Royole Corporation is a manufacturer of flexible displays and sensors that can be used in a range of human-machine interface products, including foldable smartphones and other smart devices.[1]

History

Royole was founded by Stanford engineering graduates, including current Founder Bill Liu, in 2012.[2]

The company, backed by investors including IDG Capital, AMTD Group and Knight Capital, produces fully flexible displays in volume from its 4.5-million-square-feet quasi-G6 mass production campus in Shenzhen, China.[1][3]

Royole has offices in Fremont, California, Hong Kong and Shenzhen.[4]

Towards the end of 2020, Royole filed to go public on Shanghai's STAR Market,[5] but withdraw their application shortly after when shareholder structure issues emerged.[6]

Milestones

Royole produced the world's thinnest full-color flexible displays and flexible sensors (2014), the world's first foldable 3D mobile theater (2015), the world's first curved car dashboard based on flexible electronics (2016), the first smart writing pad, RoWrite, based on flexible sensors (2017), the volume production of Royole's quasi-G6 mass production campus for fully flexible displays (2018), and the world's first commercial foldable smartphone, FlexPai™, with a fully flexible display (2018).[7][8]

In May 2019, Royole partnered with Louis Vuitton to launch the “Canvas of the Future” line of handbags that featured built-in flexible displays. The bags were unveiled at Louis Vuitton's Cruise 2020 runway show in New York City.[9]

In December 2018, Airbus China Innovation Centre (ACCIC) announced a partnership with Royole to explore applications of flexible displays and sensors in aircraft development with an aim to improve cabin safety and increase energy conservation.[10]

Awards

Royole has received international industry awards, including in the Red Dot Awards and International Design Awards, for its technological innovations and fast growth.[11] Royole was named a 2018 VIP Award winner by TWICE Magazine.[12][13]

Controversies

In December 2021, 10 months after failing to go public on Shanghai's STAR Market, it was reported that Royole has delayed salary payments to employees for months after the money-losing company suffered from tight cashflow. Founder and CEO Liu Zihong held an all-hands meeting on Nov. 30 to update the company's financial situation. Liu said at the meeting that the company was in the process of obtaining financing, and expected to receive funds in December, according to some employees. All back salaries would be paid at the end of December or in January, but there was still uncertainty, Liu said.[14]

References

  1. ^ a b "Royole introduces first foldable smartphone". AZ Business Magazine. November 30, 2018.
  2. ^ Chai Hua (June 7, 2018). "Royole builds state-of-the-art facility". China Daily.
  3. ^ Laura He (September 27, 2017). "Ultra-thin flexible display maker Royole raises another US$800m". South China Morning Post.
  4. ^ Liam Tung (September 27, 2017). "World's first foldable phone? Royole's 7.8in FlexPai tablet folds into dual-screen phone". ZDNet.
  5. ^ "China display maker Royole Corp ditches US to seek $1.8 billion local IPO". Bloomberg. November 27, 2020.
  6. ^ "Flexible-Screen Maker Royole Withdraws STAR Market IPO". Caixin Global. February 21, 2021.
  7. ^ Ben Sin (July 29, 2019). "Review: The World's First Foldable Phone Is Surprisingly Usable". Forbes.
  8. ^ Patricia Miller (February 25, 2019). "Flexible, Curved, Foldable: Royole CEO on Reinventing the Display". Innovation & Tech Today.
  9. ^ Edgar Alvarez (May 10, 2019). "Louis Vuitton's flexible-screen handbags are the definition of extra". Engadget.
  10. ^ Lulu Yilun Chen (March 15, 2019). "China's Flexible Screen Pioneer Is Seeking $1 Billion in Funding". Bloomberg L.P.
  11. ^ "Product Design Award". reddot. October 31, 2019.
  12. ^ "2018 TWICE VIP Award Winners". TWICE. 2018-08-20. Retrieved 2020-03-18.
  13. ^ "Royole RoWrite Honored with 2018 TWICE VIP Award". Benzinga. Retrieved 2020-03-18.
  14. ^ He Shujing and Denise Jia (December 9, 2021). "Chinese flexible-screen maker Royole delays employee salaries". Nikkei Asia.