E Ink and Sony today announced that they have agreed to establish a joint venture (JV) for planning, designing, developing, manufacturing, selling, distributing and licensing products that utilize electronic paper displays, as well as related applications and the integration platform for system partners.
Sony launched Digital Paper (DPT-S1) with E Ink’s electronic paper display technology back in 2014. “The new JV will leverage both E Ink’s development and manufacturing technology for electronic paper displays and Sony’s expertise in product development and marketing,” said Sony.
E Ink’s subsidiaries and Sony Semiconductor Solutions jointly invest approximately 70% of JV shares and are the major shareholders leading the JV’s business to success. The remaining shares are subscribed by venture capital companies investing in rising startups. The paid in capital is NT$ 420 million
The Board of directors of the JV includes directors assigned by E Ink and Sony. Terushi Shimizu, the Representative Director and the President of Sony Semiconductor Solutions, serve as the board member for the JV. Johnson Lee, the President of E Ink Holdings will be appointed as Chairman.
The JV is officially registered in Taiwan and has its Japan subsidiary registered in April. The company operation will be started soon after obtaining required regulatory approvals.
Johnson Lee, the President of E Ink Holdings, said:
E Ink is very excited to deepen this partnership with Sony through the JV and honored to have such an experienced board member to provide guidance to the JV. With the strong support and collaboration between E Ink and Sony, we believe the mutual efforts will lead the JV to a significant business growth.
Terushi Shimizu, Representative Director and the President of Sony Semiconductor Solutions, said:
Sony has worked on ePaper technology with E Ink for over a decade. Through this long-term partnership, we share the same vision with E Ink together to proliferate the use of ePaper.