Even though Japan Display has temporarily solved its fundraising deadlock with the aid from a state-backed company in the OLED panel sector, the outlook remains uncertain and there are still challenges ahead before mass production, reported Nikkei Asian Review.

Silvair, a pioneer in Bluetooth-based smart lighting technologies for commercial applications, today announced that it has completed a US $12 million Series A round of funding. The new investment will enable the company to commercialize its end-to-end smart lighting platform, as well as to grow its marketing and customer support capabilities internationally.

After three long years, Opple Lighting’s Initial Public Offering (IPO) application was finally approved by China’s Securities Regulatory Committee (CSRC), and is closer to its goal of being listed on the Chinese bourse.

Revolution Lighting Technologies, a leader in advanced LED lighting technology solutions, today announced that its division, Value Lighting, has been recently awarded lighting contracts for multi-family developments throughout the U.S. totaling US $4 million. This includes its most recent win with Reston Station in Reston, VA, in addition to several large multi-family developments in Washington D.C. and Georgia.

Following Philips Lighting IPO announcement in May, the company recently issued a press release announcing exercise of over-allotment option. The press release intended for financial investors was banned from publication.

The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science and Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy have awarded three Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants targeting advances in solid-state lighting (SSL) technology. These Phase I grants will explore the technical merit and commercial potential of different innovative concepts or technologies that are expected to contribute to the achievement of the price and performance goals described in DOE’s SSL R&D Plan.

Philips has decided on the price for its initial public offering for its lighting unit recently, and estimates the spinoff could raise between EUR 694 million and EUR 844 million (US $785 million to US$ 954 million), reported Wall Street Journal.

GSR Capital announced the formation of a US$ 1 billion cornerstone fund, "GSR Go Global Fund", with Limited Partners from Chinese leading high-tech companies, Taiwan industrial group, and world renowned entrepreneurs. The aim is to invest and build a world-class lighting industry through global acquisitions of leading LED lighting assets. The fund has already been oversubscribed and agreements have been signed by anchor Limited Partners. Industry experts Frank Fan and Jianghua Su will join the core general partner team.

Acuity Brands and Key Equipment Finance announced that the two companies have teamed up to provide flexible financing solutions to qualified Acuity Brands customers converting to energy-efficient LED lighting and installing smart lighting networks. Key Equipment Finance is one of the largest bank-held equipment finance companies in the U.S. and an affiliate of KeyCorp.

LEDinside, a division of TrendForce, reports that industrial lighting has a decisive weight in the entire lighting market. LEDinside has released its latest “1Q15 Silver Member Market Report - Industrial Lighting and High Bay Markets”, which shows an intense level of price competition in the market for LED replacement lighting products, including LED light bulbs and light tubes sold in retail stores. More and more LED lighting vendors hope to capitalize on the situation by entering the industrial lighting sector. Based on LEDinside’s forecast, LED industrial lighting market scale will be worth US$2.366 billion in 2015 and by 2018 the scale will reach US$3.935 billion. 

Chinese startup Lattice Power has emerged as an unexpected bidder in the auction of Philips lighting component business, reported Reuters.

Lextar Electronics set another new revenue record last month, after three consecutive months of growth drove up revenue by 14.7 percent YoY to NT $1.42 billion (US $50 million), according to a UDN report. On a monthly basis, the company’s growth in August was only up 0.3 percent compared to July 2014.