Saudi-backed Vision Fund invests $1 bln in ‘smart glass’ company

Saudi Arabia-backed SoftBank Vision Fund has invested $1.1 billion in View Inc., a company that makes Internet-connected windowpanes.

“We are excited to have this strong endorsement of our vision from SoftBank,” noted Dr. Rao Mulpuri, chief executive officer, View, said in a statement.

“This investment enables us to scale our business to meet rapidly growing demand, and further expand our mission: Creating delightful human environments that are more intelligent, more connected and more personalized than ever before.”

View’s dynamic glass is installed in 35 million square feet of buildings and is growing “rapidly.” The tint of the company’s “dynamic glass” product can be automatically altered, helping minimize glare and reduce energy consumption by up to 20 percent, the statement added.

The Softbank Vision Fund, which has invested in companies such as Uber and WeWork, has earmarked nearly $100 billion in capital for promising technology companies. Saudi Arabia has contributed $45 billion to the fund.

Speaking at the Future Investment Initiative (FII) 2018 last month, Public Investment Fund (PIF) managing director Yasir Al Rumayyan said the PIF has invested in 50 to 60 companies through SoftBank Group’s Vision Fund and aims to bring majority of them to the Kingdom.