Focusing on the design and manufacture of micro-nano optical devices, "Weirui Optics" has continuously completed nearly 100 million yuan in Pre-A and Pre-A+ rounds of financing | 36Kr exclusive.
Author | Lin Qingqing
Editor | Yuan Silai
36Kr has learned that the optical device supplier "Weirui Optics" recently announced the completion of nearly 100 million yuan in Pre-A and Pre-A+ rounds of financing. The Pre-A round was led by Moqin Intelligence, the investment platform of Huaqin Technology, and the Pre-A+ round was led by Shangqi Capital, a subsidiary of SAIC Motor. Jiangyin Talent Fund and others participated in the investment, and Zhizhen Consulting Zen Advisory served as the financial advisor. This round of financing will be used for the company's new product line research and development, order delivery, and market promotion.
"Weirui Optics" was established in 2022, mainly engaged in the design and manufacturing of wafer-level optical components. The products mainly include MLA (Microlens Array), silicon lenses, curved optical film laminating, HOE (Holographic Optical Element), DOE (Diffractive Optical Element), WG (Waveguide), Diffuser (Beam Homogenizer), and MOE (Metalens), and the application fields cover virtual reality (VR/AR/MR), automotive optics, optical communication, 3D imaging system for mobile phones, under-screen imaging, and fingerprint recognition, etc.
Wafer-level optical components (WLO, Wafer Level Optics) is a wafer-level lens manufacturing technology, that is, optical lenses are manufactured through wafer packaging. The manufacturing method is to use the entire glass/silicon wafer as the material, adopt semiconductor processes such as lithography and etching, and use nanoimprinting and UV curing methods to mass-produce single-layer or multi-layer lenses, and then cut them into individual components. WLO has the characteristics of small size, low height, good consistency, and large production capacity, and the positional accuracy between the single-device microlens arrays can reach the nanometer level.
"Weirui Optics" Semiconductor-like Production and Manufacturing Process
The person in charge of marketing and financing of "Weirui Optics", Ying Ying, introduced that the "Weirui Optics" team has the top platform-based optical "design + process" capability under the IDM model, and the core product line has currently benchmarked and surpassed leading enterprises such as AMS overseas. In the direction of practical application, it mainly targets the application tracks of virtual reality and automotive optics, providing core optical devices and solutions for VR/AR complete machine manufacturers, vehicle manufacturers, and Tier 1.
With the rise of the metaverse ecosystem, the AR/VR/XR market is continuously expanding. The Wellsenn XR report of VisionDeep Information shows that in the second quarter of 2024, the global sales of VR and AR were 1.35 million units and 108,000 units respectively. It is expected that the global sales of VR and AR in 2024 will be 7.97 million units and 550,000 units respectively, with a year-on-year growth rate of 6%-8%.
In the AR/VR/XR field, the role of waveguides and curved film-coated lenses is like a pair of high-quality "glasses", helping users clearly see virtual images and making these images seem to naturally blend into the real environment, reducing glare and distortion, thereby enhancing the user experience.
The products and technologies of "Weirui Optics" mainly solve the "ghost image" and "light leakage" problems in the immersive experience. Ying Ying told 36Kr, "Through its globally original Pancake phase compensation technology and advanced curved screen film coating process, we track the polarization of various light rays in the tracking module, calculate the phase state and design the optimal phase difference film, thereby reducing the stray light in the module, effectively improving the image quality and user experience. Currently, this technology has applied for patents in the United States, China, and Europe."
"Weirui Optics" Pancake Module
In addition, with the intelligent development of new energy vehicles, users' demands for the intelligence and high-end of vehicle lights are also increasing. The application of micro-nano optical technology in the field of vehicle lights, such as microlens arrays (MLA) and lidar, is promoting the development of vehicle light products towards more precision, safety, and stronger interactivity. Currently, the automotive WLO market is highly concentrated and mostly monopolized by overseas leading companies. The top five companies such as OSRAM (AMS) and SMO account for more than 66% of the revenue.
