LG Innotek accelerating its entry into autonomous driving and XR markets

SEOUL, South Korea, Jan. 24, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- LG Innotek joins hands with a global lens manufacturing corporation to spur its penetration into the market for cameras for autonomous driving and optical components for extended reality (hereinafter, XR).

LG Innotek announces to sign Share Subscription Agreement and strategic collaboration between AOE Optronics (Hereinafter as AOE), a subsidiary of Asia Optical CO., INC. a Major Optical component manufacturing corporation in Taiwan on Jan. 24

In this agreement, LG Innotek invests in AOE's shares, and the two companies will closely cooperate in the area of core optical components through a strategic partnership.

LG Innotek decided to make this investment to raise its product competitiveness as well as strengthen business competitiveness in optical solutions. LG Innotek's strategy is to expand its capabilities and technologies in the Optics solution business accumulated with its global no.1 smartphone camera modules into new areas such as vehicles and XR. 

LG Innotek is also able to enhance its 'SCM (Supply Chain Management)' a step further as it has a stable supply of the lens, a major component of camera modules, by investing in shares.

AOE is a Taiwanese corporation specializing in lenses, equipped with key technologies and mass production capabilities in areas ranging from glass materials to lens modules. AOE is recently increasing its supply to North American EV manufacturers. In particular, it possesses its strength in the lens for vehicle lens modules. As the recent demand for 'Aspherical Glass Lens,' a core component for high-resolution cameras, is increasing in the autonomous vehicle industry, the industry's attention is being directed to AOE, which specializes in this area.

According to the strategic partnership, LG Innotek plans to share its capabilities in optical design and process automation and advanced quality control system, and AOE to share its independent materials & precision mold processing and precision lens manufacturing technologies to jointly develop lenses at the world's top level.

The two companies plan to maximize quality and raise cost competitiveness by optimizing design and processes between lens and camera modules. The jointly developed products will be applied to core optical components and are anticipated to provide differentiated values to global carmakers, vehicle parts companies, and XR device manufacturers.

With this investment serving as an opportunity, LG Innotek will actively push ahead with the partnership with external companies and strengthen its business competitiveness.

CEO Moon Hyuk-soo said, "LG Innotek will rapidly expand the camera module portfolio to vehicles, XR devices and other areas," and added, "We will create differentiated values with our competitive edge in technology and cost competitiveness as well as manufacturing process capabilities by overwhelming our competitors, and become a technology innovation corporation making our customers true winners."