Electronics company CoAsia Semi and Inova Semiconductors have forged a wafer manufacturing license agreement for ISELED (intelligent smart embedded LED) 1.0 – a key component in premium automotive interior lighting. Through the deal, Inova secures a Samsung Foundry base to broaden its worldwide ISELED supply, and CoAsia Semi acquires the capability to independently develop and produce ISELED automotive LEDs. The partnership should improve supply efficiency for OEMs such as Hyundai and Kia by streamlining procurement, ultimately shortening delivery times.
By combining CoAsia Semi’s chip technology with ITSWell’s LED packaging and module manufacturing, the CoAsia Group has created a vertically integrated ISELED value chain, from wafer to finished module.
Beyond vehicle interior lighting, CoAsia Semi intends to broaden the applications of ISELED technology to smart lighting, micro-LED and integrated display systems.
“Sharing the ISELED technology with other industry partners is key to becoming a standard in the industry. This is a further step to strengthen the resilience of our supply network for the ISELED technology, as required by our global customers,” said Robert Isele, CEO of Inova.
Dong-Soo Shin, CEO of CoAsia Semi and head of the semiconductor division at CoAsia Group, commented, “This license agreement demonstrates the synergy within CoAsia Group by integrating CoAsia Semi’s chip design capabilities with ITSWell’s LED packaging and assembly, achieving vertical integration in the ISELED value chain. Going forward, we will continue to strengthen our competitiveness in the domestic automotive semiconductor industry and further expand our portfolio in this field.”
In addition to the immediate benefits for CoAsia Semi and Inova Semiconductors, the tie-up will strengthen Korea’s automotive semiconductor ecosystem.
In related news, Inova Semiconductors has moved to a bigger facility in Europe
