2025-05-26
Investing in the Future of Vision — Gauzy
In the fast-evolving world of deep tech and industrial innovation, few companies manage to not only predict the next shift — but to build it. Gauzy Ltd. is one of those rare players. Headquartered in Tel Aviv with production hubs in Israel, France, Germany, and the U.S., Gauzy has become a global leader in vision and light control technologies, pioneering solutions that are already reshaping the automotive, aerospace, architecture, and smart mobility sectors.
What sets Gauzy apart is its mastery of LCG® (Light Control Glass) technologies, particularly PDLC (Polymer Dispersed Liquid Crystal) and SPD (Suspended Particle Device) smart glass. These cutting-edge materials allow windows and displays to dynamically shift from transparent to opaque — offering privacy, glare protection, and energy efficiency at the touch of a button. In parallel, Gauzy has developed a robust ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) and CMS (Camera Monitoring System) portfolio, leveraging computer vision and AI to make public transport and logistics safer and smarter.
Today, Gauzy’s products are embedded in everything from BMW and Audi vehicles to Air France business class cabins, Ferrari windshields, and smart bus fleets in London. With over 146 granted patents, distribution across 60+ countries, and a customer base exceeding 1,300 global clients, this is a company that doesn’t just follow trends — it defines them.
Why Growth-Stage Tech Investing Matters
Investing in high-growth technology companies like Gauzy is not just about chasing returns — it’s about participating in the architecture of tomorrow. At Dellecod Assets Limited, we believe that early-stage investments in breakthrough hardware and software platforms are the true engines of long-term value. These companies often face skepticism early on. Their business models are still forming, their margins are narrow, and the risk is real. But when the vision is clear and the tech is sound, the rewards are exponential.
This is precisely what drew me, together with our Head of R&D Maxim Prikhodko and Head of Asset Management Alexander Prokhorov, to Gauzy back in 2020. Based in Cyprus, Maxim and Alexander brought in their deep technical and portfolio analysis to de-risk the decision. We didn’t just see a materials science startup — we saw a scalable platform with global relevance, diverse industrial verticals, and a first-mover advantage in a $44 billion addressable market.
The Core Thesis: Strategic Investing in Practice
This case study isn't just about one company — it’s about how to make smart investment decisions in high-risk, high-reward environments. Gauzy offers a textbook example of what to look for:
- Proprietary technology with defensible IP
- Rapidly expanding customer base and recurring revenues
- Strong macro trends in energy efficiency, urban mobility, and autonomous transport
- Strategic backing from top-tier investors like Hyundai Ventures, Rothschild, and Avery Dennison
- Global supply chain integration and a clear roadmap to IPO
In this article, we’ll explore how we identified Gauzy, why we backed them before their IPO, what happened after they went public, and where we believe this company is headed next.
Because when you invest not just in a company, but in a vision, you’re not chasing the future — you’re helping build it.
The Investment Decision: Through the Fog, A Vision
In early 2020, the world was still grappling with the aftermath of COVID-19, and venture capital was entering a cautious winter. Liquidity was scarce, sentiment was shaky, and most investors clung to the familiar. But at Dellecod Assets Limited, we weren’t interested in sheltering from the storm. We were looking for the next outlier — a company building physical technology with the potential to change how people live, drive, work, and travel.
That company was Gauzy.
When Dellecod Assets evaluated the company, our internal projection was that if even one vertical — say, aviation — took off, the company’s value would increase 5-7x. If two did, it would be 10x.
That company was Gauzy.
When Dellecod Assets evaluated the company, our internal projection was that if even one vertical — say, aviation — took off, the company’s value would increase 5-7x. If two did, it would be 10x.
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Early-Stage Signals: What We Saw in Gauzy
At the time of our initial review, Gauzy was a relatively unknown materials science startup based in Tel Aviv. But our analysis revealed something exceptional. This was no speculative deep-tech bet. It was a focused, R&D-intensive business sitting on top of a goldmine of industrial applications.
