On December 16, PlayNitride Technologies announced that its board approved the acquisition of Lumiode Inc., a U.S.-based company, for US$2 million. TrendForce reports that Lumiode—a decade-old company—has complementary technologies and patents that will help PlayNitride expand its intellectual property portfolio and improve access to North American customers and sales channels. This acquisition is expected to enhance PlayNitride’s global competitiveness in near-eye display applications and in medical and other non-display markets.

PlayNitride is a prominent entity in the Micro LED sector, providing a wide array of services such as Micro LED chips, COC processes, mass transfer technologies, turnkey solutions, and equipment sales. The company has successfully integrated into the supply chains of Samsung Micro LED TVs, Sony Honda’s Afeela 1, and Garmin’s Fenix 8 Pro, delivering Micro LED chips and COC products.

Recently, PlayNitride introduced a full-color 0.18-inch Micro LED chip designed for near-eye displays and, in partnership with Taiwan’s ITRI and ChaseWind, unveiled high-resolution AR smart glasses.

Lumiode, a Micro LED solution provider, has in recent years focused on near-eye display and medical applications. Leveraging its proprietary Active TFT Thin Film patent technology, Lumiode aims to replace conventional CMOS wafer bonding approaches, addressing long-standing challenges such as high CMOS development costs and low utilization rates caused by bonding size mismatches.

The acquisition is projected to be finalized by the end of 2025. It will open new technical avenues for Micro LED adoption in near-eye displays, enabling PlayNitride to accelerate the development of Micro LED AR glasses without relying on current CMOS-based solutions. Additionally, the expanded patent portfolio will support the company's efforts to grow in the U.S. market and expand its customer base.

TrendForce predicts that by 2030, worldwide shipments of Micro LED AR glasses will hit 21 million units, with Micro LED technology comprising 65% of the overall AR glasses market.