"Weirui Optics" MLA Microlens Array
It is understood that in the field of automotive optics, the MLA solution of "Weirui Optics" provides precise wafer-level optical components for the upgrade needs of vehicle lights and lidar systems. Wafer-level optical devices in the overall product are like the "eyes" of a car's headlights, which can make the vehicle's headlights emit more uniform, bright, and specific-shaped light. This can not only improve the safety of night driving but also make the vehicle look more high-tech and fashionable.
In addition, the products of "Weirui Optics" can also meet the effect of a wide welcome light carpet and provide emotional value to users. Its MLA technology can adapt to various application scenarios of ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance System), including welcome light carpet, turn signal lights, reversing warning lights, and adaptive headlights, etc. Through more precise light control and three-dimensional, dynamic light effects, it improves the driving experience and road safety beyond the atmosphere.
In terms of laser applications, Ying Ying further introduced that "Weirui Optics" uses the exclusive technology of the integrated MLA to prepare the MLA directly on the VCSEL wafer by integrating processes such as lithography and nanoimprinting. This can reduce production costs, improve alignment accuracy and surface accuracy, reduce the laser divergence angle, and increase the axial light intensity several times, and has begun to be applied in the industrial and consumer electronics fields.
"Weirui Optics" 8-inch Wafer Prepared by Lithography and Nanoimprinting
Ying Ying introduced that currently, in terms of commercialization, "Weirui Optics" has supplied to the domestic ODM leading company Huaqin Technology, Phoenix Optics, and the supply chain of North American customers in the AR/VR/XR and consumer electronics fields. In the automotive industry, it has mass-produced and supplied to BYD, Magna, and has entered the supply chain system of many leading vehicle manufacturers and international Tier 1. The company has established engineering, R&D, manufacturing, and sales centers in Shanghai, Jiaxing, Shenzhen, and Shangrao, and has passed the ISO: 9001 and IATF: 16949 system certifications.
In terms of the team, the "Weirui Optics" team is composed of doctors and masters from prestigious domestic universities such as Tsinghua University, Peking University, Nanjing University, Wuhan University, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and has published many papers in international top academic journals. The core members have served as technical and product backbone positions in the optical departments of international giants such as Philips, OSRAM, 3M, and Corning, and have more than 10 years of product research and development and implementation experience in the fields of micro-nano processing, imaging optics, lighting optics, and diffractive optics.
Investor Views:
As the lead investor in the Pre-A+ round, the investment team of Shangqi Capital, the private equity investment platform of SAIC Motor, said: Wafer-level optics integrates semiconductor manufacturing technology and precision optical device processing technology, with characteristics of high threshold and high value similar to semiconductor manufacturing. At the same time, as a bottom-level process technology, the products can be applied to multiple fields such as automobiles, consumer electronics, medical, and precision equipment, with a very broad development space. Weirui Optics has an international R&D team from world-class companies such as Philips and 3M, and has launched a series of high-performance wafer-level optical products that are leading in China and comparable to international standards, and are widely used in multiple application fields such as automotive lighting, XR, action cameras, and lidar. We believe that Weirui Optics will be among the leading companies in related fields in China.
As the lead investor in the Pre-A round, the investment team of Moqin Intelligence, the investment platform of Huaqin Technology, also said: Micro-nano optics is a large field of rapid development and commercial application in the optical technology field. Compared with the traditional optical lens technology, micro-nano optics has the characteristics of both semiconductor process and optical devices, with outstanding advantages such as small size, high integration, good consistency, and easy mass production. In many new fields, such as AR/VR virtual reality and other products, autonomous driving, precision instruments and other fields, it has more and more extensive applications. Weirui Optics has a professional optical technology team led by Dr. Yang. The team is composed of doctors and masters from prestigious domestic universities such as Tsinghua University, Peking University, and Nanjing University. At present, it has launched a series of optical products suitable for AR/VR, automotive light projection, 3D sensing and other fields, and has begun to have good cooperation with many domestic and foreign leading customers. We believe that the company will have a faster development and a better future.