View, Inc.

View, Inc.

Company type	Public
Industry	Smart glass manufacturing
Predecessor	eChromics, Soladigm
Founded	2007
Founder	Paul Nguyen, Mike Scobey
Fate	Filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2024; planned transition to private ownership
Headquarters	Milpitas , United States
Area served	United States
Key people	Rao Mulpuri (CEO from December 2008)
Products	View Dynamic Glass (smart glass solutions)
Number of employees	Unknown (147 layoffs in 2024 at Olive Branch facility) (2024)

View, Inc. is a U.S.-based manufacturer specializing in advanced smart glass solutions.

Established in 2007 by Paul Nguyen and Mike Scobey, the firm operates its headquarters out of Milpitas, California, with a production plant located in Olive Branch, Mississippi.

History

Initially operating under the name eChromics and situated in Santa Rosa, California, the enterprise rebranded to Soladigm in October 2007. Rao Mulpuri was appointed as CEO in December 2008. Subsequently, the company moved its main office to Milpitas, California, occupying a refurbished facility formerly used by Seagate Technology.

In July 2010, View revealed intentions to establish a manufacturing site in Olive Branch, Mississippi. That same year, it was selected as one of twelve recipients of General Electric's $200 million "Ecomagination Challenge" and secured a $3.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

The organization adopted the name View, Inc. in November 2012 and commenced product shipments from its newly built factory by the end of that year. In 2015, View’s smart glass was installed at Overstock’s headquarters located in Salt Lake City.

In 2019, the Ontario Association of Architects integrated View Dynamic Glass into its own headquarters building.

Confronted with financial difficulties, View filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2024. The company planned to transition to private ownership under lender oversight to address roughly $350 million in outstanding debt. Following this move, it reduced its workforce by laying off 147 employees at the Olive Branch manufacturing facility amid privatization efforts.

Funding

The company’s initial Series A funding round took place in 2007 with investments from Sigma Partners and Khosla Ventures, which later assumed control and held preferred equity.

In 2013, Corning spearheaded a $60 million funding round for View. This was followed by a $100 million investment from Madrone Capital Partners in January 2014. A late-stage financing round secured $150 million in 2015, led by the New Zealand Super Fund.

By June 2017, BlackRock led a $200 million capital injection, raising total funding to $700 million. In 2018, View announced receiving $1.1 billion from the SoftBank Vision Fund.

As of May 2022, View reported potential liquidity challenges, indicating possible insufficiency of resources to fulfill financial commitments for at least twelve months following the release date of its 2021 financial reports.

Products and technology

View’s primary offering, View Dynamic Glass, incorporates an electrochromic coating composed of multiple ceramic metal oxide layers approximately one micron thick. The system uses low-voltage wiring to enable tint adjustments via a mobile app or centralized management software, allowing glass transparency to be altered from fully clear up to 99% tint blocking visible light.

This technology optimizes daylight penetration while minimizing glare and reflecting infrared heat. Each window unit can dynamically modify its tint throughout the day and is assigned a unique IP address for individual control through an app interface. The tint level manages glare reduction, sunlight exposure, and privacy needs.

By 2016, View offered retrofit glass panels as well as custom-designed panels tailored to builder requirements. In 2018, the company collaborated with Microsoft Azure IoT to create SmartProtect—a physical security system that notifies building operators when glass breakage occurs.

Litigation

Nguyen was removed from his role as CTO in January 2009 and was terminated the following month. In January 2010, he initiated legal action against the company, disputing the legitimacy of its financing rounds and claiming that his termination violated the company's certificate of incorporation voting agreement. The dispute proceeded to arbitration, and in December 2015, the arbitrator ruled in Nguyen's favor, which had a substantial effect on View's capital structure.

Following investor disputes, the litigation was resolved in February 2018, leading to a temporary stabilization of the company's capital framework. This legal matter contributed to discussions regarding potential amendments to Delaware corporate law.

In December 2012, SAGE Electrochromics brought a patent infringement lawsuit against View; several months later, View responded with a countersuit.