BILL LIU, CEO OF ROYOLE CORPORATION - INTERVIEW WITH WBM TOP 100 INNOVATION CEO

DR. BILL LIU, FOUNDER, CHAIRMAN AND CEO OF ROYOLE CORPORATION HAS BEEN SELECTED BY THE JUDGES OF WORLD BIZ MAGAZINE'S ANNUAL AWARDS TO BE A RECIPIENT OF THE TOP 100 CEOS IN INNOVATION AWARD 2021. THIS SELECTION FOLLOWS A STRINGENT PROCESS THAT EVALUATED OVER 40,000 NOMINEES TO SELECT THE EXCLUSIVE LIST OF 100 WINNERS.

Dr. Bill Liu is the Founder, Chairman and CEO of Royole Corporation, a pioneer and global leader in the flexible technology industry. Royole has developed a series of innovative technologies and products for next-generation technologies, including super-thin fully flexible displays, fully flexible sensors, and the world’s first commercial foldable screen smartphone, FlexPai, brought to market.

Dr. Liu founded Royole with two friends from Stanford in 2012 with the mission to transform the way people experience and interact with the world. Royole introduced the world's thinnest 0.01 mm fully flexible display in 2014. In 2018, Royole commenced the volume production of fully flexible displays from its $1.7B production campus in Shenzhen, which marked a new era in display technology, representing a generational leap over rigid flat and curved displays. One application of Royole’s flexible technology led to the creation and launch of the FlexPai in 2018, the world’s first foldable smartphone with flexible display brought to market, representing a significant milestone in the evolution of the mobile phone industry. Most recently, Royole introduced the world’s first micro-LED based stretchable display technology compatible with industrial manufacturing processes, demonstrating Royole’s continued leadership as a pioneer in flexible electronics.

Royole achieved multi-billion dollars market valuation in just four years, making it one of the fastest growing tech startups. As the company Founder, Dr. Liu was selected to Fortune’s 2019 40 Under 40, 35 Innovators Under 35 by MIT Technology Review in 2017, Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2017 and Top 10 Most Innovative Entrepreneurs in the US and China by Forbes in 2015, amongst several other prestigious awards. Prior to founding Royole, Dr. Liu worked at IBM Corporation in New York from 2009 to 2012. He received a Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University in 2009, and B.S./M.S. degrees with honors in Electronic Engineering from Tsinghua University in 2004/2006. He was a recipient of both First Prizes for National Olympiad of Physics and Chemistry in 1999.

Over the past year there have been a number of major innovations by Royole, please highlight some of them.

We have accomplished a number of achievements in the past 12 months, most notably including:

• In September 2020, Royole launched the FlexPai 2, the second generation of the world’s first commercial foldable smartphone. FlexPai 2 was designed to provide the best user experience possible from a smartphone.

• Our 3rd generation Cicada Wing fully flexible display is a demonstration of Royole's prowess in flexible technology, providing unprecedented performance without sacrificing reliability.

• Leveraging the world’s thinnest full-color fully flexible display technology (0.01mm thickness), the Cicada Wing delivers stunning visuals while maintaining extreme flexibility and durability, lasting more than 1.8M bends in certified display folding reliability tests.

• Our proprietary optimization model optimizes for surface smoothness, eliminating layer peeling, and reducing signs of creases and cracks.

• The 3rd generation Cicada Wing also produces industry leading performance in color gamut, contrast and response time, providing 1.3x color gamut and 500x contrast compared to high-end LCD displays, as well as 1.2x faster response time compared to the 2nd generation Cicada Wing.

• Core to this technology is Royole's proprietary ULT-NSSP™ (Ultra Low Temperature Non-Silicon Semi-conductor Process). Royole's ULT-NSSP™ technology entered into mass production in 2018 as the industry's first for fully flexible displays, enabling simplified production processes, superior bending reliability, and higher yield at significantly lower costs and equipment investments in comparison to manufacturing processes previously adopted for conventional display products.

