Smart tablet and smart LCD film
It is learned that Shenzhen Weike Optoelectronics Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Weike Optoelectronics”) has recently announced the completion of tens of millions of yuan in financing. This round of financing was led by Chuangfang. Lihe Qingyuan Capital followed up with the investment. It is reported that the company plans to become a platform company based on flexible liquid crystal material technology in the future.
Wicue was established in March 2014 and is located in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province. Focus on R & D and production of flexible liquid crystal materials and application products, including liquid crystal writing tablets, light and dark light-changing films for automotive and architectural windows, dimming and changing liquid-crystal sunglasses, light-changing snow glasses, and helmets, etc. At present has Applications in consumer electronics, smart cars, etc.
Previously, we introduced the LCD tablet and In-vehicle flexible LCD dimming film business, according to the leading investment team Chuang Dongfang Investment Team, the company has a number of patented cores Products, independently developed automated roll-to-roll liquid crystal film production equipment, high production automation efficiency. At the same time, the company’s products have been continuously upgraded with applied materials and technologies, and the tablet products have the characteristics of high brightness and high contrast; the liquid crystal bright and dark light-changing film has the characteristics of heat insulation, zero-haze, wide range of variable light, and fast response; Glasses and LCD helmets feature fast variable light response and large variable light range.
The following is a report on the “Weiku Technology”, a company of “Weiku Optoelectronics”, in December 2019:
Black technology that allows auto glass windows to automatically adjust brightness and display static information with external light has arrived. It is worth mentioning that this technology is not limited to automotive scenarios, and mobile phone, glasses, helmets, architecture and other application fields related to light-transmitting lenses have room for development.
Founded in early 2019, “Weiku Technology” is located in Hengqin New District of Zhuhai and belongs to “Weiku Optoelectronics”. Different from the liquid crystal handwriting film mainly promoted by “Weiku Optoelectronics”, “Weiku Technology” is mainly engaged in the R & D and production of automotive flexible liquid crystal dimming films and related products.
Compared to the more common flat liquid crystal films on the market, flexible light and dark liquid crystal films are based on their flexible substrates, which can be made into “arbitrary shapes” to meet the “special shape” needs of scenes such as glasses, architectural glass, and automotive sunroof. Can adjust its brightness as the external environment changesEtc., for more scene settings.
Weiku Technology revealed to the team that at the time, the team made breakthrough progress in the research and development of flexible light and dark liquid crystal film, and found that the market area for its applicable fields was very broad, so the team was formed, hoping to accelerate the industry of the project 化 process.
The manufacturing process of liquid crystal materials brings together intensive high-tech technologies such as complex chemical synthesis, purification and compounding technology, physical property testing and analysis. Therefore, the industry’s biggest barrier is its technical barriers. Japan’s “DNP”, South Korea’s “LG”, Germany’s “Merck”, and several Chinese display giants all invested heavily in technology research and development, and solidified their market share.
Compared with other players, “Weiku Technology” believes that the company’s competitive advantage comes from its unique “flexible” light and dark liquid crystal film technology and the fully automatic flexible roll-to-roll LCD production line that produces this film.
The main highlights of this technology can be expanded around the following points:
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I. Self-developed LCD formula. “Vicco Technology” liquid crystal film (used in car sunroof) in normal dark mode can reach 0.5% light transmittance, less than 0.1 second response speed.
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II. Technology format. At present, the light-adjusting film on the market is more commonly PDLC technology, but it can only adjust the transparent state and the opaque state of the fog state, which is only suitable for privacy isolation and not suitable for automotive scenarios. The liquid crystal film of “Weiku Technology” has lower haze in the transparent state and a wider adjustable range of transmittance; it can choose a variety of switching modes such as black state / transparent state / middle gray level state and continuous stepless dimming.
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Third, the initial input cost is high, and the production process is complicated, which is difficult to copy quickly. Generally, the newly invested equipment for the production of liquid crystal film is at least 300 million yuan, and it takes one and a half years to prepare the equipment. At the same time, in the production process, making the light-transmitting film into a stable form requires many details and craftsmanship, and it has higher requirements for technical personnel. “Weiku Technology” has acquired a high-tech manufacturer specializing in flexible liquid crystal film in Japan, and has remodeled it to strictly control the quality of the manufactured products.
Of course, the biggest pain point of technology-intensive industries is high investment. In order to achieve a fully automatic production line, hedging upstream risks, controlling product quality, and meeting mass production, “Weiku Technology” not only acquired Japanese manufacturers, but also acquired some component manufacturers in Taiwan. In addition to the initial investment in mergers and acquisitions, the daily rents, utilities, and wages consumed by the factory are the largest costs of “Weiku Technology”.
