Welcome to the LEDs Magazine News & Insights newsletter for May 8, 2020. I really like the Seinfeld TV show. And it was never a show about nothing. I never got that description. The characters may have been incredibly shallow in terms of service to society, but at the same time incredibly deep and complex when it came to chasing fame and fortune, but I digress.
All of that intro was really so that I can repeat one of George’s famous lines: “I’m busting, Jerry. I’m busting.” Such an exclamation came when George had big news, even if he couldn’t share it at the moment. I’m somewhat in that predicament. We are so close to revealing our first 40 Under 40 class of up-and-coming leaders in the LED and solid-state lighting (SSL) sectors. I had hoped to reveal the list today but there is a bit more vetting to be done. Wait for an announcement early next week. And we also have another major announcement coming next week.
Still, this newsletter is supposed to be about industry news and such, so let’s get to it. In our Wednesday newsletter, Mark Halper had written an article speculating about what happened to Osram’s Lightelligence Internet of Things (IoT) platform. Mark has followed up that story with an examination of Osram’s most recent financial results. The company is suffering like most companies in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, but has taken effective measures to minimize actual losses. But one comment I made Wednesday in the newsletter was apparently dead wrong. The company had planned the end of its Innovations group even before the pandemic hit.
The pandemic is surely not slowing industry-wide activity in the horticultural lighting space and specifically investment activity. For the second time in recent weeks, we have had Ospraie Ag Science make a sizeable investment in a company with vertical farm technology. CubicFarms has autonomous technology for raising leafy greens and for raising livestock feed and is the beneficiary of the funding.
In that same story, we covered activity at the DesignLights Consortium (DLC) focused on a next version of its Horticultural Lighting Specification. Horticultural efficacy demands will go up. If you have a strong feeling on the matter, comment now. The DLC will also have a webcast to discuss the new version on May 13.
We have our May issue content posted for you now in HTML format. That slate includes a packaged LED roundup that I write approximately annually. I explore the many light quality advancements that are coming with chip and packaging architecture. Of course, you can peruse the entire issue via our digital magazine platform that also enables subscribers to seamlessly access archived issues.
You will find many more stories of interest in the body of today’s newsletter. And always feel free to contact me to discuss content we post or to pitch a contributed article.
- Maury Wright, (858) 748-6785, [email protected]