Alice has unveiled its microLED factory and a $200 million production line to make augmented reality displays.
The Grenoble company, based in France, wants to change the future of hardware for augmented reality and power the next generation of displays for vision applications. He made the announcement at CES 2025the big tech trade show in Las Vegas this week.
Tech giants have recently doubled down on microLED for smart glasses, releasing prototypes and aiming for a commercial launch as early as 2027. While AI-powered use cases for AR have emerged over last year, critical hardware challenges – power consumption, size and manufacturing costs – – there are still significant barriers to mass adoption.
AR wants displays that combine high brightness, compact size and low power consumption for long battery life. Existing technologies such as OLED (organic LED) and LCOS (Liquid Crystal On Silicon) fall short in these critical areas, but still fall short of the full potential of truly immersive AR experiences, said Aledia.
AR devices need bright displays for all lighting conditions, indoors and outdoors. The devices must also be compact, fitting into the small form factors required for AR glasses and other devices. They also need long battery life and need to be affordable.
Both OLED and LCOS technologies emit light in all directions, and only light emitted in a narrow cone can be used with the AR glasses.
After 12 years of non-stop R&D, a portfolio of nearly 300 patents and $600 million in investment, Aledia said it has broken down those barriers. With the innovative microLED-based microdisplay – the most efficient, monolithically grown with Red, Green and Blue microLEDs on the same native conductive substrate – the company said it can overcome the product challenges -hardest to solve, paving the way for the most immersive, AI -powered AR vision experiences ever created.
“Immersive technologies such as AR have not reached their full potential as the industry has yet to design screens that are both slow and fully functional,” said Pierre Laboisse, CEO of Aledia, in a statement. “At Aledia, we have created nanowire technology that makes microLED displays thinner, more power efficient and easier to produce for mass adoption.By the next CES, OLED and LCOS will already be produced gradually for our advanced microLED technology”.
Aledia's microLED platform for AR
Aledia's microLED technology based on 3D gallium nitride (GaN) on silicon nanowires opens the way to the next generation of smart displays.
The company said its 3D GaN nanowire technology delivers better brightness and energy efficiency compared to 2D LED, along with better pixel density and resolution. The 3D structure allows precise and directional light distributions, making Aledia displays highly efficient and suitable for advanced applications such as AR.
During R&D testing, Aledia's nanowires improved light orientation and efficiency in real-world conditions, which are critical for immersive AR experiences.
Aledia said it has better battery life in a compact package. Aledia's hybrid connector technology combines microLED and driver electronics into the smallest and smartest chip on the market, resulting in thinner displays and better power efficiency for longer battery life.
Cost-effective manufacturing that scales
Aledia's advantage lies in its in-house pilot production line of more than $200 million in the heart of Europe's “Display Valley”, enabling faster turnaround without initially limiting volume. By using semiconductor-grade silicon in 8-inch and 12-inch formats, Aledia lowers production costs for mass production of microLEDs, accelerating widespread adoption in a wide range of displays. Aledia is ready and able to support customer demand ramp up to nearly 5,000 wafer starts per week.
“Our Champagnier factory is a major milestone for European innovation, and we are proud to represent it at the Auvergne Rhône-Alpes Pavilion at CES,” said Laboisse. “We are redefining global standards of display technology with the chips efficient and high performance, positioning Grenoble as a global center of microLED production.”
To experience Aledia technology at CES 2025, visit Booth 60711-04 at Eureka Park, in Hall G at the Venetian.
Aledia was founded in 2011, and has more than 300 patents and 60 of its employees are doctors.
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