What Orthogonal does

Orthogonal Inc. is a privately held specialty materials company founded in 2009 as a spin-out from Cornell University and headquartered in Rochester, New York. The company develops and commercializes OSCoR, a proprietary fluorinated photoresist chemistry platform that the company describes as the world's only photoresist system compatible with organic electronic materials. OSCoR enables direct photolithographic patterning of chemically sensitive OLED and organic semiconductor materials, replacing the Fine Metal Mask (FMM) approach traditionally used in OLED manufacturing. The platform reportedly supports resolutions of 3,000+ ppi for VR displays, fill factors up to 80%, and organic photodetector pixelation down to 5µm (2,500+ dpi), and is positioned as a drop-in solution compatible with existing photolithography equipment.

Orthogonal monetizes its technology through sales of proprietary photoresist materials to OLED display manufacturers, organic photodetector producers, and flexible electronics manufacturers. The company pursues a sales-led go-to-market, supplemented by an exclusive distribution partnership with Raynergy Tek for organic semiconductor / sensor applications and plans to scale production through an unspecified large materials supplier. Primary use cases include ultra-high-resolution OLED patterning for VR/AR headsets, mass-production OLED mobile and TV displays, under-display optical sensors, and flexible OTFT backplanes. The company also retains an early collaboration with AZ Electronic Materials dating from before its 2014 pivot.

Leadership has transitioned twice in recent years: David Fyfe (former chairman and CEO of Cambridge Display Technology, sold to Sumitomo Chemical for $285M) joined as CEO in 2019, and Dr. Brian Johnston succeeded him as CEO in 2021, with founder Dr. John DeFranco moving to Chief Strategy Officer. Cumulative disclosed funding is approximately $2.83 million across three rounds between 2011 and 2019, with no institutional venture rounds publicly reported, indicating a capital-light, founder-driven operating profile.

Name

Orthogonal

Legal name

Orthogonal Inc

Website

https://orthogonalinc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Orthogonal Inc. develops OSCoR, a proprietary fluorinated photoresist chemistry that enables photolithographic patterning of OLED and organic semiconductor materials as a drop-in replacement for Fine Metal Mask manufacturing, serving display and sensor producers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

OLED Display Manufacturing Materials

NAICS

Semiconductor and Related Device Manufacturing (334413), Wiring Device Manufacturing (33593)

SIC

Electronic Components & Accessories (3670), Electronic Coils, Transformers & Other Inductors (3677)

akta.pro primary industry

Photoresists & Lithography Chemicals (Resists/Developers/Anti-Reflective Coatings) (HDAHAGAE)

Keywords

• Photoresist materials
• OLED display manufacturing
• Photolithography chemistry
• Display fabrication materials
• Organic semiconductor patterning

Headquarters

HQ city

Rochester

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Photoresist Materials Sales: Orthogonal generates revenue through the sale of its proprietary fluorinated photoresist materials. The business model is based on material sales, with plans to work with a large materials supplier to produce materials at scale.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Orthogonal develops and sells OSCoR, a proprietary fluorinated photoresist chemistry that enables photolithographic patterning of OLED stacks, replacing conventional Fine Metal Mask (FMM) deposition. Its offerings serve OLED display panel manufacturers producing microdisplays for VR/AR, smartphone displays, and large-format TV panels, as well as sensor and flexible electronics producers requiring high-resolution, scalable patterning.

Product overview

Orthogonal offers a unified portfolio anchored by OSCoR, the world's only photoresist system compatible with organic electronic materials. OSCoR enables direct photolithographic patterning of OLED and organic semiconductor materials, replacing traditional fine metal mask (FMM) technology. The company's four solution areas—High Resolution OLED (VR), Organic Semiconductor, TV OLED Manufacturing, and Mobile OLED Manufacturing—all leverage this core photoresist technology to serve different market segments: ultra-high resolution VR displays (3000+ ppi), under-display optical sensors, large-area OLED TVs, and mobile device displays. Together, these solutions allow manufacturers to use existing photolithography equipment to pattern organic materials across VR, mobile, TV, and sensor applications.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• OSCoR: The world's only photoresist system compatible with organic materials, enabling high resolution OLED displays and organic sensors using existing photolithography equipment