Here’s what stood out in 2020:
Here’s what stood out in 2020:
- Gauzy had proven commercial deployments in luxury automotive (BMW, Rolls-Royce) and architecture projects worldwide.
- Its flagship technologies — PDLC and SPD smart glass — were patented and production-ready, offering dynamic light control, energy efficiency, and safety benefits.
- The company had already scaled manufacturing across Israel, Germany, and the United States, demonstrating rare hardware execution capabilities.
- With annual revenue under $1M at the time, Gauzy was still early — but revenue was real and growing fast.
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Anatomy of the Round: Who Backed Gauzy
We weren’t alone in seeing the potential. The company’s cap table was already attracting some of the smartest strategic and financial investors in the world:
For us at Dellecod Assets, this investor roster added a strong layer of conviction. These weren’t momentum chasers. These were global players with long time horizons and access to insider technical due diligence.
- Hyundai Ventures — a powerful signal that major OEMs saw long-term automotive integration
- Avery Dennison — a global leader in functional materials and film solutions, validating the industrial scalability of Gauzy’s offering
- Rothschild Investment Trust — providing institutional weight and IPO-prep experience
- Ibex Investors and Olive Tree Ventures — long-term backers with deep roots in Israeli innovation
- Waarde Capital, holding a 6.47% stake, was the third-largest non-founder shareholder
For us at Dellecod Assets, this investor roster added a strong layer of conviction. These weren’t momentum chasers. These were global players with long time horizons and access to insider technical due diligence.
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Our Internal Thesis
Together with Maxim Prikhodko and Alexander Prokhorov, we framed Gauzy not as a niche smart glass vendor, but as a platform play in vision and light control. Our investment memo modeled three scenarios:
We also saw clear M&A potential. Gauzy’s intellectual property and specialized factories made it an attractive target for conglomerates in mobility, glass, or defense tech.
- Base case: adoption in aerospace and construction drives 5x return over 5 years
- Upside case: automotive and public transport integration deliver 10x return
- Outlier case: Gauzy becomes an infrastructure layer for ADAS and autonomous vehicles
We also saw clear M&A potential. Gauzy’s intellectual property and specialized factories made it an attractive target for conglomerates in mobility, glass, or defense tech.
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Investor Expectations: The Long Game
In 2020, most early investors — ourselves included — were not expecting a quick exit. We anticipated a long technology adoption cycle, with exponential returns arriving in years 4 to 7. Gauzy’s team was focused on doing the hard things: building factories, certifying products, integrating into OEM supply chains.
What we didn’t expect was how quickly they would grow.
By late 2022, Gauzy had acquired Vision Group (France) and was moving to buy Showa Denko’s SPD unit in Japan. Revenue had jumped from under $1M to over $50M, with client contracts from Ferrari, Air France, Fly Dubai, and Audi. The company was already preparing for a Nasdaq IPO, with Bank of America and Deutsche Bank engaged as lead underwriters.
That early conviction, forged in the uncertainty of 2020, was about to be tested — in public markets.
But before that, Gauzy had one more chapter to write: proving it could transition from a niche tech innovator to a global industrial leader.
Stay with us as we walk through that transformation in the next section.
What we didn’t expect was how quickly they would grow.
By late 2022, Gauzy had acquired Vision Group (France) and was moving to buy Showa Denko’s SPD unit in Japan. Revenue had jumped from under $1M to over $50M, with client contracts from Ferrari, Air France, Fly Dubai, and Audi. The company was already preparing for a Nasdaq IPO, with Bank of America and Deutsche Bank engaged as lead underwriters.
That early conviction, forged in the uncertainty of 2020, was about to be tested — in public markets.
But before that, Gauzy had one more chapter to write: proving it could transition from a niche tech innovator to a global industrial leader.
Stay with us as we walk through that transformation in the next section.
From Lab to Listing: Gauzy’s Road to IPO (2020–2024)
At Dellecod Assets, our Cyprus-based leadership — Maxim and Alexander — doubled down. This was no longer an experiment. It was a long-term strategic hold.
