of the patent acquisition are undisclosed.
Cadmium-Free Quantum Dots. Image credit: Nanoco plc.
US-based quantum dot manufacturer Quantum Materials Corp has begun shipping high performance red and green cadmium-free quantum dot sample sets to Uniglobe Kisco, Inc. Cadmium-free quantum dots are an eco-friendly material that enables energy efficient, ultra-bright displays with a significantly expanded color gamut at a lower cost than competing technologies.
Uniglobe Kisco, Inc. President Kenji Shimada commented, “It’s exciting to be partnering with Quantum Materials in this revolutionary display material technology. Our own rigorous testing has shown product specifications for their cadmium-free quantum dots to be at or beyond what is currently available in the market today, and their innovative high-volume production technology gives us confidence in the company’s ability to fulfill demand as the market for quantum dot-enabled films for displays grows.”
Separately, the Company recently entered into a $9.75 million common stock purchase agreement and registration rights agreement with an institutional investor that is also an existing investor in Quantum.
Korean electronics giant Samsung has confirmed the acquisition of US-based quantum dots producer QD Vision. The deal was confirmed last week by Chung Chil-hee, head of the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology. Industry sources place the acquisition cost at around $70 million. Samsung has launched fourteen new SHUD TV models incorporating Quantum Dot technology in 2016. QD Vision will become part of Samsung’s research and development unit to further the development of cadmium-free QD LED displays. Founded by MIT researchers in 2004, Lexington-based QD Vision has been focused on developing QD materials and QD bars for TV applications.
