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Masayoshi Son, President and CEO of SoftBank Group
Photograph of Kiyoshi Ota / Bloomberg
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Huge Fund SoftBank Vision Fund makes one of its biggest investments this year, $ 1.1 billion, in a 10-year-old company that is developing technology with high potential, but avoiding the risks.
Friday's investment in View, a glass manufacturer used in the windows of intelligent buildings connected to the Internet, is the culmination of a two-year dialogue with
SoftBank
(9984.Japon). "We had to check a bunch of boxes to get here," said Rao Mulpuri, CEO of View. Barron in a telephone interview.
The Silicon Valley company has also signed contracts with major clients such as Dallas / Fort Worth International Airport, San Francisco's Levi's 49ers Stadium and a dozen hospitals run by Kaiser Permanente to convince the investor Japanese. Until recently, most building and large facility operators did not know or were wary of the benefits of smart buildings.
Smart windows promise to moderate brightness and temperature, while improving brightness based on time and time.
"We believe that View has created a whole new category of market that makes buildings healthier and smarter," said Tom Cheung, a partner of SoftBank Investment Advisers, in a statement. "They are reinventing our way of creating spaces by giving priority to the well-being of the occupants." (The $ 93 billion SoftBank Vision Fund has invested in Uber Technologies, among others, but has recently been under close scrutiny for nearly half of its money, $ 45 billion from Saudi Arabia.)
View Dynamic Glass, sourced from a large manufacturing facility in Olive Branch, Missouri, is housed in 35 million square foot buildings, including offices and residences. high height. A recent study published in the Harvard Business Review identified natural light as the # 1 office asset desired. Another recent study at Cornell University found significant health benefits associated with View Dynamic Glass over conventional windows, including over 50% reduction in headaches, eyestrain and fatigue. drowsiness, thereby contributing to the health and productivity of employees.
View's path for a smarter drink was not easy or cheap. So far, it has raised more than $ 800 million in funding to develop its technology, build and commission sophisticated production facilities, and showcase the added value of its products. But Mulpuri is encouraged by "the tremendous pull of the market" that has led View to double the size of its Mississippi plant.
"We need this kind of financing to change the world," said Mulpuri Barron. "Changing a well-established sector is difficult."
Write to Jon Swartz at [email protected]
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