QubeDot and the EIC Accelerator: Building a microLED Foundry

QubeDot, founded in Braunschweig in 2019 by Heiko Brüning and Jan Gülink after seven years of research, makes microLEDs, tiny gallium nitride (GaN) light emitters down to one micrometre across, for displays, microscopes and optical data links. The company says it has manufactured more than one billion microLEDs and deployed more than 1,000 systems worldwide, according to QubeDot. Its iSMILE project was the first to move through all three EIC programmes, from the ChipScope Pathfinder project begun in 2016 through the SMILE Transition project to a fast-tracked Accelerator award with grant and equity, according to the European Innovation Council.

iSMILE receives an EU contribution of €1,673,263 towards a total cost of €2,390,375 and runs from September 2024 to January 2027, according to CORDIS. Its goal is to "establish a GaN cleanroom in order to be completely independent from non-European manufacturers", with customised microLED modules for augmented reality glasses as the first product and the aim of becoming the "TSMC for GaN". QubeDot now markets a one-inch 1920 by 1200 microLED display as an evaluation kit for defence, AR and medical uses, and GaN foundry services from three wafers per design, according to QubeDot. Whether the cleanroom has been built has not been announced.

Where QubeDot Stands Now

QubeDot is hiring a production manager for optics assembly and a strategic sales manager. Its customers include small companies and listed firms in the EU and the US, Brüning told the EIC Community in May 2024. He said demand had outgrown the shared semiconductor fabs it relied on, which is why it applied to the EIC to build its own cleanroom, with a first capacity of about 1,000 wafers a year and 80 to 100 million LEDs per wafer. The commercial register still shows the founding share capital of €25,000, according to North Data, so no equity investment by the EIC Fund is visible there.

The Technology: Light From Tiny Chips

Silicon cannot emit light, which the CORDIS summary calls a roadblock for faster chip communication and slimmer AR displays. QubeDot processes GaN wafers into microLEDs of 1 to 1,000 micrometres, emitting from ultraviolet to red. Its display has an 11 micrometre pixel pitch; the company gives its brightness as about ten million nits, labelled "estimated". It also sells microLED-based portable microscopes, a separate business line.

What the EIC Award Promised, and What the Record Shows

The project runs until January 2027, so it is too early to judge it. It promised a European GaN cleanroom, AR glasses modules as a first product and a pilot line able to generate up to €25 million a year in sales. The record shows a display evaluation kit and foundry services on offer, but no public evidence of the cleanroom, an AR customer or sales at that scale.

1. Own GaN cleanroomUnverifiedNot announced.
2. microLED display productEvaluation kitWUXGA display.
3. GaN foundry offerOfferedFrom 3 wafers.
4. AR glasses customerUnverifiedNone named.

The Money

QubeDot has been profitable, with net profits of €276,152, €855,001 and €58,003 in its three most recent published financial years. At 30 April 2025 it had equity of €1.40 million and total assets of €3.09 million, according to its accounts via North Data. Grants have played a large part: German and EU bodies awarded it €2.68 million from 2023 to 2025, including the EIC grant. Its revenue is not public.

What Cannot Be Checked

Why Europe Should Care

Brüning wants QubeDot to be a trusted microLED supplier outside Asia. A European GaN foundry for small batches would let European companies prototype microLEDs without depending on foreign fabs, the independence the project promised.

The Verdict

QubeDot and the EIC have not been asked for comment for this article. It is based entirely on public records and published statements, linked throughout.