What we didn’t yet know — even with our optimistic models — was how quickly the company would scale and how boldly it would execute on its vision. Over the following years, Gauzy moved from emerging innovator to industry leader, laying down a foundation for its eventual public listing on the Nasdaq in June 2024.
What we didn’t yet know — even with our optimistic models — was how quickly the company would scale and how boldly it would execute on its vision. Over the following years, Gauzy moved from emerging innovator to industry leader, laying down a foundation for its eventual public listing on the Nasdaq in June 2024.
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Revenue Growth and Production Scale-Up
Between 2020 and 2023, Gauzy’s revenue trajectory defied gravity. From under $1 million in 2020, the company scaled up to an estimated $54 million in 2022, reflecting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) north of 250%.
But the more impressive story was how they achieved it.
Gauzy rapidly expanded its production footprint across Israel, Germany, France, and the U.S., adding new factories and doubling down on in-house manufacturing of smart films. In an industry dominated by outsourced supply chains, this move gave Gauzy a rare level of vertical control — critical for quality, IP protection, and scale.
By 2023, the company had over 500 employees in 13 countries and was running four production facilities.
But the more impressive story was how they achieved it.
Gauzy rapidly expanded its production footprint across Israel, Germany, France, and the U.S., adding new factories and doubling down on in-house manufacturing of smart films. In an industry dominated by outsourced supply chains, this move gave Gauzy a rare level of vertical control — critical for quality, IP protection, and scale.
By 2023, the company had over 500 employees in 13 countries and was running four production facilities.
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Strategic Acquisitions: Consolidating the Market
Another key lever in Gauzy’s growth playbook was strategic M&A.
In 2022, Gauzy acquired Vision Group, its largest competitor in the SPD (Suspended Particle Device) smart glass segment. The deal brought not only customers and patents but also deep engineering talent — the Vision founders joined Gauzy’s C-suite, turbocharging the company’s global sales and product development capabilities.
Shortly afterward, Gauzy moved to acquire the SPD division of Japan’s Showa Denko, one of the last remaining global players in the segment. This bold move would have effectively made Gauzy the de facto global leader in the SPD smart glass space — a position with major strategic leverage as adoption accelerated across transport and real estate verticals.
In 2022, Gauzy acquired Vision Group, its largest competitor in the SPD (Suspended Particle Device) smart glass segment. The deal brought not only customers and patents but also deep engineering talent — the Vision founders joined Gauzy’s C-suite, turbocharging the company’s global sales and product development capabilities.
Shortly afterward, Gauzy moved to acquire the SPD division of Japan’s Showa Denko, one of the last remaining global players in the segment. This bold move would have effectively made Gauzy the de facto global leader in the SPD smart glass space — a position with major strategic leverage as adoption accelerated across transport and real estate verticals.
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Contracts That Made A Difference
During the same period, Gauzy didn’t just build factories and acquire competitors — it won big.
Each of these contracts didn’t just represent short-term revenue. They embedded Gauzy’s technology into the serial production pipelines of global OEMs — a moat that’s nearly impossible to replicate.
- In aerospace, Gauzy became a trusted supplier for Air France and Fly Dubai, delivering smart glass window systems for premium cabins — a segment hungry for both aesthetics and fuel efficiency through weight reduction.
- In automotive, the company’s client list read like a luxury showroom: Ferrari, BMW, Audi, Rolls-Royce, Hyundai, and more.
- In public transport, Gauzy secured a transformative deal with Journeo PLC, enhancing safety for over 8,500 buses in London through its Smart-Vision® ADAS and CMS systems.
Each of these contracts didn’t just represent short-term revenue. They embedded Gauzy’s technology into the serial production pipelines of global OEMs — a moat that’s nearly impossible to replicate.
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The IPO Preparation: Bank of America, Deutsche Bank, and the Long March to Nasdaq
By mid-2022, with a robust backlog, global production, and major clients on board, Gauzy was fully preparing to go public.
Bank of America came onboard as lead manager and global coordinator for the IPO, joined by Deutsche Bank and Cohen IB. Their role wasn’t just to sell shares — it was to validate Gauzy’s story to institutional investors. This meant extensive due diligence, roadshows, and scenario modeling under volatile macroeconomic conditions.
