Puff Wave Quantum completes tens of millions of RMB Pre-A round of financing

(hereinafter referred to as "Pounce Quantum") has completed a Pre-A round of financing of tens of millions of RMB, which is the second round of financing completed by Pounce Quantum in this year, led by Eastern Jafu, and co-invested by Suzhou Yihe, BAIC, and CDI Gomez Angel Fund. be used for product development and capacity expansion.

Founded in May 2021, with technology relying on Southern University of Science and Technology, the company mainly researches semiconductor quantum dot luminescent materials and quantum dot application products, and its products can be widely used in the fields of optoelectronics, microelectronics, new displays, third-generation semiconductors, sensors, life sciences, materials science, etc. It is the only manufacturer in China to realize the design and preparation of quantum dot materials with independent intellectual property rights, as well as the sales of quantum It is the only manufacturer in China that has achieved the design and preparation of quantum dot materials with independent intellectual property rights and the sales of quantum dot application products.

Quantum dot (QDS) is a cutting-edge semiconductor nanomaterial with grain diameter between 2-10nm. In terms of material properties, quantum dots have the advantages of good light stability, controllable emission spectrum, wide excitation spectrum, narrow emission spectrum, wide Stokes shift, and long fluorescence life, which can be used as a new generation of fluorescent materials for display panels.

Quantum Dots

Quantum dots can be used in the display field to improve display performance. 4K has become the standard for mid- to high-end TVs, and TV products are starting to explore the development towards 8K TVs. Founder and CEO of Puff Wave Quantum, Zhang Zhikuan, introduced Puff Wave's innovative quantum dot color conversion optical film can be combined with both LCD screens, as well as Micro-LED, OLED, to improve the resolution and color gamut of the display, bringing better display quality.

Compared to self-emitting display systems such as OLEDs, LCDs using backlighting have a lower contrast ratio compared to OLEDs, only 800-1000:1, so it affects the ability to render colors. And Mini LED backlight can significantly improve the contrast ratio of the screen through dynamic zoning backlight, beyond the level of OLED TV; but Mini LED backlight are single blue, so need to cooperate with quantum dot color conversion film from the color gamut perspective to solve the color ability, to achieve far beyond the OLED TV true color reproduction ability.

The technology of quantum dots is fully compatible with existing LCD display systems, low-cost Mini LED and quantum dots color conversion, can help LCD significantly improve the display effect. Compared to OLED's organic light-emitting materials, quantum dots are more stable, and the cost of quantum dot solution is lower, has become the mainstream technology route to enhance the effect of LCD. Constrained by materials and technology, OLED can not achieve a true 8K TV, so the 8K TVs on the market are Mini LED + quantum dot technology, such as Samsung's 8K TV, the program is used.

The value of quantum dot technology is more than that. Quantum dots have a smaller footprint and can be separated by size control to produce a purer color. Blue Micro LEDs or blue OLEDs combined with red and green quantum dot color filters (QDCF) are the fastest and most cost-effective solution to achieve full color for Micro LEDs, silicon-based OLEDs, and large OLEDs. In the long run, with the unique and excellent optical and physical properties of quantum dot materials, quantum dot electroluminescent diode (QLED) technology has the characteristics of ultra-thin, high color gamut, flexible, high contrast, long life, etc., and has broad application prospects in folding screens, transparent TVs and other frontier display fields.

And in addition to the display field, quantum dot technology can also be used in lighting, photovoltaic and other scenarios. According to the estimation logic of IHS and other head forecasters, the market of quantum dot optical film in TV field will reach more than 10 billion RMB in the future; and the overall market capacity of quantum dot material can reach 100 billion RMB.

Flutter Quantum has the ability to produce quantum dot materials and can design its own quantum dot production equipment to ensure the maximum effect of quantum dot products. Product life and reliability are the most core indicators to measure quantum dot products. Zhang Zhiguan introduced, puff wave quantum dot electroluminescent red and green material life can be more than 20,000 hours, has reached the commercial life of OLED products standards; In addition, in the AR/VR widely used in the highest resolution of silicon-based OLED for 4000PPI, brightness of 4000nit within, and puff wave quantum demo electroluminescent silicon-based quantum dot products, can be resolution to With a resolution of 6000PPI and a brightness of 13000nit or more, it far exceeds the performance of silicon-based OLEDs and has the potential to far exceed the performance and friendliness of silicon-based OLEDs made in mass production.

Image source: Pounce Quantum website

In terms of business model, Puff Wave Quantum relies on its own advantages in R&D and manufacturing of quantum dot materials, brings into play the team's deep understanding of the real needs of end customers, strengthens cooperation with mainstream end customers, and produces/sells products based on quantum dot applications that can directly meet customers' needs. In the future, the company will continue to launch new generation display materials such as quantum dot diffusion plates, non-resistant diaphragm PET quantum dot films, quantum dot inks, quantum dot photoresists, and electro-luminescent quantum dot display devices for ultimate display.

In addition to the quantum dot optical film, Pounce Quantum also has phosphor film products such as Apple mini products. Phosphor films can be widely used in smart watches, cameras, large screens in cars and other scenarios requiring high reliability. Zhang Zhikuan said, "Customers tell us that Parang is the only company in Greater China that can produce phosphor film except Fuji in Japan."

In terms of customer expansion, Puff Wave Quantum has served dozens of customers including BOE, TCL and Taiwan Groupon, and will focus on developing customers in the South China area in 2022.

In terms of revenue, the company is expected to have 10 million revenue in 2022, and is currently in the stage of bonding with customers and promoting mass production of products. Based on the increasing demand for both quantum dot optical films and phosphor films, it is expected to have 100 million revenue in 2023.

Talking about the future development plan, Xiaowei Sun, founder of Puffwave Quantum, said, "The success of this financing shows that Puffwave has been recognized by the investment community. In the new year, we will continue to consolidate the sales of quantum dot film and actively layout new photoluminescent quantum dot products, including quantum dot ink, quantum dot photoresist, quantum dot pixelation technology, etc.

On the founding team, Prof. Xiaowei Sun, the founder of Puffwave Innovation, is a chair professor of Southern University of Science and Technology and has been researching quantum dot materials and devices for many years, and is mainly responsible for the technical development of the company. The co-founder and general manager, Dr. Zhikuan Zhang, has a B.S. and M.S. from Peking University and a Ph.D. from Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. He has been the R&D product leader and technical director of major companies at home and abroad, and is mainly responsible for the overall operation of the company. Currently, Flutter Innovation has more than 40 employees, mainly R&D staff.