NS Nanotech
NS Nanotech, Inc. develops gallium-nitride nanowire LEDs that enable submicron-scale, high-efficiency RGB microdisplays for AR/VR and AI smart glasses, and far-UVC disinfection emitters, licensing its technology to display manufacturers while selling ShortWaveLight hardware products.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2017
- HeadquartersAnn Arbor, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What NS Nanotech does
NS Nanotech, Inc. is a privately held semiconductor company developing gallium-nitride (GaN) nanowire light-emitting diodes (nanoLEDs) grown via a patented bottom-up process on standard substrates, producing submicron-scale devices that the company claims deliver orders-of-magnitude improvements in brightness, efficiency, color saturation, directionality, and power consumption versus conventional etched LEDs. Its product portfolio spans visible RGB nanowire LEDs for large displays, microdisplays, and AR/VR applications (including a world-record red nanoLED with EQE greater than 8% and a world-record green nanoLED with EQE greater than 25%) and the ShortWaveLight Emitter sub-brand, a solid-state far-UVC 215 nm semiconductor source claimed as the first human-safe disinfecting far-UVC semiconductor product. The business model is a hybrid of technology licensing to display and disinfection equipment manufacturers and direct hardware sales of ShortWaveLight evaluation kits, with a horizontal segmentation approach targeting AR/VR and AI-display manufacturers, traditional consumer electronics display OEMs, and UVC disinfection equipment manufacturers. The company is headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan, with a Montreal R&D center established in 2023 in collaboration with McGill University; its IP base consists of exclusive licenses to patent portfolios from McGill University and the University of Michigan, derived from more than a decade of research by co-founder Prof. Zetian Mi. The team is led by CEO Seth Coe-Sullivan (formerly CTO of QD Vision), co-founder and board chair Rick Bolander (Managing Director of eLab Ventures), and co-founder Prof. Zetian Mi; John Bayne (former Corning Mobile Consumer Electronics SVP) joined the board in November 2024.
NS Nanotech firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- NS Nanotech
- Legal name
- NS Nanotech, Inc.
- Website
- https://nsnanotech.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2017
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- NS Nanotech, Inc. develops gallium-nitride nanowire LEDs that enable submicron-scale, high-efficiency RGB microdisplays for AR/VR and AI smart glasses, and far-UVC disinfection emitters, licensing its technology to display manufacturers while selling ShortWaveLight hardware products.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
NS Nanotech industry classification
Industry- Product category
- LED Semiconductor Technology / Display Components
- NAICS
- Research and Development in Nanotechnology (541713), Electric Lighting Equipment Manufacturing (33513)
- SIC
- Semiconductors & Related Devices (3674)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Optoelectronic / Photonics Foundries (Silicon Photonics/LED/Laser) (HDAHACAG)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Compound Semiconductor Wafers & Substrates (SiC/GaN/GaAs/InP/Sapphire) (HDAHAGAB)
Keywords
Where NS Nanotech is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Ann Arbor
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices3 records
Markets served
NS Nanotech business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Technology Licensing: Licensing nanoLED technology to manufacturing partners who develop next-generation large displays, microdisplays, and AR/VR displays based on exclusively licensed patent portfolios from McGill University and University of Michigan.
- Far-UVC Hardware Products: Sale of ShortWaveLight UVC emitter products for disinfection applications, including evaluation kits and commercial products for air, surface, and water disinfection.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels7 records
NS Nanotech product offering
Product offeringCore offering
NS Nanotech develops and licenses submicron-scale gallium nitride (GaN) nanowire LED (nanoLED) technology for visible RGB displays, microdisplays, AR/VR displays, and far-UVC disinfection applications. The company licenses its patented bottom-up nanowire growth process and patent portfolio to display manufacturers, while also directly selling ShortWaveLight far-UVC emitter evaluation kits and commercial products.
Product overview
NS Nanotech develops nanoscale light-emitting diodes based on gallium-nitride (GaN) nanowire technology. The core product is nanowire LEDs (nanoLEDs) grown from the bottom up on standard substrates, which can be manufactured in submicron-scale for RGB visible displays and invisible UVC light for disinfection. The product portfolio includes: (1) Nanowire LEDs as the foundational technology platform enabling submicron-scale LEDs with orders-of-magnitude performance improvements; (2) Red NanoLEDs achieving world-record EQE for commercial AR/VR microdisplays; (3) Green NanoLEDs addressing the 'green gap' with record 25%+ efficiency; (4) UVC NanoLEDs for disinfection applications; and (5) ShortWaveLight Emitter, the first solid-state far-UVC semiconductor product producing human-safe 215 nm disinfecting light. The technology is licensed exclusively from McGill University and University of Michigan patent portfolios.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- ShortWaveLight: Solid-state far-UVC semiconductor emitters for disinfection applications, including the ShortWaveLight 215 Emitter which produces human-safe 215 nanometer disinfecting far-UVC light
Products and services
- Nanowire LEDs (nanoLEDs) Foundational submicron-scale gallium-nitride (GaN) nanowire LEDs grown from the bottom up on standard substrates, delivering orders-of-magnitude improvements in brightness, efficiency, color saturation, directionality, and power consumption for visible RGB displays, microdisplays, AR/VR, and UVC disinfection applications; licensed to manufacturing partners.
- Red NanoLEDs Submicron-scale red GaN nanowire LEDs achieving world-record EQE greater than 8%, suitable for commercial AR/VR microdisplay applications.
- Green NanoLEDs Submicron-scale green nanoLEDs with EQE greater than 25%, achieving world-record performance and addressing the green gap in conventional LED efficiency.
