Soladigm grabs $30 million for self-tinting smart glass

   Energy-efficient glass startup Soladigm announced today that it has nabbed $30 million in third-round equity financing, led by DBL Investors and Nano Dimension.

   Soladigm makes electrochromics glass that automatically adjusts tint, which can reduce visual glare and cut cooling and heating costs for commercial buildings. The company was among several winners announced last month in the Ecoimagination challenge, a GE and venture capital-backed contest for clean energy startups.

   Soladigm says that, with the new cash, it’s ready to go into high-volume commercial production via its $130 million factory in Olive Branch, Miss., for which the company received a $40 million loan from the state, as well as $4 million in project improvement incentives.

   As we’ve previously noted, smart glass is something of a mini-trend within the overall wave of interest in greening commercial buildings. Top construction materials and glass company Saint-Gobain is also betting on the appeal of smart glass. Earlier this month, that company invested $80 million in smart glass-maker Sage Electrochromics, which has won a $72 million conditional loan guarantee from the government and is planning to build a plant in Minnesota.

   The latest Soladigm round was led by DBL Investors and Nano Dimension, and included investment from GE, Khosla Ventures and Sigma Partners.