Philips announces first spinout from Incubator

Philips' Incubator activity Polymer Vision will become an independent company – Polymer Vision Ltd., focusing on products for the rollable display market. Technology Capital has invested ?21 million in the company and will become the major shareholder. Philips will retain a 20% stake in the new company. The transaction will allow Polymer Vision to push ahead with its commercialization plans to meet strongly growing market demand from the mobile device industry. Volume production of its 5-inch monochrome rollable display will start this year in cooperation with existing partners. The company will continue to operate from its location at the High Tech Campus Eindhoven, the Netherlands. Polymer Vision has developed the world's first rollable electronic-display and at IFA2005 in Germany, demonstrated the READIUS™. This first prototype proves the integration capability of the rollable display technology in a hand-held mobile device. Ever since, there has been growing market interest in this breakthrough display technology. The paper-like display can be rolled out to a greater size than the actual device itself. It is easy to read, even in bright sunlight, and has significantly lower power requirements than an LCD display with backlight. Once the user has finished reading, the display can simply be rolled back into the device. This makes the rollable display ideal for mobile applications such as mobile phones, document readers and personal navigation systems.