What Richen does

Richen (Changchun Richen Optronics Co., Ltd., 长春日辰光电技术有限公司) is a Chinese optoelectronic technology company founded in June 2007 and headquartered in Changchun, Jilin Province — China's self-described "optical base." The company is a key incubation enterprise of the national-level Changchun Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Service Center and operates as a privately held, independent manufacturer with integrated R&D and production capabilities spanning optical, mechanical, and electro-optical disciplines. Its product portfolio is broad and platform-based: consumer products include mobile phone external lenses — including the Big Eye Frog (大眼蛙) sub-brand — SLR camera lenses, and anamorphic cinema lenses; military and security products include rifle scopes (holographic, red dot, variable power, tritium-illuminated), multi-function night vision devices, fusion binoculars, vanadium-oxide uncooled thermal imaging scopes, laser rangefinders, UAV electro-optical pods, and radar; industrial products include machine vision lenses and grain screening lenses; and the company also offers medical optical products, precision optical elements, optical diffraction gratings, and rubber eyecup accessories. It additionally manufactures coreless cup DC motors (DCU series, 8mm–24mm) for optical instrument drive systems and reports successful OEM/ODM development of external lenses for Apple, Huawei, and Samsung high-end smartphone models.

The company generates revenue primarily through hardware sales of optical products and through OEM/ODM custom processing services (anodizing, mechanical processing, optical/mechanical assembly, lettering). Distribution is multi-channel: direct-to-consumer e-commerce storefronts on JD.com, Taobao, AliExpress, and Alibaba; a WeChat-based micro-business agent recruitment network for the Big Eye Frog consumer brand; OEM/ODM partnerships with major smartphone brands; and trade show participation for B2B outreach. Pricing is not publicly disclosed, and no revenue, headcount, funding, or executive team information is available in the source data. As of November 2024 the company remains operational, evidenced by an active website and a hazardous waste generator regulatory disclosure consistent with ongoing surface-treatment manufacturing.

Name

Richen

Legal name

长春日辰光电技术有限公司

Website

https://richarm.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Richen is a Changchun-based Chinese optoelectronic manufacturer producing precision optical products — mobile-phone external lenses, SLR lenses, night vision, thermal imaging, rifle scopes, UAV pods, and industrial lenses — with OEM partnerships supplying Apple, Huawei, and Samsung and a Big Eye Frog consumer sub-brand.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Optical and Electro-Optic Equipment Manufacturing

NAICS

Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing (3345), Ophthalmic Goods Manufacturing (339115)

SIC

Optical Instruments & Lenses (3827), Photographic Equipment & Supplies (3861), Search, Detection, Navagation, Guidance, Aeronautical Sys (3812)

akta.pro primary industry

Lenses & Optical Accessories (Lenses, Filters, Adapters, Teleconverters) (CRACAPAF)

Keywords

• Optical lens manufacturing
• Night vision devices
• Thermal imaging equipment
• Mobile phone lenses
• Electro-optic systems

Headquarters

HQ city

Changchun

HQ country

China

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Optical Product Sales: The company generates revenue through manufacturing and selling optical products including mobile phone external lenses, rifle scopes, night vision equipment, thermal imaging devices, zoom lenses, industrial lenses, and photographic lenses. Products are sold through direct channels and e-commerce platforms.
2. Custom Processing Services: OEM/ODM custom processing services including surface treatment (anodizing), mechanical custom processing, optical and mechanical assembly, lettering workshop, and custom manufacturing.
3. Grain Screening Lenses: Professional manufacturing of grain screening lenses as one of their core product lines.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Richen (Changchun Richen Optronics Co., Ltd.) designs, manufactures, and sells precision optoelectronic products spanning mobile phone external lenses (including the Big Eye Frog consumer brand), SLR and cinematic photographic lenses, rifle scopes and sighting systems, night vision devices, thermal imaging equipment, UAV electro-optic pods, industrial machine vision lenses, grain screening lenses, radar systems, and medical optical products. The company also offers OEM/ODM custom processing services including surface treatment (anodizing), mechanical custom processing, optical/mechanical assembly, and lettering, and supplies coreless cup brushless motors (DCU series) as drive components for optical instruments.

