View, the US-based advanced glass producer backed by corporates General Electric and Corning, raised $100m in funding yesterday from backers including TIAA Investments, an affiliate of asset manager Nuveen.
TIAA invested $50m in the round, which the Wall Street Journal reported represents the first close of View’s series G round. View has not disclosed who provided the remainder of the funding, which was secured at a post-money valuation of almost $1bn.
Founded in 2007 as Soladigm, View has developed a form of glass that intelligently tints lighter or darker depending on external light, helping a building’s inhabitants to control light and temperature within. It will use the capital to increase production capacity for its Dynamic Glass.
The round increased View’s overall debt and equity financing to about $610m. Power and automation group General Electric’s GE Energy Financial Services subsidiary was among the investors in a $40m series D round in 2011 that included DBL Investors, Nano Dimension, Khosla Ventures and Sigma Partners.
General Electric also took part in a round led by glass and ceramics manufacturer Corning that closed at $72.6m in 2013, before Corning participated in a $150m series F round in 2015 that also featured NZ Super Fund and Madrone Capital Partners.
Rao Mulpuri, chief executive of View, said: “We are particularly thrilled to have the support of one of the world’s largest asset managers as we seek to accelerate the adoption of dynamic glass in the commercial real estate market.
“This financing enables us to meet the increasing demand for View Dynamic Glass and execute on our ambitious growth strategy.”
– Photo courtesy of View, Inc.