JOLED
Corporate brand
UnclaimedJOLED was a Japanese display technology company that developed inkjet-printed RGB OLED panels and manufacturing processes.
Last updated October 23, 2026
AI crawler reads
No AI crawler has read this profile yet.
Overview
JOLED Inc. was a Japanese display technology company established in 2015 through the consolidation of OLED-related activities from Sony and Panasonic. Its purpose was to commercialize OLED manufacturing for small and medium-sized displays, initially targeting tablets, laptops, signage, professional equipment, and other applications rather than competing directly in the largest television-panel segment. The company combined technologies and expertise associated with its two parent electronics businesses, including Panasonic’s work on inkjet-based deposition and Sony’s OLED display research. JOLED’s central technical proposition was the use of inkjet printing to deposit emissive organic materials onto a display substrate. Conventional OLED production commonly relied on vacuum evaporation, a capital-intensive process requiring specialized chambers and fine metal masks. JOLED argued that printed deposition could improve material utilization, simplify manufacturing, and eventually reduce costs. The company demonstrated printed RGB OLED prototypes and panels in several sizes, including 12-inch to 21-inch products in 2017, followed by 4K panels intended for professional and medical-display markets. The company’s development history was closely connected to Japan’s broader effort to maintain a competitive display industry. Sony and Panasonic had previously collaborated on OLED television development, but that partnership ended without producing a commercial mass-market television platform. JOLED redirected much of the combined expertise toward smaller OLED panels, where technical differentiation and specialized applications offered a more realistic route to market. Japan Display was also involved as an initial investor and potential strategic partner, while the Japanese public-private fund INCJ supplied the largest portion of the initial capital. JOLED reached several commercial milestones. In 2017 it shipped an inkjet-manufactured OLED panel to Sony for high-end medical displays, presenting the shipment as the first commercial sale of an OLED panel made with inkjet printing. Monitor makers including Asus and Eizo subsequently announced products using JOLED panels. The company also pursued automotive, aviation, and other professional applications, working with Denso, Toyota, Rosen Aviation, and AERQ. In 2020, TCL Technology’s CSOT invested in JOLED and agreed to license technology for OLED television development. LG Electronics later exhibited a 32-inch OLED monitor incorporating a JOLED panel. To support scale-up, JOLED built a mass-production facility in Nomi, Ishikawa, completed in 2019, and developed a separate Chiba facility for module assembly. It planned to offer 4K RGB OLED panels in 22-inch, 27-inch, and 32-inch sizes and to extend its technology to flexible and transparent displays. From around 2021, its display products were marketed under the OLEDIO brand. Despite its technological achievements and strategic partnerships, JOLED faced the severe capital requirements, manufacturing challenges, and competitive pressure characteristic of the OLED-panel industry. The company filed for bankruptcy protection on March 27, 2023, reporting liabilities of approximately $250 million in contemporary coverage. JOLED therefore became a defunct display-technology company, although its printing-related OLED research and manufacturing know-how remained relevant to the broader display sector.
History
JOLED emerged from Japan’s long-running effort to develop commercially viable OLED displays. Sumitomo Chemical’s 2007 acquisition of Cambridge Display Technology strengthened Japan’s access to polymer-emitter expertise. Sony and Panasonic were separately developing OLED systems, and in 2012 they agreed to cooperate on commercial OLED televisions. Panasonic demonstrated a large RGB OLED prototype using inkjet printing at CES 2013, but the partnership did not produce a mass-market television platform and ended later that year. In 2014, Sony, Panasonic, and Japan Display announced plans to establish a new company that would combine relevant OLED operations. The proposed enterprise was designed to concentrate on small and medium-sized panels, including displays for tablets and other devices, rather than the large television panels that had been the focus of the earlier Sony–Panasonic collaboration. INCJ, a Japanese public-private investment fund, was expected to provide most of the initial capital, with Japan Display, Panasonic, and Sony also participating. JOLED began operating in January 2015. The new company combined Sony’s display research, including RGB and top-emission-related work, with Panasonic’s inkjet-printing approach. Its technical strategy was to deposit organic emissive materials directly onto substrates through printing rather than relying exclusively on conventional vacuum evaporation. JOLED believed this could improve material efficiency and reduce the cost and complexity of OLED production. Early target markets included tablets, laptops, signage, professional equipment, and medical displays. JOLED presented printed OLED panels publicly in 2017, including displays between 12 and 21 inches. It began sampling 21-inch 4K panels with RGB subpixels and later shipped panels to Sony for high-end medical-display