AGC Asahi Glass, a producer of glass, advanced materials and chemicals, led a $65m series C round for US-based smart glass developer Kinestral Technologies yesterday.
The round also featured semiconductor equipment maker Hermes-Epitek as well as Mitsubishi UFJ Capital and Alexandria Venture Investments, subsidiaries of financial services firm Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and real estate trust Alexandria Real Estate Equities.
Venture capital firms 5AM Ventures and Versant Ventures rounded out the round’s participants together with investment manager Capricorn Investment Group.
Founded in 2011, Kinestral has created a responsive form of smart-tinting glass called Halio that tints in sunlight to provide shade for a building’s inhabitants, and which can also tint to a range of darker greys in order to complement the building’s design.
The round will support the commercial introduction of Halio in North America this year, and internationally in 2018. AGC formed a strategic partnership with Kinestral in June 2016 that will involve the companies jointly marketing and selling Halio.
Jean-François Heris, president of AGC Building and Industrial Glass Company, has joined Kinestral’s board of directors in conjunction with the funding. He said: “For over 100 years, AGC has pioneered some of the most important breakthroughs in glass and coatings for our customers.
“We see Halio as the natural next step for glass to really connect people to their environment while neutralising all the negative aspects of heat and glare from the sun. Through our partnership with Kinestral, we continue to transform the glass industry.”
Kinestral had raised approximately $57m in equity and debt prior to closing the series C round, according to regulatory filings.
Mitsubishi UFJ Capital, Alexandria Venture Investments, Capricorn Investment Group, 5AM Ventures and Versant Ventures all took part in the round as existing investors.
– Photo courtesy of Kinestral Technologies, Inc.