Products and services

• OSCoR Photoresist System A fluorinated photoresist chemistry plus photolithography process that enables high-resolution patterning of OLED stacks for display manufacturers producing microdisplays, smartphone panels, and TV panels.
• High Resolution OLED (VR) Photoresist-based patterning solution for fabricating ultra-high-resolution OLED microdisplays targeting virtual reality and augmented reality headset applications.
• TV OLED Manufacturing Photolithographic patterning solution for manufacturing large-format OLED TV panels, enabling scaling beyond the limits of Fine Metal Mask deposition on Gen 8.5 and larger substrates.
• Mobile OLED Manufacturing Photoresist-based patterning solution for fabricating OLED panels used in smartphones and other small-to-medium mobile display form factors.
• Organic Semiconductor Photopatternable organic semiconductor materials and processes for sensor manufacturers and flexible electronics producers needing high-resolution patterning of organic electronic layers.

Quantifiable outcome

• 3000+ ppi resolution achievable compared to current ~550ppi mobile displays
• +3 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Raynergy TekcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 September 2021Strategic collaboration to develop next-generation sensor technology based on organic semiconductors. The partnership combines Raynergy's expertise in organic semiconductor synthesis and device structuring with Orthogonal's proprietary photolithographic patterning technology. Products will be exclusively distributed through Raynergy Tek as part of a joint package with their organic semiconductor materials. Companies began sampling products together to customers after the partnership announcement.
• AZ Electronic MaterialsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEarly joint development agreement signed to develop photolithographic technology for the organic thin film transistor (OTFT) market for flexible e-paper backplanes. The partnership occurred prior to 2014 when the company pivoted toward OLED.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights2 records

Broad incumbents

• Idemitsu Kosan: Idemitsu Kosan is a leading OLED materials supplier, particularly in fluorescent emitters and hole transport materials. It is a broader incumbent in the OLED chemistry ecosystem serving the same panel customers Orthogonal is targeting.
• Sumitomo Chemical: Sumitomo acquired Orthogonal former CEO David Fyfe's Cambridge Display Technology for $285M and is a leading OLED materials supplier. It is a broader incumbent in OLED chemistry that could either partner with or compete against Orthogonal in the OLED materials stack.
• Universal Display Corporation: UDC is the dominant supplier of phosphorescent OLED emitter materials and licenses core OLED technology to panel makers worldwide. While not a photoresist supplier, it sits in the same OLED materials value chain and shares many of the same display manufacturer customers.

Emerging players

• Raynergy Tek: Raynergy Tek is Orthogonal's strategic partner and exclusive distributor for organic semiconductor sensor products, combining its own organic semiconductor materials with Orthogonal's photolithography. The partnership makes it a closely linked emerging player in the same organic patterning value chain.
• CYNORA: CYNORA is an emerging materials company developing TADF OLED emitter materials for display and lighting applications. It is a smaller, venture-backed specialty chemistry peer focused on next-generation OLED materials for the same display customer base.

Direct peers

• Shin-Etsu Chemical: Shin-Etsu is a global leader in semiconductor silicon and a major supplier of photoresist and rare-earth materials to display and electronics manufacturing. Its scale and incumbency make it a key competitor Orthogonal must displace in the photoresist supply chain.
• Tokyo Ohka Kogyo (TOK): TOK is a top-tier photoresist supplier for semiconductors and displays, with deep qualifications at Asian panel makers — the same customer set Orthogonal is targeting. Its broad photoresist portfolio and incumbency make it a primary competitive benchmark.
• JSR Corporation: JSR is one of the world's largest photoresist manufacturers for semiconductor lithography and a significant supplier of display materials. Its EUV and ArF photoresist expertise, plus display material portfolio, makes it a directly comparable specialty chemistry peer to Orthogonal.
• Fujifilm Electronic Materials: Fujifilm's electronic materials division supplies photoresists and related chemistries for display and semiconductor manufacturing. It competes in the same fluorinated and specialty chemistry adjacencies as Orthogonal and serves the same OLED and LCD panel customers.
• Merck KGaA (Electronics business): Merck KGaA's Electronics segment is a leading global supplier of photoresists, specialty chemicals, and display materials to the semiconductor and display industries. It is the most direct large-scale competitor to Orthogonal's OSCoR, with established relationships at the same panel-maker customers Orthogonal is targeting.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Orthogonal_Inc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/orthogonal-inc.

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors3 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Orthogonal