Product overview

Richen (Changchun Richen Optronics Co., Ltd.) is an optoelectronic technology enterprise specializing in the design, development, and manufacturing of precision optical products. The company operates a platform-based product portfolio organized around core optical technologies: mobile phone external lenses (including the Big Eye Frog sub-brand), professional photographic and cinematic lenses (anamorphic 1.55X and 1.33X film series, telephoto 1300/1805 series), rifle scopes and sighting systems (holographic, red dot, variable power scopes, infrared thermal sights), night vision devices (handheld, helmet-mounted monocular/binocular, fusion systems), electro-optical pods for UAVs, industrial and machine vision lenses, and precision optical components. The company also offers custom/OEM/ODM manufacturing services and supplies coreless cup motors for optical instrument drive systems. Additional offerings include grain screening lenses, medical optical products, radar series, and accessories such as rubber eyecups and gratings. Products serve applications in defense/military (fire control, individual combat systems), security surveillance, photography, industrial inspection, and medical imaging.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• 大眼蛙 (Big Eye Frog): International leading mobile phone external lens brand, inspired by frog eyes that can敏捷地发现运动中的物体

Products and services

• TV Zoom Lenses (电视连续变焦距) Continuous zoom lenses for television and surveillance applications, used in coastal defense cruise and target search operations. Models include 5.4-130mmF5, 8-120mmF3.2-5.4, 10-300mmF6.5, 16-144mmF4, 17-200mmF5, and 20-200mmF5X.
• Rifle Scope Series (枪瞄系列) Optical sighting devices for firearms including holographic sights, red dot sights, variable power scopes, and tritium-illuminated sights. Magnification ranges from 1-6X to 6-24x54 with multiple rail compatibility options for the defense market.
• Laser Ranging Devices (激光测距) Laser-based distance measurement equipment for target ranging and positioning in defense and security applications.
• Infrared Detection Products (红外探测) Infrared thermal imaging detection devices for surveillance and target acquisition, including infrared thermal cameras and IR sight systems.
• Night Vision Devices (夜视仪) Night observation equipment including handheld devices, helmet-mounted monocular and binocular systems, and fusion binoculars combining low-light and infrared imaging for military and security users.
• UAV Electro-Optic Pods (无人机吊舱) Electro-optical payloads for unmanned aerial vehicles integrating visible light cameras and infrared thermal imagers for day/night observation, target tracking, and reconnaissance applications.
• Industrial Lenses (工业镜头) Machine vision and industrial inspection lenses for automated quality control and industrial imaging systems.
• Photographic Lenses (摄影镜头) Professional photographic lenses including specialty telephoto models such as 1300mm and 1805mm focal length, with customized telephoto lenses produced for international customers.
• Cinematic Anamorphic Lenses (电影系列) Cinematic anamorphic lenses including 1.55X and 1.33X models for widescreen film production with characteristic horizontal flare effects.
• Medical Optical Products (医疗系列) Optical products for medical applications including specialized lenses and imaging components.
• Radar Series (雷达系列) Radar-based detection and ranging systems for various surveillance applications.
• Mobile Phone External Lenses / Big Eye Frog Brand (手机附加镜头 / 大眼蛙) External camera lenses for smartphones including wide-angle, telephoto, macro, and fisheye attachments. Compatible with iPhone, Huawei, and Samsung devices with image quality comparable to professional SLR camera lenses. Sold under the Big Eye Frog (大眼蛙) consumer sub-brand via e-commerce platforms and WeChat-based agent network.
• Grain Screening Lenses (粮食筛选镜头) Specialized lenses for grain quality inspection and sorting equipment used in agricultural applications.
• Coreless Cup Motors (鸣志电机 / DCU Series) Brushless coreless cup DC motors sized 8mm to 24mm in diameter with power ratings from 0.3W to 9.5W and speed ratings from 10,000 rpm to 16,000 rpm, designed for optical instrument drive systems. Series include DCU08017, DCU10017, DCU10025, DCU13020, DCU13028, DCU16025, DCU17025, DCU17035, and DCU24032.
• Multi-Function Night Vision Device Integrated device combining infrared detection, low-light imaging, visible light, laser ranging, GPS positioning, electronic compass, and storage for day/night long-range reconnaissance with target geographic coordinates and bearing/distance information.
• Multi-Function Thermal Imager Vanadium oxide uncooled infrared focal plane detector-based thermal imager with real-time digital image processing, multiple color palettes (white-hot, black-hot, red-hot, brown, iron-red, rainbow), and optional laser ranging.
• Fusion Binoculars (融合型望远镜) Handheld day/night observation binoculars with both low-light and infrared detectors, offering four working modes (low-light, infrared, fusion black-white, fusion color) with target contour delineation, scene modes (forest, snow, ocean, city, desert), and photo/video recording.
• Digital Day/Night Scope (昼夜合一瞄准镜) Digital sighting scope for day and night target observation and aiming, featuring compact design, lightweight construction, and anti-glare capability.
• Custom Manufacturing / OEM/ODM Services (定制加工) Custom manufacturing services including surface treatment (anodizing), mechanical custom processing, optical/mechanical assembly, lettering workshop, and OEM/ODM capabilities for partner brands and industrial clients.

