First foldable smartphone maker goes bankrupt

Royole Display Technology can no longer repay its debts.

When it comes to foldable smartphones, the most established names in the industry are Samsung, Huawei, Motorola, and Honor. The four companies dominate the market, accounting for the majority of sales.

However, the first-ever folding smartphone was made by Royole Display Technology, a Chinese manufacturer of flexible displays and sensors, which is now officially out of business.

Royole was declared bankrupt on November 18th as its assets were insufficient to repay its debts. According to a report by Pan Daily, the Intermediate People’s Court of Shenzhen in China ruled for bankruptcy proceedings against three Royole companies.

Rumors about potential bankruptcy have been surfacing for a while. In June, the company's creditors filed a bankruptcy petition, which the court accepted in May.

Established in 2012, Royole managed to attract $1.1 billion from 18 investors, including the AMTD group, Crunchbase data shows.

The company had plans to launch an Initial Public Offering for Shanghai’s Nasdaq-like STAR Market. However, it reportedly withdrew its application due to unresolved shareholder issues.

Over the years, Royole has heavily invested in foldable screens and, in 2018, launched its first foldable smartphone, Flex Pai, ahead of Samsung.

Flex Pai was quite different from today’s devices. It folded outwardly instead of inwardly and had a large hinge gap.