E Ink Invests in Soofa to Expand Solar-Powered ePaper Kiosks
2026-11-09 · via DailyDOOH
E Ink, the Taiwan-listed ePaper display maker, has made a strategic investment in Soofa, a company that builds solar-powered ePaper kiosks for municipalities and local businesses. The deal is E Ink's first investment in a company that provides a complete digital signage solution, according to the announcement.
Soofa, founded in 2014 and spun out of MIT Media Lab research, says it has placed kiosks in more than 60 U.S. cities, including Boston, Atlanta and Los Angeles. The kiosks display transit updates, local news, weather and advertising in public spaces such as sidewalks and parks. The company says its units need only a two-person installation team and no special equipment, which lowers the barrier for cities and property owners to add screens where wired power or standard signage installation would be impractical.
That installation simplicity rests on E Ink's underlying technology. The displays are readable in direct sunlight and consume little power compared with LCD or LED, which is what makes solar operation viable without a battery or grid connection doing heavy lifting. For operators evaluating outdoor digital signage in locations without easy access to electrical infrastructure, that is the practical selling point here, not picture quality or refresh rate.
As part of the partnership, Soofa will adopt E Ink's 75-inch Kaleido Outdoor color ePaper displays, the companies say, which points to a shift from the monochrome panels Soofa has used in earlier deployments toward color content and advertising inventory. The release frames this as expanding "digital out of home advertising" possibilities, suggesting Soofa's ad sales business is part of what attracted E Ink's capital.
E Ink chairman and CEO Johnson Lee is quoted saying the investment reflects shared roots at MIT Media Lab and a collaboration that started more than a decade ago with black and white displays. The company says it runs investment funds aimed at backing businesses that build on E Ink technology, pairing capital with its display and manufacturing expertise to grow the broader ePaper ecosystem.
What the announcement does not say is the size of the investment, a timeline for the Kaleido Outdoor rollout, or how many Soofa kiosks will be upgraded versus newly deployed. There is also no detail on pricing, power specifications for the solar kiosks, or how advertising revenue is split between the two companies. For an industry still weighing ePaper against LCD and LED for outdoor applications, this deal signals E Ink is betting on community and municipal signage, rather than retail or transit advertising networks, as a proving ground for color outdoor ePaper at scale.
The announcement in full
Reproduced from DailyDOOH for reference. Digital Signage Magazine did not write the text below.
E Ink Makes Strategic Investment in Soofa
E Ink (8069.TW) has made a strategic partnership and investment in Soofa, a company that says it connects communities with solar-powered ePaper kiosks. The investment furthers Soofa’s growth and reflects E Ink’s commitment to backing innovative companies that use its technologies to address practical needs and advance sustainability.
Johnson Lee , chairman and CEO of E Ink told us “Soofa shows how E Ink technology can make useful information more accessible while keeping energy consumption low. Our shared MIT Media Lab roots and longstanding collaboration make this investment especially meaningful. We are pleased to support Soofa’s next stage of growth and help bring sustainable community signage to more neighborhoods.”
E Ink has established investment funds to support promising companies developing products and services that leverage E Ink. By combining capital with its display expertise, E Ink helps these companies bring new applications to market and therefore expand the ePaper ecosystem. Soofa demonstrates how this approach can benefit communities while creating opportunities for sustainable business growth.
Local communities face a basic communication challenge: neighborhood information is often scattered across various sites and difficult for residents to discover what matters most. Municipalities need accessible ways to reach residents, while local businesses need opportunities to connect with neighborhood customers. Soofa brings transit updates, local news, weather and advertising into shared public spaces. This means information is visible where people live, work and gather.
E Ink technology is particularly suited for these neighborhood kiosks. Its paper-like displays remain readable in direct sunlight, while its low-power consumption makes solar-powered operation practical. These features enable Soofa to deliver useful, regularly updated information that doesn’t need the wired electrical infrastructure of traditional digital signage. This gives communities even greater flexibility in where they place their kiosks.
Founded in 2014, Soofa has built relationships with more than 60 U.S. cities, including Boston, Atlanta and Los Angeles. Because its kiosks require only a team of two and no special installation equipment, it’s easier for municipalities and property owners to bring information to their neighborhoods. The partnership will support the adoption of E Ink’s 75-inch Kaleido™ Outdoor color ePaper displays, expanding the possibilities for community messaging and digital out of home advertising. E Ink and Soofa both trace their origins to the MIT Media Lab. This shared heritage of turning research into practical applications underpins a collaboration that began more than a decade ago with E Ink’s black and white displays and now extends to outdoor color ePaper.
The investment marks E Ink’s first in a company providing a complete digital signage solution and broadens its portfolio across the signage ecosystem. Together, E Ink’s display technology, product development and manufacturing capabilities, combined with Soofa’s advertising operations and community relationships, set a foundation for expanding sustainable outdoor signage.
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