Quantifiable outcome

• Successfully developed external lenses for IPHONE, HUAWEI, SAMSUNG and other high-end mobile phone models with image quality comparable to professional SLR camera lenses

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Changchun Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Service CentercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2007Richen is a key incubation enterprise of this national enterprise incubator, receiving support for innovation and development in optoelectronic technology sector.
• Apple (iPhone)coreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerSuccessfully developed external lens for iPhone high-end mobile phone models with unique functional design breaking through dual-camera imaging requirements.
• HuaweicoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerDeveloped external lens for Huawei high-end smartphone models with professional-grade image quality comparable to SLR cameras.
• SamsungcoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerProduced external lens solutions for Samsung premium mobile devices.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Hikmicro: Hangzhou-based manufacturer of uncooled vanadium-oxide thermal imaging modules, thermal scopes, and night vision optics — closest Chinese competitor to Richen's thermal-imaging and fusion-binocular product lines for surveillance and outdoor markets.
• Navitar: U.S. manufacturer of custom and OEM lens assemblies for industrial machine vision, life sciences, and surveillance imaging — closely comparable to Richen's industrial lens and custom optical/mechanical assembly (OEM/ODM) line of business.
• ATN Corp: U.S. maker of smart digital day/night rifle scopes, thermal optics, and night vision devices for hunting and tactical applications — direct product overlap with Richen's rifle scope and digital day/night scope categories.
• Apexel: China-based manufacturer of smartphone external lenses (wide-angle, telephoto, macro, fisheye) sold through major e-commerce platforms — directly comparable to Richen's Big Eye Frog mobile lens business and consumer e-commerce channel mix on JD/Taobao/AliExpress.
• Yukon Advanced Optics (Pulsar): Manufacturer of digital night vision devices, thermal imaging scopes, and multispectral fusion binoculars for hunting, security, and outdoor markets — directly comparable to Richen's fusion binoculars, thermal scopes, and night vision products.

Broad incumbents

• Edmund Optics: Global supplier of optical components, lens assemblies, and imaging systems for industrial, life science, and research — overlap with Richen's industrial lens, medical optical, and OEM/ODM lens component business on the precision optics axis.
• Sigma Corporation: Japanese manufacturer of photographic lenses (including long telephoto and cinema lines), industrial machine vision optics, and OEM/ODM optical assemblies — directly comparable to Richen's SLR, telephoto, anamorphic, and custom-processing businesses on product and capability overlap.
• Teledyne FLIR: Dominant global supplier of uncooled thermal imaging cores, night vision cameras, and EO/IR payloads — broader portfolio and far larger scale, but overlapping with Richen's thermal scope, night vision, and UAV pod products on the technology and use-case axis.
• Tamron: Japanese maker of interchangeable photographic lenses and industrial machine vision/FA lenses — overlap with Richen's photographic lens line and industrial inspection lens product in the same technology and customer-segment categories.

Emerging players

• Moment: U.S.-based designer and seller of premium smartphone external lenses (wide, tele, anamorphic, macro) targeting content creators — closely comparable to Richen's Big Eye Frog mobile lens brand in category and use case, though with a higher-end creator-economy focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Richen