Ingantec

Positioned at the intersection of materials science and semiconductor manufacturing, Ingantec Corporation is a specialized developer of microLED technology. The company was established in 2022 and has since focused on resolving critical material and engineering challenges that have inhibited the broader adoption of microLED displays. Ingantec was co-founded by Dr. Shubhra Pasayat and Dr. Chirag Gupta, who now serve as Chief Technology Officer and Chief Science Officer, respectively. Their journey began while studying optoelectronics, where they discovered a method to create smaller and brighter microLEDs using porous nitride technology. They continued to refine this at the University of Wisconsin-Madison before commercializing it. The founding team also includes Dr. Alan Yeung, who serves as Chairman and CEO. Dr. Yeung brings extensive experience as a senior technology executive, notably as the former director of U.S. strategic initiatives at Foxconn Technology Group and a Professor of Practice for Entrepreneurship at UW Madison.

Ingantec's core business revolves around its proprietary, patent-pending technology for producing nitride-based compound semiconductors. The company's key innovation is a novel Indium Gallium Nitride (InGaN) material that enables the creation of highly efficient red microLEDs smaller than 10µm. This breakthrough is significant because it overcomes a major industry hurdle: the difficulty of producing high-performance red microLEDs that are compatible with blue and green ones on the same wafer. This compatibility eliminates the need for complex and costly 'pick-and-place' or mass transfer manufacturing processes, streamlining production. The technology was initially licensed from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and further developed at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In March 2024, the company secured an exclusive patent licensing agreement with UCSB covering methods to deposit devices using MOCVD.

The company's business model appears to be multifaceted, targeting original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) across several high-growth sectors. Ingantec plans to supply 4 or 6-inch wafers (red, green, blue, or monolithic RGB) to customers, who can then integrate them with their control circuits. It also offers contract R&D and manufacturing services to facilitate production scaling. Key markets include augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR), smartwatches, automotive heads-up displays, smartphones, and televisions. For these clients, the benefits include displays with higher resolution, better response times, more accurate colors, and lower power consumption, which extends battery life in portable devices. In April 2024, Ingantec announced it had raised $2 million in a seed funding round led by Lubar & Co. to accelerate the commercialization of its technology.

Keywords: microLED technology, compound semiconductors, optoelectronics, nitride-based materials, InGaN material, display technology, porous nitride, monolithic RGB, semiconductor manufacturing, AR/VR components, automotive displays, smartwatch screens, heads-up displays, Gallium Nitride, MOCVD, wafer fabrication, semiconductor design, electronics materials, display manufacturing, patent licensing, Alan Yeung, Shubhra Pasayat, Chirag Gupta, Lubar & Co.