products. This shipment was widely described as the first commercial sale of an OLED panel manufactured using an inkjet-printing process. The company’s technology attracted attention because printed deposition could potentially reduce manufacturing costs by avoiding some of the vacuum chambers and fine metal masks associated with evaporation-based production. The company continued to seek commercial partners and capital. Asus announced a monitor using a 21.6-inch JOLED panel in 2018, while Eizo introduced a high-end monitor based on a JOLED panel in 2019. JOLED also pursued automotive applications with Denso and Toyota, including a flexible OLED display demonstrated in Toyota’s LQ concept car. To increase manufacturing capacity, it built a mass-production plant in Nomi, Ishikawa, completed in 2019, and developed a Chiba facility for module production using panels made at Nomi. In 2020, CSOT, a subsidiary of TCL Technology, invested in JOLED and acquired a minority stake. The transaction was linked to technology licensing for TCL’s OLED television development. JOLED also announced partnerships with Rosen Aviation and AERQ to address aircraft-cabin display opportunities. At CES 2021, LG Electronics displayed a 32-inch OLED monitor using a JOLED panel. Around this period, JOLED marketed its OLED displays under the OLEDIO name and described plans for panels from approximately 10 to 32 inches, including possible flexible and transparent products. JOLED nevertheless faced the high capital requirements and difficult economics of OLED-panel manufacturing. Its manufacturing expansion and technology-development ambitions required substantial funding, while the global display sector remained highly competitive. On March 27, 2023, JOLED filed for bankruptcy with reported liabilities of about US$250 million. The filing ended the company’s independent operations and left JOLED as a defunct Japanese display brand, although its inkjet-printing research remained part of the broader history of printed OLED development.
- 2023
Bankruptcy filing
[1]JOLED filed for bankruptcy on March 27 after failing to sustain its independent business.
- 2020
CSOT invests and enters a technology-licensing arrangement
[1]TCL Technology’s CSOT acquired a minority stake and agreed to license JOLED OLED technology.
- 2019
Nomi production facility is completed
[1]JOLED completed its mass-production plant in Ishikawa and continued developing module manufacturing in Chiba.
- 2018
JOLED receives major new investment
[1]The company attracted approximately US$400 million in new funding led by Denso.
- 2017
Printed OLED panels are exhibited and commercial shipments begin
[1]JOLED displayed 12-inch to 21-inch printed panels and shipped 21-inch 4K panels to Sony for medical-display use.
- 2015
JOLED begins operations
[1]JOLED was established through the consolidation of OLED activities associated with Sony and Panasonic.
- 2013
Panasonic demonstrates a large inkjet-printed RGB OLED prototype
[1]A 56-inch prototype was shown at CES, illustrating the inkjet-printing approach later associated with JOLED.
- 2012
Sony and Panasonic agree to cooperate on OLED televisions
[1]The companies began a joint effort to make OLED television production commercially viable.
- 2007
Sumitomo Chemical acquires Cambridge Display Technology
[1]The acquisition strengthened Japanese industry access to polymer organic-emitter technology relevant to later OLED development.
Products and positioning
A specialist Japanese OLED technology company positioned around cost-efficient inkjet printing, RGB OLED architecture, and professional, automotive, aviation, and other specialized display applications.
OLED display panels · 2017
Printed RGB OLED panels
JOLED’s signature technology used inkjet printing to deposit RGB organic emissive materials onto display substrates. The approach was intended to improve material utilization and reduce the equipment complexity associated with evaporation-based OLED manufacturing. JOLED demonstrated and sampled panels for professional, medical, monitor, automotive, and other specialized applications.
Professional display panels · 2017
4K OLED panels
JOLED developed 4K RGB OLED panels in sizes including approximately 21, 22, 27, and 32 inches. These panels were aimed primarily at professional monitors, medical equipment, signage, and other applications where OLED contrast and color performance could justify a specialist product position.
OLED display brand · 2021
OLEDIO displays
OLEDIO was the brand name used by JOLED for its OLED displays from around 2021. The offering represented JOLED’s attempt to package its printed-OLED panel technology for commercial display applications, including professional monitors and specialized equipment.
Emerging display technology
Flexible and transparent OLED technologies
JOLED stated that it aimed to extend its OLED manufacturing platform beyond rigid panels to flexible and transparent displays. These capabilities were relevant to automotive, aviation, signage, and design-oriented applications, although the available reference material does not establish a broad commercial product range.
Controversies
2020
JOLED files patent infringement lawsuit against Samsung
JOLED filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Samsung in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas. The lawsuit concerns alleged infringement of OLED screen and product patents. JOLED sought remedies including compensation. The filing was reported on June 22, 2020.
