View

View

View was founded in 2007 as Soladigm and rebranded in 2012, pursuing the thesis that dynamic glass could cut building energy consumption while eliminating blinds. Rao Mulpuri, a semiconductor industry veteran, led the company as CEO, raising over $2B in private capital from investors including SoftBank Vision Fund, BlackRock, and the New Zealand Superannuation Fund before merging with a Cantor Fitzgerald-backed SPAC in 2021. The company manufactured "smart windows" using electrochromic technology that tint automatically in response to sunlight, targeting commercial office buildings, hospitals, and airports. Installed projects included the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport and various corporate campuses. View sold its glass as a service under a recurring-revenue model, bundling hardware with a building-analytics platform. The strategy required massive upfront capital for its Olive Branch, Mississippi factory, creating persistent cash burn that public-market investors ultimately rejected. View's SPAC listing valued the company at $1.6B in March 2021, with Mulpuri prominently ringing the Nasdaq bell alongside Cantor Fitzgerald's Howard Lutnick. Within three years, the stock collapsed below $1 amid liquidity crises and board turmoil. In April 2024, View filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. RXR, the New York-based real estate owner and existing lender, acquired the operating assets in partnership with Cantor Fitzgerald for $50 million, taking the company private. The firm's trajectory exposes the financing gap for hardware-centric climate companies. Despite a genuine product and installed base, View's capital intensity defied the asset-light expectations of public SaaS investors, while building owners proved slow to adopt premium-priced glazing. The post-bankruptcy entity operates as View Smart Windows under private ownership, focused on existing installations and a streamlined product line.