Research Frontiers, and its licensee and strategic investor Gauzy Ltd. announced today that, following successfully raising $60 million in a Series D financing, Gauzy has acquired Research Frontiers licensee, Vision Systems. With the consolidation of the two companies, the combined entity now has:
- International subsidiaries on six continents
- Product availability through direct fulfillment and a distribution channel of over 70 certified industrial partners
- Five dedicated manufacturing sites
- 14 global offices
- Over 60 patents
- 20 unique product categories
- 480 employees globally
- Industry leading customers in over 50 countries
- Approximately $50 million in 2021 revenues
This strategic endeavor is the culmination of a successful Round D financing of $60M, including notable follow-on and new investors. Amongst follow-on investors are the leader of this round IBEX, along with Olive Tree VC, Blue Red Partners, Waarde Capital, and Avery Dennison. New investors include Walleye Capital, 3A Capital, Klirmark, and Davidson Capital. Cowen acted as the exclusive financial advisor for this fundraising round.
The two companies started doing business together as part of the growing Suspended Particle Device (SPD) industry which uses Research Frontiers patented light-control technology. Gauzy is a leading manufacturer of SPD light control film, and Vision Systems adds its own proprietary technology in electronics, control systems, and specialty interlayers and assembly processes, and sells SPD products for the aeronautics, mass transit, and boating industries. More recently, with the advent of wider SPD-Smart light control film coming out of Gauzy’s factory near Stuttgart, Germany using chemicals and nanoparticles that Gauzy produces in Israel, Gauzy’s SPD-Smart film is also now being used in the architectural industry. Specialized SPD-film configurations were also recently demonstrated for consumer electronics by LG Display and Gauzy at CES and the Munich Auto Show (IAA 2021) which allow a transparent window to turn into a high-definition television or other information display.
Gauzy will continue to offer its flagship light control enabling technologies, including SPD nanoparticle interlayers and hardware, via its existing and continuously growing distribution channel of over 70 certified partners and extensive portfolio of professional customers.
Imagine a light-control film that allows users to instantly change the film’s tint from clear to dark or anything in between at the touch of a button, in response to commonly-used sensors, or integrated as part of a building or vehicle’s control system. This suspended particle device (SPD-Smart) film uses specially-engineered nanoparticles suspended and distributed throughout this flexible film to accomplish this. While it might sound futuristic, it has been used reliably to replace aircraft window shades since 2001, and in tens of thousands of vehicles by Mercedes and McLaren beginning in 2011, and is scheduled for introduction on upcoming car models from Cadillac and other auto makers. It also was featured in yachts, cruise ships, museums to protect priceless artwork and collectibles such as the world’s most valuable baseball cards from visible light damage, and architectural applications such as a 10 thousand square foot roof at the World’s Fair in Milan in 2015.
Building and vehicle occupants can instantly change the tint of their windows or sunroofs to help keep out harsh sunlight and heat, and create an open-air feeling even when the window or sunroof is closed. Glass or plastic using Research Frontiers’ patented SPD-SmartGlass technology effectively blocks UV and infrared rays in both clear and darkly tinted modes, helping keep interiors cooler, and protecting occupants and interiors while also enhancing security, comfort and privacy. In vehicles such as cars and trains, some of the other benefits of SPD-SmartGlass include significant heat reduction inside the vehicle (by up to 18ºF/10ºC), UV protection, glare control, reduced noise and reduced fuel consumption. Independent calculations also show that use of SPD-SmartGlass can reduce CO2 emissions by four grams per kilometer, and increase the driving range of electric vehicles by approximately 5.5 percent. The capabilities of Vision Systems and Gauzy also add strategically important ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) and APAS (Advanced Passenger Assistance Systems) products to the automotive and mass transit industries.
The markets for SPD-Smart film are already well-established. Research Frontiers has licensed over 40 chemical, film, and glass companies which are selling products for the automotive, aircraft, marine, train, museum and consumer electronics industries.
Research Frontiers patented SPD-SmartGlass technology is the same best-selling smart window technology that can be found on tens of thousands of various existing cars from Mercedes and McLaren, and on upcoming car models from Cadillac and other auto makers. In addition to cars, products using Research Frontiers’ smart glass technology are being used in aircraft, yachts, trains, homes, offices, museums and other buildings. It can be used to replace mechanical shading elements in buildings and vehicles, and can create privacy on demand.
In addition to its certified laminators and other industrial partners, Gauzy has an established customer base in built environments and various mobility divisions, strategically aligned with leading brands such as Avery Dennison and Hyundai, and chosen by customers such as LG Display, BMW, Texas Instruments, Gensler, Clestra Hausermann, and many more for light control technology needs. Vision Systems now brings to Gauzy the largest market share of cockpit shading solutions, and new core industries to service including private and commercial aviation, marine, railway, bus and coach, and motorhomes. Trusted customers in these industries include HondaJet, Airbus, Dassault, Fritzmeier, Prevost and a number of others.
Eyal Peso, Carl Putman and Joseph Harary, the CEOs of Gauzy, Vision Systems and Research Frontiers, respectively, issued this statement about the transaction and the new company and the benefits for customers and the entire smart glass industry: “When smart glass was first introduced by our companies, we had to prove that it would work reliably. With more experience and more projects in the field for longer periods than any other smart glass technology, we demonstrated this. Now the market requires that a new level of intelligence be added to the control systems that make our glass smart to further improve the energy efficiency, safety, and comfort of smart homes and buildings, and vehicles. The combined capabilities of our three companies transform glass into information, entertainment, privacy and shading systems to allow our customers to enhance these benefits.