The target valuation range was ambitious but grounded: $580–650 million, based on revenue multiples and industry comps.
Gauzy also had to navigate:
Still, the fundamentals were solid, and Bank of America believed the company could deliver two consecutive quarters of post-IPO price growth if the offering was timed right.
Bank of America came onboard as lead manager and global coordinator for the IPO, joined by Deutsche Bank and Cohen IB. Their role wasn’t just to sell shares — it was to validate Gauzy’s story to institutional investors. This meant extensive due diligence, roadshows, and scenario modeling under volatile macroeconomic conditions.
The target valuation range was ambitious but grounded: $580–650 million, based on revenue multiples and industry comps.
Gauzy also had to navigate:
- A tight cash runway, with only a few months of liquidity at one point in early 2023
- Uncertainty around global recession risk, particularly in the U.S., which made public market timing crucial
- A crowded IPO calendar and liquidity crunches across tech and industrials
Still, the fundamentals were solid, and Bank of America believed the company could deliver two consecutive quarters of post-IPO price growth if the offering was timed right.
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The Final Countdown
By 2024, everything was aligned: Gauzy had the numbers, the contracts, the factories, the patents, and the bankers. The company listed on the Nasdaq under the ticker GAUZ, entering the public markets with a differentiated, hardware-first tech story.
The road wasn’t smooth — few IPOs are in a post-pandemic, interest-rate-sensitive world — but Gauzy had done the impossible: scaled an industrial deep-tech platform across four continents and brought it to Wall Street.
And that was just the beginning.
In the next section, we’ll explore what happened after the IPO — how the market responded, what surprised us, and why, despite short-term pricing volatility, we’re more bullish than ever on Gauzy’s long-term trajectory.
The road wasn’t smooth — few IPOs are in a post-pandemic, interest-rate-sensitive world — but Gauzy had done the impossible: scaled an industrial deep-tech platform across four continents and brought it to Wall Street.
And that was just the beginning.
In the next section, we’ll explore what happened after the IPO — how the market responded, what surprised us, and why, despite short-term pricing volatility, we’re more bullish than ever on Gauzy’s long-term trajectory.
Where Gauzy Stands Today: Scarcity, Strategy, and the Power of Patience
We are now well into 2025, and Gauzy has delivered almost a year of robust operational performance as a public company. The fundamentals are stronger than ever. The financials are growing. The backlog is deep. But if you look solely at the current share price, you might miss the bigger story — and in doing so, miss the entire point of long-term investing.
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Capitalization vs. Expectations: What the Numbers Say
When Gauzy went public in 2024, the expected market cap — based on revenue growth, client contracts, and strategic position — was in the range of $580–$650 million. Fast forward to today, and despite posting record 2024 revenue of $103.5 million and positive adjusted EBITDA, the current capitalization remains below that threshold.
From a traditional valuation perspective, that disconnect makes little sense. Gauzy now boasts:
In almost any other industry — particularly in software — these numbers would justify a valuation 2–3x higher. So what’s the catch?
From a traditional valuation perspective, that disconnect makes little sense. Gauzy now boasts:
- 32.8% annual revenue growth
- A $409 million committed backlog, with over $1 billion in total expected revenue over 10 years
- Expansion across four continents, with over 1,300 active B2B clients
- Tier-1 partnerships with companies like BMW, Air France, Audi, and Hyundai
In almost any other industry — particularly in software — these numbers would justify a valuation 2–3x higher. So what’s the catch?
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Why the Stock is Still Underpriced
The simple truth: low float and low liquidity.
Gauzy remains tightly held. Institutional investors from the early rounds — including Dellecod Assets, Hyundai Ventures, and Rothschild — have kept their positions. Retail interest is growing, but trading volume remains thin. This means that even a small transaction at a discount — say, someone needing liquidity — can drag the quote down by double digits, distorting the real value of the company.
This is a classic case of price ≠ value.
