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View, Inc.
Company typePrivate (2007-21; since 2024)
Public (2021-24)
Nasdaq: VIEW (2021-24)
IndustrySmart glass, Smart Building Solutions
Founded2007
FounderPaul Nguyen & Mike Scobey
Headquarters
Milpitas, California
,
United States
Key people
Rao Mulpuri (CEO)
Websitewww.view.com

View, Inc. was an American glass-manufacturing company specializing in the production of smart glass.

Founded in 2007, the company was headquartered in Milpitas, California and had a manufacturing facility in Olive Branch, Mississippi.

History

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The company was co-founded in April 2007 by Paul Nguyen and Mike Scobey as eChromics.[1] Based in Santa Rosa, California .[2]: 4  The company was renamed Soladigm in October 2007[2]: 4  and appointed Rao Mulpuri as CEO in December 2008.[3][4] The firm moved its headquarters to Milpitas, California in a reconditioned Seagate Technology factory.[5]

In July 2010, the company announced its intent to start production from a new facility in Olive Branch, Mississippi.[6] The same year, it was one of 12 winners of General Electric's $200 million "Ecomagination Challenge".[7] It received a $3.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.[8]

The company name was changed to View, Inc. in November 2012[6] and began shipping from its new factory near the end of the third quarter of 2012.[9] In 2015, the company's glass was installed at the new Overstock headquarters in Salt Lake City.[10]

In 2019, the OAA installed View Dynamic Glass at its headquarters.[11]

In 2024, View filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company will go private and be taken over by its lenders, which will help reduce a large portion of its $350 million debt load.[12]


In October of 2024, View laid off the majority of its workforce in the Olive Branch location (147 workers) and closed the facility[13]


Funding

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In 2007, the company raised a Series A round of funding from Sigma Partners and Khosla Ventures, which later took over control of the company and received preferred shares.[2]: 5–6 

In 2013, Corning led an investment round of $60 million for View.[5] Madrone Capital Partners invested $100 million in the company in January 2014.[3] The company received $150 million in late-stage funding in 2015. Funding was led by the New Zealand Super Fund.[14]

In June 2017, BlackRock led a $200 million investment in View, bringing total funding for the company to $700 million.[15]

In 2018, View, Inc. announced a $1.1 billion investment from the SoftBank Vision Fund.[16]

In May 2022, View, Inc. announced that they may not have sufficient financial resources to meet its financial obligations for at least twelve months from the expected issuance date of its 2021 financial statements.[17]

Products and technology

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The company's product, View Dynamic Glass, features an electrochromic (EC) coating composed of multiple layers of ceramic metal oxide with a thickness of 1 micron.[18] Low voltage wiring is added so the tint of the glass can be controlled through an app or centralized software system in response to weather or interior temperature.[19][3] Upon activation of the low-voltage direct current electrical signal, the materials in the insulating glass changes from transparent to up to 99% tinted for visible wavelengths.[20][21]

The technology is designed to facilitate the entry of natural light into buildings and, when tinted, reduces glare and deflects infrared radiation.[3][22] Each window pane can adjust its tint variably throughout the day. Additionally, every pane possesses a unique IP address, enabling its control via an app.[23][24] The intensity of the tint can be adjusted to control glare, direct sunlight coming in, and to modify privacy.[25]

By 2016, the company made panels that could be retrofitted as well as panels based on builders' specifications.[19]

In 2018, the firm partnered with Microsoft Azure IoT to develop a physical security system that notifies building managers when glass breaks.[26][27]

Litigation

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In January 2009, Nguyen was relieved of his role as CTO and was dismissed the following month.[2]: 7  In January 2010, Nguyen filed a lawsuit against the company, [2]: 7–13  questioning the validity of the company's financing rounds and alleging his dismissal breached the company's certificate of incorporation voting agreement. [28] The parties agreed to arbitration, and in December 2015, the arbitrator ruled in Nguyen's favor. This decision, as noted by a judge in subsequent proceedings, had a significant impact on View's capital structure".[2]: 13 [29][2]: 30 [29][30]

In Feb 2018, following challenges from investors, [31] the litigation reached a settlement, which temporarily solidified the company's capital structure. This case subsequently influenced a proposal to revise Delaware's corporate law.[32]

In December 2012, SAGE Electrochromics filed a patent infringement suit against View; View counter-sued a few months later.[33]

References

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  1. ^ "Venture funding tumbles in Sonoma County". Santa Rosa Press Democrat. 2009-04-24. Retrieved 2018-08-27.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "C.A. No. 11138-VCS: Paul Nguyen v. View". Chancery Court of Delaware. June 6, 2017.
  3. ^ a b c d "View soaks up $100M to make your windows smarter — and more environmentally friendly | VentureBeat". venturebeat.com. 7 January 2014. Retrieved 2017-11-01.
  4. ^ Haggin, Patience (2017-08-11). "The Secret to Startup Success? Fudge Your Age". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2017-11-01.
  5. ^ a b Noglows, Paul. "How View Is Reinventing Your Windows". Forbes. Retrieved 2017-11-01.
  6. ^ a b "Soladigm, Milpitas company that makes 'smart windows,' to build new factory". The Mercury News. 2010-07-29. Retrieved 2017-11-01.
  7. ^ Kolodny, Lora (16 November 2010). "GE Invests In Makers of Solar-Powered Air Conditioners, And Eleven Others". Tech Crunch. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
  8. ^ "Berkeley Lab Technology Spawns Successful Start-up Companies". Energy.gov. Retrieved 2018-05-28.
  9. ^ Wang, Ucilia. "A Startup Shows Off 'Smart Windows' In San Francisco Hotel". Forbes. Retrieved 2017-11-01.
  10. ^ Herald, Karissa Neely Daily. "View Dynamic Glass: Utah office buildings opting for wise windows". Daily Herald. Retrieved 2018-06-03.
  11. ^ "The OAA Wraps Up Headquarters Building Renewal". Canadian Architect. 2019-10-18. Retrieved 2020-01-31.
  12. ^ "SoftBank-Backed Window Maker to File for Bankruptcy to Cut Debt". Bloomberg. April 2, 2024. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  13. ^ https://wreg.com/news/local/olive-branch-company-closes-lays-off-147-workers/
  14. ^ Tilley, Aaron (13 August 2015). "Smart Window Maker View Raises $150 Million". Forbes. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
  15. ^ Stangel, Luke (June 27, 2017). "Milpitas 'smart glass' startup raises $200M to take on the real estate world". Silicon Valley Business Journal.
  16. ^ "Saudi-Backed Vision Fund Invests $1.1 Billion in a Maker of 'Smart Window' Glass". Bloomberg.com. 2018-11-02. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  17. ^ "View Discloses Cash Balance of $201M as of End of Q1 2022" (Press release). 11 May 2022.
  18. ^ Cronin, J. P. (2004), Aegerter, Michel A.; Mennig, Martin (eds.), "Electrochromic Coatings", Sol-Gel Technologies for Glass Producers and Users, Springer US, pp. 261–269, doi:10.1007/978-0-387-88953-5_34, ISBN 978-0-387-88953-5, retrieved 2020-01-24
  19. ^ a b Swartz, Jon (April 27, 2016). "High-tech brings its smarts to buildings". USA Today.
  20. ^ "Regeneron goes high-tech with 'smart' windows". DV Plus - Westchester Business Journal Daily Voice. 2019-07-31. Archived from the original on 2019-08-06. Retrieved 2019-08-08.
  21. ^ "View Gen 3 Insulating Glass Unit (IGU)" (PDF). Retrieved 2023-12-26.
  22. ^ Wang, Ucilia (2011-02-15). "Soladigm Closes $40M for Its First Smart Window Factory". Reuters. Retrieved 2012-05-02.
  23. ^ Riski, Tess (23 July 2019). "New Smart Glass Cuts Glare, Alerts Police if There's a Break-In". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2019-07-25.
  24. ^ "Your Next Office Window Could Come With an IP Address". Cheddar. 25 July 2019. Retrieved 2019-08-02.
  25. ^ "Regeneron goes high-tech with 'smart' windows". DV Plus - Westchester Business Journal Daily Voice. 2019-07-31. Archived from the original on 2019-08-06. Retrieved 2019-08-02.
  26. ^ "Microsoft Azure IoT". Microsoft. 13 November 2018.
  27. ^ Dignan, Larry. "Building windows powered by algorithms: View launches SmartProtect, an IoT security system for smart windows". ZDNet. Retrieved 2018-11-14.
  28. ^ "Chancery Court Holds That Stockholder Rejection of Corporate Proposals Are Not Defective Corporate Acts That Can Later Be Ratified". Lexology. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
  29. ^ a b "Chancery Clarifies Distinction Between Defective Corporate Acts and Unauthorized Corporate Acts". Delaware Corporate & Commercial Litigation Blog. 8 June 2017.
  30. ^ "Issue Thirteen: Chancery Court Clarifies Difference between "Defective" and "Deliberately Unauthorized" Corporate Acts". Goodwin Law Securities Snapshot June 20, 2017. June 20, 2017.
  31. ^ Montgomery, Jeff (February 15, 2018). "View Inc. Fights Investors' Challenge To $60M Settlement". Law360.
  32. ^ Bigler, C. Stephen; Norman, Stephanie M. (Spring 2018). "Proposed Amendments to Section 204 of the Delaware General Corporation Law Resolve Uncertainty Created by the Reasoning in Nguyen v. View, Inc" (PDF). In Our Opinion: The Newsletter of the Legal Opinions Committee, ABA Business Law Section. 17 (3): 16.
  33. ^ "Corning leads $62M investment in 'smart' glass maker View". SPIE Europe. 19 June 2013.
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