Xiaomi Teams With 3M and JiZhi Tech on a Lab for Brighter TV Screens

There are two ways to make a TV brighter: pump more power into the backlight and hope the panel handles it, or find better materials that waste less light. The second approach is harder, but it’s the one that actually matters for the next generation of displays.

On Friday, at an optoelectronics conference in Ningbo, three very different companies announced they’re pooling resources to do exactly that. Xiaomi, 3M China, and the domestic optical-film manufacturer JiZhi Tech (formally known as Ningbo Exciton Technology) signed an agreement to build a joint display lab. Their stated mission: develop next-generation optical films that meaningfully improve TV brightness and luminance performance.

The lab sits at the intersection of three distinct supply-chain layers. 3M brings global expertise in functional film materials — the kind of precision coatings that sit inside nearly every high-end display panel on the market. JiZhi Tech handles the domestic manufacturing side, with what the company described as “leading domestic R&D and mass production capability” in optical films. Xiaomi brings the consumer perspective and a massive distribution channel for whatever eventually ships inside a television.

Luo Lijun, JiZhi Tech’s VP and general manager of sales, said the partnership’s near-term priority is optical-film technology that boosts brightness without the usual tradeoffs in power consumption or panel thickness.

The companies framed the collaboration as a way to tackle what they called “bottleneck technologies” in microdisplays and optical films — a reference to the supply-chain pressure points that have historically forced Chinese TV makers to rely on imported materials for premium display components.

It’s not a flashy announcement. No product launch, no prototype photos. But the structure is interesting. Instead of the typical brand-supplier relationship, this is a three-way lab where a materials giant, a domestic manufacturer, and a consumer-electronics company sit at the same table. If it works, the first products to benefit will be televisions — and the difference will show up as better HDR highlights and cleaner luminance in brightly lit rooms.

The Ningbo event where the deal was announced was part of a broader optoelectronics industry conference, suggesting the partnership is as much about China’s broader push to build self-sufficient display supply chains as it is about any single product.