Poro Technologies

Poro Technologies (Porotech) is a gallium nitride (GaN) material technology developer spun out of the University of Cambridge in 2020. The company was co-founded by CEO Dr. Tongtong Zhu, CTO Dr. Yingjun Liu, and CSO Professor Rachel Oliver, following extensive research at the Cambridge Centre for Gallium Nitride. Dr. Zhu has over 15 years of experience in III-nitride semiconductor materials and devices, while Dr. Liu is experienced in advanced materials development, and Professor Oliver is a leading academic in the GaN field. Porotech's core innovation is a new class of porous GaN semiconductor material, trademarked as PoroGaN®. This technology involves an electrochemical etching process that creates nanoscale porosity in GaN wafers, allowing for the engineering of a wide range of material properties. This breakthrough enables the production of efficient indium gallium nitride (InGaN) based red micro-LEDs, a significant challenge in the display industry. Building on this, the company developed Dynamic Pixel Tuning® (DPT®), a technology that allows a single micro-LED pixel to emit any color of the visible spectrum, including white. This eliminates the need for separate red, green, and blue sub-pixels, simplifying the manufacturing process, reducing costs, and increasing yields for micro-LED displays. The company operates on a fabless business model, focusing on its material platform technology and device solutions, which it commercializes through partnerships with foundries and electronics manufacturers. Porotech targets the $140 billion display market, with a primary focus on micro-LED applications for augmented reality (AR) glasses, virtual reality (VR) headsets, smart wearables, and other next-generation displays. Key milestones include a £1.5 million seed round in 2020, followed by a $20 million Series A in 2022. The company has established strategic partnerships with major industry players, including Foxconn, Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (PSMC), and JBD, to accelerate the mass production and commercialization of its micro-LED technologies. Foxconn is reportedly building a microdisplay fab based on Porotech's DPT technology, with mass production anticipated by the end of 2025. Keywords: Porous Gallium Nitride, PoroGaN, Dynamic Pixel Tuning, DPT, micro-LED, GaN-on-Silicon, displays, augmented reality, AR, fabless semiconductor, Cambridge spin-out, Tongtong Zhu, Rachel Oliver, Yingjun Liu, InGaN, semiconductor materials, display technology, red micro-LED, full-color display, wearable technology, microdisplays, Foxconn partnership, PSMC