WattGlass Secures Investment Funding From Venture Capital Firm

Corey Thompson, founder and CEO of WattGlass.
University Relations

Corey Thompson, founder and CEO of WattGlass.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – WattGlass, an Arkansas-based startup, has secured Series A investment funding from DSM Venturing to commercialize WattGlass's anti-reflective, anti-soiling coating for solar panels.

WattGlass was a winner of the 2016 SunRISE TechBridge Challenge, a competition organized by Royal DSM, Fraunhofer, and Greentown Labs, to realize innovations in solar energy. The six-month immersive SunRISE program furthered a relationship between WattGlass and DSM Venturing that resulted in the Series A investment.

Series A funding is the first round of investment that a startup receives from a venture capital firm in exchange for shares of stock in the company.

"DSM is a leader in our market and has extensive experience developing and commercializing material-based solutions for high-tech markets," said Corey Thompson, CEO of WattGlass. "This funding provides us the resources needed to commercialize the research we are conducting with grants from the National Science Foundation and Department of Energy to bring our novel product to customers."

WattGlass was founded in 2014 by four Arkansas-based entrepreneurs to commercialize technology developed by Thompson during his doctoral research under Min Zou, a professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Arkansas and holder of a 21st Century Professorship. The technology allows WattGlass to deposit a high performance antireflective coating using water-based chemistry that is cheaper than current alternatives, while also providing a self-cleaning and anti-fog surface that has applications in solar and other markets.

Contacts

Corey Thompson, chief executive officer
WattGlass
479-263-0966, corey@wattglass.com

Matt McGowan, science and research communications officer
University Relations
479-575-4246, dmcgowa@uark.edu

Headlines

The World as a Classroom: The Executive M.B.A. Program at U of A

The program, offered through the Sam M. Walton College of Business, blends online learning with face-to-face interaction and applied studies in a real-time international immersion trip.

Keri Blakinger, Author of 'Corrections in Ink,' to Speak at Fayetteville Public Library April 22

Blakinger, an award-winning journalist now at the Los Angeles Times, will talk about her memoir and her work as a reporter at 6 p.m. April 22 at the Fayetteville Public Library's Walker Community Room.

Visit With University Libraries and Pat Walker Health Center's Medical Services at Carnival Today

Employees are invited to meet fellow workers from units across campus including the University Libraries and the Pat Walker Health Center at today's Making Your Day Work Carnival at the Arkansas Union.

Farewell Reception April 3 for Fulbright College's Lisa Summerford

The campus community is invited to celebrate Summerford's achievements and to wish her well during a drop-in retirement reception from 3:30-5 p.m. Wednesday, April 3, in the Fulbright College Dean's Office in Old Main 523.

Rachel McGathy Retiring After 25 Years

There will be a reception to celebrate McGathy's retirement from 2:30-4:30 p.m. Friday, March 29, in the downstairs breakroom at Uptown East.

News Daily