- UVC NanoLEDs UVC light-emitting diodes for disinfection applications, effective for water and air purification and sterilization of medical equipment including COVID-19 and other pathogens, enabled by high-efficiency nanowire AlGaN/GaN/AlGaN tunnel junction technology.
- ShortWaveLight Emitter Solid-state far-UVC semiconductor emitter producing human-safe 215 nm disinfecting far-UVC light for air, surface, and water disinfection; the world's first solid-state semiconductor device to deliver this highest-energy disinfecting photon wavelength.
- Technology Licensing Program Licensing of NS Nanotech's nanoLED patent portfolio and bottom-up nanowire growth technology to display and UVC equipment manufacturing partners for commercialization of large displays, microdisplays, AR/VR displays, and UVC disinfection products.
Quantifiable outcome
- Submicron-scale LEDs are orders of magnitude smaller than current LED solutions while delivering equivalent or superior performance
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use NS Nanotech
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
NS Nanotech technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature6 records
NS Nanotech partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- University of MichigancoreNS Nanotech holds exclusive licenses to patent portfolios from the University of Michigan based on research by Prof. Zetian Mi on low-dimensional and wide-bandgap semiconductors, nanophotonics, and artificial photosynthesis. Prof. Mi's laboratory at Michigan continues to develop breakthrough technologies including quantum nanomaterials that operate at room temperature.
- McGill UniversitycoreNS Nanotech holds exclusive licenses to patent portfolios from McGill University based on more than a decade of groundbreaking work on nanowire-based LEDs by Prof. Zetian Mi during his tenure at McGill. The partnership includes a CAD $1 million matching funding grant from McGill University's Office of Innovation & Partnerships to accelerate commercialization of nano-LED technologies.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
NS Nanotech competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Crystal IS (Asahi Kasei): U.S.-based AlN UVC LED manufacturer (subsidiary of Asahi Kasei); established incumbent in the same disinfection end-market targeted by NS Nanotech's ShortWaveLight product.
- Seoul Viosys: Korean LED manufacturer and UVC LED market leader (Violeds brand); broader incumbent that overlaps directly with NS Nanotech's UVC disinfection emitter business but operates a much wider LED portfolio.
- Nichia: Japanese LED pioneer and dominant UV and visible LED supplier; established incumbent competing across multiple NS Nanotech addressable segments including UVC disinfection and visible LEDs.
- Luminus Devices: U.S.-based specialty LED manufacturer with UV, UVC, and visible LED products serving display, medical, and disinfection applications; broad incumbent overlapping with NS Nanotech's end-customers.
- ams OSRAM: Global optoelectronic semiconductor manufacturer with UV-C LED products and visible LED components for displays and automotive lighting; broad incumbent with overlapping photonic-semiconductor capabilities.
Direct peers
- VueReal: Canadian micro-LED technology company developing high-efficiency microdisplays for AR/VR, wearables, and automotive; comparable GaN-based micro-LED technology for similar end-customers.
- JBD (Jade Bird Display): China-based micro-LED display manufacturer producing ultra-compact panels for AR glasses and wearables; competes head-to-head in the same AR/VR microdisplay OEM ecosystem.
- Aledia: French 3D GaN nanowire LED developer using the same bottom-up nanowire growth approach for microdisplays and general LED applications; the closest technology and end-market peer to NS Nanotech.
- Saphlux: Yale spin-out commercializing GaN-on-silicon nanowire LEDs for microLED displays including AR/VR and large-format displays; directly comparable nanowire-LED technology for the same display OEM customer base.
- Plessey Semiconductors: UK-based micro-LED manufacturer using GaN-on-silicon monolithic integration to serve AR/VR microdisplay OEMs; competes directly for the same next-generation display customers targeted by NS Nanotech.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
NS Nanotech social profiles
Digital presenceNS Nanotech financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
NS Nanotech leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
NS Nanotech subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
NS Nanotech funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors4 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
NS Nanotech M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about NS Nanotech
What does NS Nanotech do?
NS Nanotech develops and licenses submicron-scale gallium nitride (GaN) nanowire LED (nanoLED) technology for visible RGB displays, microdisplays, AR/VR displays, and far-UVC disinfection applications. The company licenses its patented bottom-up nanowire growth process and patent portfolio to display manufacturers, while also directly selling ShortWaveLight far-UVC emitter evaluation kits and commercial products.
Is NS Nanotech a public or private company?
NS Nanotech is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was NS Nanotech founded?
NS Nanotech was founded in 2017. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is NS Nanotech based?
NS Nanotech is headquartered in Ann Arbor, United States, in the North America region.
How does NS Nanotech make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Technology Licensing is the primary driver. The others are far-UVC Hardware Products.
Who are NS Nanotech's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Crystal IS (Asahi Kasei), Seoul Viosys, Nichia, Luminus Devices and ams OSRAM. Direct peers are VueReal, JBD (Jade Bird Display), Aledia, Saphlux and Plessey Semiconductors.
Does NS Nanotech have an API?
No public API is recorded for NS Nanotech.
What industry is NS Nanotech in?
NS Nanotech's product category is LED Semiconductor Technology / Display Components. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDAHACAG, Optoelectronic / Photonics Foundries (Silicon Photonics/LED/Laser), with a secondary code of HDAHAGAB, Compound Semiconductor Wafers & Substrates (SiC/GaN/GaAs/InP/Sapphire). Its NAICS code is 541713 and its SIC code is 3674.