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The third from the right are the application products / fields that are currently the main technology of WeCool Technology
According to our understanding, the current “Weiku Technology” is mainly focused on the four major markets of automobiles, mobile phones, glasses and helmets. The initial choice of the automobile and mobile phone market was based on its broad market and the rigid demand that was spawned based on competition. Due to fierce competition, major automakers are actively seeking better technology to satisfy the user experience. Among them, dimmable automotive film is a major focus of competition. The global market for automotive films alone is expected to reach 50 billion by 2020. At present, “Weiku Technology” has carried out in-depth cooperation with multiple terminal car factories and automobile glass factories.
In the mobile phone market, “Weiku Technology” has also established cooperative relationships with a number of mobile phone giants. At the current stage, it is still in the mutual technical integration and R & D design, and the products have not yet been launched.
Based on the scarcity of technology, “Weiku Technology” now has greater bargaining power, which can help increase revenue. However, because technology has not yet achieved the popularity of demand, the current order volume still cannot fully meet the plant’s capacity. Therefore, how to speed up the promotion of technology in the market is also a major challenge facing the team.
So, although “Weiku Technology” mainly deals with ToB’s business, it also recently launched a ToC-adjustable dimmable LCD sunglasses and helmet. These products have been launched on JD.com and have successfully attracted the attention of a group of technology enthusiasts. In fact, the team ultimately wants to divert these needs to ToB, to empower manufacturers that can be used in application scenarios, and to work with manufacturers to design better products for sale to consumers.
Related reading:
I. Self-developed LCD formula. “Vicco Technology” liquid crystal film (used in car sunroof) in normal dark mode can reach 0.5% light transmittance, less than 0.1 second response speed.
II. Technology format. At present, the light-adjusting film on the market is more commonly PDLC technology, but it can only adjust the transparent state and the opaque state of the fog state, which is only suitable for privacy isolation and not suitable for automotive scenarios. The liquid crystal film of “Weiku Technology” has lower haze in the transparent state and a wider adjustable range of transmittance; it can choose a variety of switching modes such as black state / transparent state / middle gray level state and continuous stepless dimming.
Third, the initial input cost is high, and the production process is complicated, which is difficult to copy quickly. Generally, the newly invested equipment for the production of liquid crystal film is at least 300 million yuan, and it takes one and a half years to prepare the equipment. At the same time, in the production process, making the light-transmitting film into a stable form requires many details and craftsmanship, and it has higher requirements for technical personnel. “Weiku Technology” has acquired a high-tech manufacturer specializing in flexible liquid crystal film in Japan, and has remodeled it to strictly control the quality of the manufactured products.
Of course, the biggest pain point of technology-intensive industries is high investment. In order to achieve a fully automatic production line, hedging upstream risks, controlling product quality, and meeting mass production, “Weiku Technology” not only acquired Japanese manufacturers, but also acquired some component manufacturers in Taiwan. In addition to the initial investment in mergers and acquisitions, the daily rents, utilities, and wages consumed by the factory are the largest costs of “Weiku Technology”.
The third from the right are the application products / fields that are currently the main technology of WeCool Technology
According to our understanding, the current “Weiku Technology” is mainly focused on the four major markets of automobiles, mobile phones, glasses and helmets. The initial choice of the automobile and mobile phone market was based on its broad market and the rigid demand that was spawned based on competition. Due to fierce competition, major automakers are actively seeking better technology to satisfy the user experience. Among them, dimmable automotive film is a major focus of competition. The global market for automotive films alone is expected to reach 50 billion by 2020. At present, “Weiku Technology” has carried out in-depth cooperation with multiple terminal car factories and automobile glass factories.
In the mobile phone market, “Weiku Technology” has also established cooperative relationships with a number of mobile phone giants. At the current stage, it is still in the mutual technical integration and R & D design, and the products have not yet been launched.
Based on the scarcity of technology, “Weiku Technology” now has greater bargaining power, which can help increase revenue. However, because technology has not yet achieved the popularity of demand, the current order volume still cannot fully meet the plant’s capacity. Therefore, how to speed up the promotion of technology in the market is also a major challenge facing the team.
So, although “Weiku Technology” mainly deals with ToB’s business, it also recently launched a ToC-adjustable dimmable LCD sunglasses and helmet. These products have been launched on JD.com and have successfully attracted the attention of a group of technology enthusiasts. In fact, the team ultimately wants to divert these needs to ToB, to empower manufacturers that can be used in application scenarios, and to work with manufacturers to design better products for sale to consumers.
Related reading: