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

smart glass Smart glass, also known as switchable glass, dynamic glass, and smart-tinting glass, is a type of glass that can change its optical properties, becoming opaque or tinted, in response to electrical or thermal signals. This can be used to prevent s ...

. Founded in 2007, the company was headquartered in

Milpitas, California Milpitas (Spanish for or little cornfields) is a city in Santa Clara County, California, part of Silicon Valley and the broader San Francisco Bay Area. Located on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay, it is bordered by San Jose, California, S ...

and had a manufacturing facility in

Olive Branch, Mississippi Olive Branch is the List of municipalities in Mississippi, sixth most populous city in Mississippi, US, located in DeSoto County, Mississippi, DeSoto County. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the population was 39,711. Olive Branch ...

History

The company was co-founded in April 2007 by Paul Nguyen and Mike Scobey as ''eChromics''. Based in

Santa Rosa, California Santa Rosa (Spanish language, Spanish for "Rose of Lima, Saint Rose") is a city in and the county seat of Sonoma County, California, Sonoma County, in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, Bay A ...

. The company was renamed ''Soladigm'' in October 2007 and appointed Rao Mulpuri as CEO in December 2008. The firm moved its headquarters to Milpitas, California in a reconditioned

Seagate Technology Seagate Technology Holdings plc is an American Computer data storage, data storage company. It was incorporated in 1978 as Shugart Technology and commenced business in 1979. Since 2010, the company has been incorporated in Dublin, Ireland, with ...

factory. In July 2010, the company announced its intent to start production from a new facility in Olive Branch, Mississippi. The same year, it was one of 12 winners of

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1892, incorporated in the New York (state), state of New York and headquartered in Boston. Over the year ...

's $200 million "Ecomagination Challenge". It received a $3.5 million grant from the

U.S. Department of Energy The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and energy production, the research and development of nuclear power, the military's nuclear we ...

from the

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) (), nicknamed the Recovery Act, was a stimulus package enacted by the 111th U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama in February 2009. Developed in response to the G ...

. The company name was changed to View, Inc. in November 2012 and began shipping from its new factory near the end of the third quarter of 2012. In 2015, the company's glass was installed at the new

Overstock Overstock, excessive stock, or excess inventory arise when there is more than the "right quantity" of goods available for sale,Crandall, R. E. and Crandall, W. R.Managing Excess Inventories: A Life-Cycle Approach in ''The Academy of Management Exe ...

headquarters in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

. In 2019, the OAA installed View Dynamic Glass at its headquarters. In 2024, View filed for

Chapter 11 bankruptcy Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, w ...

. 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. In October 2024, View laid off 147 workers in its

factory after announcing plans to go private.

Funding

In 2007, the company raised a Series A round of funding from Sigma Partners and

Khosla Ventures Khosla Ventures is a private American venture capital firm based in Menlo Park, California. It was founded by entrepreneur Vinod Khosla in 2004. The firm works with early-stage companies in the Internet, computing, mobile technology, artifici ...

, which later took over control of the company and received preferred shares. In 2013, Corning led an investment round of $60 million for View. Madrone Capital Partners invested $100 million in the company in January 2014. The company received $150 million in late-stage funding in 2015. Funding was led by the New Zealand Super Fund. In June 2017, BlackRock led a $200 million investment in View, bringing total funding for the company to $700 million. In 2018, View, Inc. announced a $1.1 billion investment from the

SoftBank Vision Fund The SoftBank Vision Fund is a venture capital fund founded in 2017. It is managed by SoftBank Investment Advisers, a subsidiary of the SoftBank Group. With over $100 billion in capital, it is the world's largest technology-focused investment ...

. 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.

Products and technology

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. 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. 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. The technology is designed to facilitate the entry of natural light into buildings and, when tinted, reduces glare and deflects infrared radiation. 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. The intensity of the tint can be adjusted to control glare, direct sunlight coming in, and to modify privacy. By 2016, the company made panels that could be retrofitted as well as panels based on builders' specifications. In 2018, the firm partnered with Microsoft Azure IoT to develop a physical security system that notifies building managers when glass breaks.

Litigation

In January 2009, Nguyen was relieved of his role as CTO and was dismissed the following month. In January 2010, Nguyen filed a lawsuit against the company, questioning the validity of the company's financing rounds and alleging his dismissal breached the company's certificate of incorporation voting agreement. 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". In Feb 2018, following challenges from investors, 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. In December 2012, SAGE Electrochromics filed a

patent infringement A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A ...

suit against View; View counter-sued a few months later.

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.viewglass.com/ 2006 establishments in California Companies based in Milpitas, California Technology companies established in 2006 Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2024 Companies formerly listed on the Nasdaq Glassmaking companies of the United States Technology companies of the United States Technology companies based in Greater Los Angeles Softbank portfolio companies