Company operations, partnerships, capacity and supply chains.
Schneider Electric has agreed to acquire industrial engineering software company PTC in an all-cash deal worth $22.6 billion. PTC owns the Vuforia augmented reality product line.
Lightwave broadband buildout roundup: Lightcurve is working with Harmonic to deliver coax-based multi-gigabit broadband to apartment buildings, while Bigleaf Networks, GoNetspeed, Kinetic, Rightfiber and Xfinity are also expanding their networks.
Smart contact lens company XPANCEO has partnered with Contamac to advance the development of AR contact lenses using materials already used in FDA-cleared ophthalmic devices.
Optikos, an optical engineering and manufacturing services provider, announced on September 29 the acquisition of Omega Optical, bringing design, manufacturing and testing under one ownership to deliver a complete optical workflow.
Data from NE Times shows that LiDAR installations in Chinese passenger vehicles reached 525,500 units in August 2026. Hesai installed 182,436 units, just 65 fewer than Huawei, and the two together accounted for 69.4%. The growth logic is extending beyond simply adding vehicle models to multiple LiDARs per vehicle, robot perception and 3D spatial mapping.
Why we recommend it: The original paper provides monthly installation and market share data, useful for assessing the automotive LiDAR market landscape
AT&T announced a multiyear fiber optic cable supply agreement with Corning worth more than $3 billion in total. Corning will continue delivering fiber and cable for AT&T's home broadband expansion. AT&T said average monthly traffic per fiber user has surpassed 1 TB, five times the 2016 level.
Why we recommend it: The original paper gives the contract value and user traffic growth, helping to understand the scale of fiber demand driven by AI and video
An expert team from a leading automotive lighting company conducted a supplier qualification review of the Automotive Optoelectronic Display Branch of Zhongguang Optics under SAS standards. Zhongguang Optics passed the audit and obtained qualified supplier status, entering the supply chain for high-end automotive lighting and vision systems.
Suzhou Chenling Optics had its acquisition by Hasan Co. terminated in December 2025 over valuation disagreements, but in the same period it secured leading clients including Luxshare Precision and Dongshan Precision, and extended its optical inspection business into robotics.
CCTV host Dong Qian interviewed Xia Haiyun, chairman of Guangzai Technology, an incubatee of the Hangzhou Institute of Optics and Mechanics, on the program Trust in China, discussing the path of independent innovation in domestic LiDAR.
Jiemei Technology announced on September 22 that its restructuring proposal had been reviewed and approved. The company plans to acquire 100% of the equity of Aifusi Technology through a share issuance, valuing the deal at 915 million yuan, with supporting financing of 228 million yuan, thereby entering the field of optical processing equipment for lithography machines.
Chuangsi Zhiye (Beijing) Optoelectronics Technology held a plaque-unveiling and new plant opening ceremony, with an ultra-precision optical component pilot base entering operation simultaneously. The base represents a total investment of 200 million yuan, covers 5,800 square meters and is planned to house five pilot production lines. The company's revenue has grown from the millions of yuan level to over 200 million yuan.
Huiyu Ecology announced that its majority-owned subsidiary Wuhan Junheng Technology plans to build an R&D and production base in the Wuhan East Lake High-tech Development Zone, replacing and upgrading its existing annual capacity of 1.5 million units. Once completed, the project will add 2 million units of optical module capacity.
Armstrong's rural broadband buildout in West Virginia illustrates the role of public-private partnerships.
Xiaomi launched the 18 Pro series on September 23, featuring a Leica optical triple-camera system with 200-megapixel main and periscope telephoto cameras. The periscope telephoto captures up to nearly 280% more light than the previous generation. The key periscope telephoto module is supplied by O-Film and uses an inner-focus design; O-Film also supplied the previous Xiaomi 17 Pro series.
Hangzhou Fujia Gallium, an incubated company of the Hangzhou Institute of Optics and Mechanics, was approved on September 1 to establish a postdoctoral workstation in Zhejiang Province. It will partner with universities to train talent around core technologies such as ultra-wide-bandgap semiconductor materials.
Xinguang Optoelectronics announced on September 22 plans to invest RMB 100 million to establish a wholly owned subsidiary, Hangzhou Xinguang Precision Measurement Systems Co., Ltd., in Hangzhou, with an initial paid-in capital of RMB 10 million. Its main business will cover optical test systems including optical instruments, measurement and inspection equipment, optoelectronic sensors and projection objectives.
On September 17, Largan Precision spent CNY 1.172 billion to acquire about 2,259 ping of land and 3,695 ping of buildings in Nantun, Taichung. This was its seventh real estate transaction since late June, bringing the total to CNY 8.078 billion. Chairman Lin Enping confirmed in July that the company had received its first fiber array order from a customer, with the land purchases paving the way for mass production in 2027.
Why we recommend it: The original article gives the pace and value of the land purchases, showing the scale of the smartphone lens leader's bet on CPO fiber arrays
An IDC report shows that global handheld smart camera shipments exceeded 5.88 million units in the second quarter of 2026, up 57% year on year, with sales nearing RMB 15.7 billion, up 50% year on year. DJI and Insta360 together held a 93% share. IDC expects shipments to approach 41 million units by 2030.
Shanghai Millimeter Starlight Optics, a specialized micro-optics maker, held a kickoff meeting for its MES and ERP upgrade project on September 15, partnering with Shuyi Gonglian and Kundi to connect data across the entire production chain.
Lianchuang Electronics acknowledged on September 17 that short-term funding pressure had delayed July salary payments for some employees. Its subsidiaries added CNY 46.67 million in overdue debt, bringing the total to CNY 360 million, or 33.92% of the latest audited net assets. The article argues that expansion, weak profitability and softening demand have jointly weighed on its automotive optics business.