B2 Round Financing Exceeds 1 Billion, Leading Domestic MicroLED Manufacturer Rides the Wave of Smart Glasses | Exclusive Report by Hardcore Krypton

Author | Huang Nan

Editor | Yuan Silai

Hard Krypton exclusively learned that Shanghai JBD Display Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "JBD") recently completed a Series B2 financing round of over one billion yuan, setting a new record for a single financing in the global MicroLED micro - display field. This round was led by Hundun Investment and CITIC Jingshi, with follow - on investments from CITIC Securities International Capital, CITIC Securities Investment, Lightspeed China Partners, Yinbai Investment, Zhiwei Capital, Jinpu Investment, Puyao Xinyie, GF Qianhe, GF Xinde, Zhejiang Youjin, and Pino Capital.

The funds from this round will mainly be used to accelerate JBD's innovation in MicroLED micro - display technology and product iteration, promote the co - construction of the consumer - grade AR ecosystem with ecological partners, and transform the current technological advantages and commercialization achievements into large - scale industrialization capabilities for the global market.

Founded in 2015, as one of the few companies in the industry with the mass - production capacity of MicroLED micro - display screens, JBD has always focused on the R & D and production of MicroLED micro - display screens. It is committed to providing innovative AR near - eye display solutions for global customers and accelerating the integration and popularization of consumer - grade AR + AI technology.

Currently, JBD has built a complete technical system around MicroLED micro - display panels, covering independent backplane design, MOCVD material growth, processing and manufacturing, packaging and testing, and display algorithms, leading the industry's development in all aspects.

Hummingbird II Binocular Full - Color Glasses Development Kit - Pavo Lite

In recent years, the integration trend of AI and AR has become more and more obvious, and it has become the key cornerstone for promoting the transformation of the next - generation intelligent terminals. The latest "Global XR (AR/VR) Headset Model Shipment Tracking Database" released by Counterpoint mentioned that hardware OEMs and Internet giants are increasing their investment in the development of AR smart glasses. With the rise of the "AR + AI" trend, the market is expected to achieve strong growth in the next few years.

In the AR near - eye display scenario, MicroLED micro - display has become the mainstream technical route. It has the characteristics of high brightness, small size, and long battery life, which perfectly meets the requirements of lightweight and all - weather AR glasses. Therefore, it is widely regarded as one of the optimal display solutions for AR glasses.

Hummingbird II Color Light Engine (Image Source/Company)

In September this year, JBD launched the Hummingbird II color light engine, which has a volume of only 0.2 cubic centimeters and a weight of 0.5 grams, approximately the size of a mung bean. This design gives AR glasses greater design flexibility, making the device shape infinitely close to ordinary glasses, helping to significantly reduce the overall weight of the device and improve the wearing experience, and breaking the long - standing pain points of traditional color waveguide AR devices, such as being "bulky and difficult to wear".

The newly announced Roadrunner MicroLED micro - display platform of JBD has significantly increased the pixel density to 10160 PPI with a smaller pixel pitch of 2.5 microns. At the same time, through innovation in the process and device structure, the Roadrunner platform has solved the technical problem of low luminous efficiency of ultra - small MicroLEDs, achieving lower backplane power consumption and higher luminous efficiency.

Roadrunner Series Color Light Engine (Image Source/Company)

MicroLED micro - display screens are evolving towards smaller pixel sizes and higher luminous efficiency. The reduction of pixel size means that more pixels can be integrated in a unit area, thus significantly reducing the physical size of the screen/optical engine while ensuring the resolution, which helps AR glasses achieve a more minimalist and lightweight design.

At the same time, due to the compact internal structure of AR glasses, with the battery capacity remaining unchanged, higher luminous efficiency means lower power consumption, which helps to extend the overall battery life. Through technological iteration, the Roadrunner platform not only improves the visual fineness but also effectively enhances the immersive experience of virtual - reality integration, supports the upgrade of AR interactive experience, and provides a technical basis for the next - generation optical engine with small size and large field of view.

Hard Krypton learned that currently, JBD's MicroLED micro - display products have been applied in nearly 50 smart glasses, including well - known domestic brands such as Rokid Glasses, Alibaba Quark AI Glasses, Thunderbird X3 Pro, INMO GO3 of Yingmu Technology, Xuanjing M5 of Weiguang Technology, Leion Hey2 of Liangliang Vision, and Halliday. It has also received mass - production orders from international technology giants. In the next year, it is expected that more new products based on JBD technology will be launched.

Views from Investors:

Hundun Investment said, "We have always believed that AR glasses are one of the most important end - side products in the process of AI development. Supply - chain companies are an important part of promoting the leap - forward development of consumer electronics products and will also be the first to benefit from the explosion of downstream industries. As a global leading AR glasses MicroLED micro - display company, JBD has built a very deep moat in the past 10 years since its establishment. It has won the recognition and in - depth cooperation of global leading customers, has a leading product iteration ability in the industry and always leads the industry development, and has achieved large - scale mass production of MicroLEDs globally for the first time, ensuring its cost and yield are ahead of the industry. During the communication with the JBD team, we highly recognize their efficient and pragmatic style and in - depth insight into the AR glasses industry. We will continue to pay attention to new opportunities in the AR industry and are very honored to witness the industry development."

CITIC Jingshi, CITIC Securities International Capital, CITIC Securities Investment said, "As the core interactive terminal in the AI era, AR glasses are on the verge of explosion, and MicroLED is the indispensable 'hard technology' to achieve this vision. JBD is one of the very few companies globally that have achieved mass production of micro - display MicroLEDs and have been verified by global top customers. Thanks to the clear product iteration logic, the multi - dimensional balance of technology, mass production, and commercialization since its establishment, JBD has built a significant first - mover advantage. This investment is in line with the strategic direction and investment strategy of CITIC Securities' investment platform to layout cutting - edge technologies and capture leading companies in the core links of the industry. We hope that through this investment, we can help JBD continue to consolidate its leading position in the AR core supply chain, lead the revolution of the next - generation display technology, and define the cornerstone of the next - generation human - machine interaction."