• FlexPai 2’s proprietary super seamless & step-less 3S™ hinge allows for seamless design and gap-free folding. The hinge, constructed from aircraft-grade aluminum titanium alloy and liquid metal, is thin, light, wear-resistant, and impact-resistant, with its precision hinge structure and accurate processing enabling better protection for the screen to withstand impact, while still allowing for 0 - 180° of adjustment. Cleverly integrated with the flexible display, the hinge provides seamless folding to facilitate one-hand use, making the phone easily fit in your pocket so that you can enjoy the big screen experience whenever, wherever.

• In October 2020, Royole launched the RoWrite 2, Royole’s award-winning smart writing pad that is capable of capturing notes and drawings on real paper and digitally simultaneously, winning iF Design and Good Design awards.

• In May 2021, Royole presented new research at SID’s Display Week demonstrating the world’s first micro-LED based stretchable display technology compatible with industrial manufacturing processes. This significant breakthrough will inspire a world of new form factors that require elastic qualities across a variety of industries including health and fitness, sports and fashion, and smart transportation.

• In June 2021, Royole launched RoKit, the world’s first open platform flexible electronics development kit, inviting every industry to imagine and design with flexibility in mind, unfolding new possibilities for creators and accelerating the development of flexible solutions in all walks of life.

Our mission is to revolutionize the way people experience and interact with the world.

Please share some of the industry milestones that have been achieved by Royole since its founding.

Innovation is in our DNA. Since founding Royole, we’ve established ourselves as a pioneer and the global leader in flexible electronics, achieving numerous industry milestones that have shaped the flexible electronics industry.

• In 2014, Royole developed the world's thinnest full color AMOLED fully flexible display (0.01mm), thinner than a sheet of a paper.

• In 2018, Royole built the world’s first mass production facility for fully flexible displays, accelerating the development and adoption of flexible solutions.

• In 2018, Royole launched the world’s first commercial foldable smartphone with flexible display, FlexPai representing a significant milestone in the evolution of the mobile phone industry.

• In 2020, Royole launched the second generation of our foldable smartphone, FlexPai 2, building on its predecessor in every way to provide the best possible experience from a smartphone.

• In 2021, Royole introduced the world’s first micro-LED based stretchable display technology compatible with industrial manufacturing processes, another significant development for the industry and signal of Royole’s leadership in flexible electronics.

• In June 2021, Royole launched RoKit, the world’s first open platform flexible electronics development kit, encouraging all industries to explore the unique advantages of flexible technology.

Royole has strategic collaborations with more than 500 enterprises including Airbus, Toyota, Louis Vuitton, Luzhou Laojiao, VERTU, Gree Electric, and SF Express, and we continue to push the boundaries of what is possible with the exploration of new applications for this technology across a broad set of industries.

What is Royole's core mission and how does the company position itself for enterprise partnerships?

Our mission is to revolutionize the way people experience and interact with the world. Our end-to-end proprietary flexible hardware, which includes the development of the world’s thinnest fully flexible displays (0.01mm thickness) and fully flexible sensors, allow us to deliver next-gen experiences to consumers via the FlexPai 2 foldable smartphone, RoWrite 2 smart writing pad, and other smart devices. For enterprises, we want to be the partner of choice for flexible technology solutions. Royole has strategic collaborations with more than 500 enterprises including Airbus, Toyota, Louis Vuitton, Luzhou Laojiao, VERTU, Gree Electric, and SF Express, and we continue to push the boundaries of what is possible with the exploration of new applications for this technology across a broad set of industries.

What initiatives are in place by Royole in regards to social citizenship in the communities it operates in?

Royole is committed to giving back to the community, leveraging our technology to make the world a better place.

We are deeply involved in our communities, working locally in the markets in which we operate to visit elementary school students and provide necessary devices for education, learning materials and stationery for the children to study and learn. We’ve also held classes to introduce flexible electronics to students, promoting the study of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Medicine), playing games, preparing meals together, and fostering a community atmosphere.

Royole is a leader in the flexible electronics industry, how is it supporting the wider development of the industry?

The fully flexible electronics industry is still in its early stages of development, needing continuous innovation to progress and expand the ecosystem. Since its founding, Royole has been a key contributor to the global flexible electronics industry, leveraging our research-based approach to push the industry forward through positive contributions to the improvement of flexible electronic products and processes that further the long-term development of the market.

What values must be present in a good leader?

Integrity, creativity, and responsibility are essential values in a leader.

For more information: www.global.royole.com