According to reports in China, Royole did not yet manage to obtain enough customers for its flexible OLED displays to fund its business, and the company requires a new injection of cash in order to continue its operation.
Royole has started mass producing flexible OLED displays back in 2018 at its Quasi 6-Gen fab in Shenzhen, and has since announced plans to build a new fab in Qingdao. Royole developed innovative OLED technologies and devices, and demonstrated several innovative displays, but it seemed it did not manage to find large actual customers for its displays.
The report from China suggests that Royole already halted its production and R&D operation. The local government at Shenzhen is looking into supplying it with emergency cash to help it continue its operation and attract new strategic investments.
Beyond displays, Royole also developed several devices. In 2018, Royole launched the world's first foldable OLED device - the FlexPai phone/tablet. The FlexPai had a 7.8" 1920x1440 (308 PPI) AMOLED display, when unfolded, The display folded outwards, and when folded the device has three different displays (front, back and spine). This was a 'developer product' that never reached mass production. In 2020 Royole introduced the FlexPai 2 5G, with a 7.8-inch 1920x1440 OLED. This device was also not produced in mass volume.
The company also introduced an OLED VR HMD, and an E Ink tablet. The company announced several prototypes and concept devices, and has recently teamed up with Airbus to develop a digital inflight magazine - that makes use of a thin flexible OLED panel. These are all great demonstration of its flexible technology and production capabilities - but it seems as if the company did not manage to find actual mass applications for its display products.