Brand decisions
2023
File for bankruptcyOtherBackground
JOLED faced sustained financial and manufacturing pressure in the capital-intensive OLED-panel market.
Action taken
The company filed for bankruptcy on March 27, 2023.
Aftermath
The filing ended JOLED’s independent operations and its status as an active display manufacturer.
Reported liabilities. Approximately US$250 million (At the March 27, 2023 bankruptcy filing)
2020
License technology to CSOT for OLED television developmentStrategyBackground
JOLED pursued licensing and strategic investment as a way to broaden the reach of its OLED process beyond its own panel operations.
Action taken
CSOT invested in JOLED, acquired a reported 10.76 percent stake, and entered an arrangement to license JOLED technology for OLED television development.
Aftermath
The arrangement connected JOLED’s printed-OLED research with TCL Technology’s television-display ambitions, but the available material does not document a resulting mass-market product.
CSOT investment. Approximately US$281 million (2020)
2018
Scale manufacturing through new investment and facilitiesStrategyBackground
JOLED needed production capacity and additional capital to move its printed-OLED process toward volume manufacturing.
Action taken
The company raised new funding led by Denso and built a mass-production facility in Nomi, Ishikawa, followed by development of a Chiba module plant.
Aftermath
The Nomi plant was completed in 2019 and entered trial-production activity, but the expansion increased the company’s exposure to the financial demands of display manufacturing.
Reported new funding. Approximately US$400 million (2018)
2017
Commercialize inkjet-printed OLED panelsProduct launchBackground
JOLED sought to demonstrate that inkjet deposition could move beyond laboratory prototypes into commercially usable OLED manufacturing.
Action taken
It exhibited printed panels and shipped 21-inch 4K panels to Sony for high-end medical displays.
Aftermath
The shipment established an important technology milestone and helped attract monitor and professional-display partners.
2015
Focus on small and medium-sized OLED displaysStrategyBackground
After the earlier Sony–Panasonic television initiative ended, JOLED was organized around a more focused opportunity in small and medium-sized OLED panels.
Action taken
The company targeted tablets, laptops, signage, professional equipment, and medical displays instead of making large television panels its initial core market.
Aftermath
This positioning enabled JOLED to pursue specialist customers and early commercial shipments, although it did not eliminate the capital and scale challenges of OLED manufacturing.
Recent events
Reported
JOLED and Rosen Aviation announce display partnership[4]
JOLED and Rosen Aviation announced a partnership to collaborate on developing and integrating medium-sized OLED displays into aircraft interiors.
- Unconfirmed
Reported
TCL CSOT invests in JOLED and partners on printed OLED technology[5]
TCL CSOT made a strategic investment of 30 billion yen in Japanese panel company JOLED. The companies will pursue in-depth technical cooperation in inkjet-printed OLED.
Reported
JOLED sues Samsung over OLED panel patents[3]
JOLED filed a patent infringement lawsuit in a U.S. federal court against Samsung Electronics, Samsung Display and Samsung's U.S. subsidiary, alleging that Galaxy-branded smartphones sold in the United States infringe JOLED's OLED panel technology patents and seeking damages.
Reported
JOLED files patent infringement lawsuit against Samsung[2]
JOLED filed a lawsuit against Samsung in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas over alleged OLED screen and product patent infringement, seeking remedies including compensation.
Reported
TCL Huaxing and JOLED agree on investment and technology cooperation[6]
TCL Huaxing and a JOLED subsidiary signed an investment agreement on June 19, with TCL Huaxing proposing to invest 30 billion yen in JOLED. The companies plan three years of joint research and development in inkjet-printed OLED technology.
Sources8 sources
- 1JOLEDen.wikipedia.org
- 2JOLED files patent infringement lawsuit against Samsungtech.sina.com.cn
- 3JOLED files patent infringement lawsuit against Samsungtv.zol.com.cn
- 4JOLED与Rosen Aviation宣布显示技术合作prweb.com
- 5TCL华星入股JOLED并开展印刷OLED技术合作tech.sina.com.cn
- 6TCL华星与JOLED达成投资及技术合作tech.sina.com.cn
- 7JOLED Partners with Rosen Aviation to Enhance the Passenger Experience with High Performance OLEDsfinanznachrichten.de
- 8TCL科技入股JOLED 加速布局印刷OLEDfinance.sina.com.cn
Cite this profile: Cite the canonical profile. /brand-wiki/joled · Editorial policy · How profiles are compiled