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China's first large-scale 12-inch transparent-substrate wafer facility dedicated to AR micro-nano optical products has officially started operations in Shanghai's Lingang area, China Construction Third Engineering Bureau announced on June 22.
The plant marks the country's debut large-scale manufacturing base for 12-inch AR micro-nano optical wafers. Total investment in the project is approximately CNY 3.28 billion (USD 457 million), with the facility occupying a gross floor area of 261,000 square meters in Lingang's Blue Bay Industrial Zone. The project is recognized as one of Shanghai's major municipal initiatives and forms part of the Lingang Oriental Chip Harbor industrial cluster.
The facility is run by Goertek OmniLight Optical Technology Co., Ltd., previously known as Sunny OmniLight NanoOptics Technology Co., Ltd. and formerly affiliated with Sunny Optical. In 2025, Goertek Optics, a subsidiary of Goertek, took full ownership of Sunny OmniLight via a capital increase of roughly CNY 530 million, folding the business into its precision optics operations. Additional shareholder capital was later injected to further support the unit.
The project moved from signing to commercial production in about three years and four months. It was signed in February 2023, saw its first production building topped out in September 2024, had its first core lithography tool installed in July 2025, and reached commercial production in June 2026.
On the technology side, the facility supports diffractive waveguide design, precision silicon carbide processing, and nanoimprint lithography, producing high-end optical components such as AR waveguide lenses, electrochromic lenses, and microlens arrays — applying semiconductor-level manufacturing precision to AR optical devices.
In its 2025 annual report, Goertek said it would track developments in large AI models and intelligent agents while expanding into edge AI hardware, citing AI smart glasses, mixed reality (MR), augmented reality (AR), and automotive electronics as priority growth areas.
Through 2026, the company has continued building out its AI smart glasses and AR optics business via a series of investments and partnerships aimed at deepening vertical integration. In January 2026, construction began on Phase II of Goertek's VR assembly production base, a project with planned investment of CNY 1.6 billion intended to expand capacity for VR headsets and AI-enabled smart glasses. That same month, Goertek Optics signed a joint-venture agreement with Conant Optical to co-develop products for the AI, AR, VR, and MR eyewear markets, covering customized prescription lenses, optical waveguide eyepieces for both corrective and non-corrective use, and optoelectronic components supporting electrochromic and eye-tracking functions.
In early June, Goertek announced a further capital injection into Goertek Optics and Sunny OmniLight to accelerate development in emerging optical areas, including micro-nano optical components, XR optical lenses and modules, projection optics, and automotive optical systems.
(Source: Trendforce)
The plant marks the country's debut large-scale manufacturing base for 12-inch AR micro-nano optical wafers. Total investment in the project is approximately CNY 3.28 billion (USD 457 million), with the facility occupying a gross floor area of 261,000 square meters in Lingang's Blue Bay Industrial Zone. The project is recognized as one of Shanghai's major municipal initiatives and forms part of the Lingang Oriental Chip Harbor industrial cluster.
The facility is run by Goertek OmniLight Optical Technology Co., Ltd., previously known as Sunny OmniLight NanoOptics Technology Co., Ltd. and formerly affiliated with Sunny Optical. In 2025, Goertek Optics, a subsidiary of Goertek, took full ownership of Sunny OmniLight via a capital increase of roughly CNY 530 million, folding the business into its precision optics operations. Additional shareholder capital was later injected to further support the unit.
The project moved from signing to commercial production in about three years and four months. It was signed in February 2023, saw its first production building topped out in September 2024, had its first core lithography tool installed in July 2025, and reached commercial production in June 2026.
On the technology side, the facility supports diffractive waveguide design, precision silicon carbide processing, and nanoimprint lithography, producing high-end optical components such as AR waveguide lenses, electrochromic lenses, and microlens arrays — applying semiconductor-level manufacturing precision to AR optical devices.
In its 2025 annual report, Goertek said it would track developments in large AI models and intelligent agents while expanding into edge AI hardware, citing AI smart glasses, mixed reality (MR), augmented reality (AR), and automotive electronics as priority growth areas.
Through 2026, the company has continued building out its AI smart glasses and AR optics business via a series of investments and partnerships aimed at deepening vertical integration. In January 2026, construction began on Phase II of Goertek's VR assembly production base, a project with planned investment of CNY 1.6 billion intended to expand capacity for VR headsets and AI-enabled smart glasses. That same month, Goertek Optics signed a joint-venture agreement with Conant Optical to co-develop products for the AI, AR, VR, and MR eyewear markets, covering customized prescription lenses, optical waveguide eyepieces for both corrective and non-corrective use, and optoelectronic components supporting electrochromic and eye-tracking functions.
In early June, Goertek announced a further capital injection into Goertek Optics and Sunny OmniLight to accelerate development in emerging optical areas, including micro-nano optical components, XR optical lenses and modules, projection optics, and automotive optical systems.
(Source: Trendforce)