OLEDWorks celebrates 15th anniversary
From its ambitious beginnings with a handful of dedicated OLED engineers, to a world leader in multi-stack OLED technology production within 15 years: The company has developed into a workforce of over 250 dedicated team members.
OLEDWorks can trace its history back to the invention of OLED in Rochester, NY, in 1987 at Eastman Kodak. As members of the OLED team at Kodak, Dr John Hamer and Dr Michael Boroson were among the pioneers to work on this cutting-edge technology. They saw the potential of OLED technology to transform display and lighting applications with its surface emission, thin profile, and high contrast. When Kodak made the decision to sell its OLED intellectual property to LG at the end of 2009, Dr Hamer and Dr Boroson knew that they couldn’t let this groundbreaking research leave the region. So, along with experienced entrepreneur David DeJoy, they founded OLEDWorks in July 2010 to keep OLED lighting right here in Rochester, New York.
In 2015, OLEDWorks acquired the Philips OLED division in Aachen, Germany, including a state-of-the-art OLED production facility and 35 skilled and knowledgeable team members. Thanks to strong investor support and the management team’s dedicated integration efforts, this transaction positioned OLEDWorks as a precision manufacturer capable of delivering the world’s brightest and highest performing OLED multi-stack lighting products at scale.
Automotive Acceleration
Over the last five years, OLEDWorks’ global footprint has expanded rapidly, particularly within the automotive sector. Because of their quality and ultra-thin, lightweight profile capable of enhanced communication and dynamic lighting animations, automotive manufacturers are increasingly incorporating OLED lighting into their vehicle lighting designs.
In January 2024, OLEDWorks launched the brand Atala (Advanced Technology for Automotive Lighting Applications) to distinguish its automotive products from the rest of its portfolio and competitors’ technologies. This marked a defining moment for OLEDWorks, affirming their commitment to develop the next generation of automotive lighting. In April of this year, OLEDWorks and Marelli were awarded the prestigious 2025 PACE Award for their breakthrough digital OLED 2.0 rear lights in the Audi Q6 e-tron.
Earlier this year, OLEDWorks announced a strategic partnership with Japan Display Inc. (JDI) with the objective to establish a world-class advanced display fab in the United States, focused on delivering high-performance displays for critical industries including defense, automotive, and medical applications. Last month, OLEDWorks announced a combined €34 million financing from the European Investment Bank and NRW.BANK that will allow the company to double the capacity of its Aachen manufacturing facility by the end of 2027 to over 250 dedicated team members.
Today into Tomorrow
“We have exciting product announcements coming later this year as we continue our work in automotive lighting and high-performance display, and our Aachen facility expansion will allow us to better support new and existing customers. I am excited for the continued growth, new product innovations, and expanded opportunities that the next 15 years will bring — the future is bright!”, says Dr Michael Boroson, Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer.
Today, OLEDWorks is publicly recognised as the lighting supplier to five vehicles on the road, and Atala OLED technology has a robust pipeline of vehicles selected for future adoption. Expanding beyond the automotive sector, the Rochester facility has been focused on developing high-brightness OLED microdisplay products for defence and industrial applications.
Caption: The company’s Microdisplay Demonstrator in a size comparison to a US-Dollar quarter (image: OLEDWorks).
Source: OLEDWorks
www.oledworks.com