As we often explain to our partners and co-investors: a share sold at $12 does not mean the business is worth $12/share. It means one seller needed out — while dozens of buyers are still offering to enter at $30–35, if only the stock were available.
You can’t measure market demand when there’s no inventory on the shelf.
Gauzy remains tightly held. Institutional investors from the early rounds — including Dellecod Assets, Hyundai Ventures, and Rothschild — have kept their positions. Retail interest is growing, but trading volume remains thin. This means that even a small transaction at a discount — say, someone needing liquidity — can drag the quote down by double digits, distorting the real value of the company.
This is a classic case of price ≠ value.
As we often explain to our partners and co-investors: a share sold at $12 does not mean the business is worth $12/share. It means one seller needed out — while dozens of buyers are still offering to enter at $30–35, if only the stock were available.
You can’t measure market demand when there’s no inventory on the shelf.
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Why You Still Can’t Buy Enough
Ironically, this “problem” of underpriced equity is compounded by scarcity. Despite the dip in market cap, it’s nearly impossible to accumulate a meaningful position in Gauzy today. Shares are tightly held by early backers who — like us — remain confident in the long-term thesis.
This creates what we call a scarcity premium. Investors are holding onto their positions because they expect the true value to emerge not in quarters, but in years.
And they’re not wrong. Gauzy is not a meme stock, not a trade — it’s a long-duration asset positioned at the intersection of multiple multi-billion-dollar markets: smart mobility, aerospace interiors, AI-driven vehicle safety, and energy-efficient construction.
This creates what we call a scarcity premium. Investors are holding onto their positions because they expect the true value to emerge not in quarters, but in years.
And they’re not wrong. Gauzy is not a meme stock, not a trade — it’s a long-duration asset positioned at the intersection of multiple multi-billion-dollar markets: smart mobility, aerospace interiors, AI-driven vehicle safety, and energy-efficient construction.
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What This Case Teaches Investors
The Gauzy story, as we see it, is not just about a company. It’s about investment discipline. Here are the four key takeaways:
1. Pick companies that are building for the next decade, not the next quarter.
Gauzy's value lies in its ability to transform global infrastructure — a slow but massively compounding business.
2. Don’t mistake volatility for weakness.
The stock price has fluctuated. The company hasn’t. Revenue, clients, patents, and product pipelines are all trending in the right direction.
3. Liquidity is not the same as accessibility.
Sometimes, the best companies are the hardest to buy. And when shares are scarce, patient holders are rewarded.
4. Build conviction with data, not headlines.
Gauzy’s numbers speak louder than the Nasdaq charts. Smart investors know how to read both — but trust the numbers more.
1. Pick companies that are building for the next decade, not the next quarter.
Gauzy's value lies in its ability to transform global infrastructure — a slow but massively compounding business.
2. Don’t mistake volatility for weakness.
The stock price has fluctuated. The company hasn’t. Revenue, clients, patents, and product pipelines are all trending in the right direction.
3. Liquidity is not the same as accessibility.
Sometimes, the best companies are the hardest to buy. And when shares are scarce, patient holders are rewarded.
4. Build conviction with data, not headlines.
Gauzy’s numbers speak louder than the Nasdaq charts. Smart investors know how to read both — but trust the numbers more.
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Final Word: The Value of Vision
At Dellecod Assets Limited, our team — myself, Maxim Prikhodko, and Alexander Prokhorov — made a bet on Gauzy not because it was fashionable, but because it was formidable. We weren’t chasing short-term hype. We were backing deep tech with deep conviction.
Today, as the company continues to expand its margins, scale its product offering, and deepen its OEM integrations, we are more confident than ever. We continue to believe Gauzy is worth at least $35 per share, and that its current undervaluation is not a flaw — it’s an opportunity.
To those still watching from the sidelines: don’t confuse silence with inactivity. Some of the loudest gains are made in the quietest markets.
Hold tight. The glass is just beginning to clear.
Today, as the company continues to expand its margins, scale its product offering, and deepen its OEM integrations, we are more confident than ever. We continue to believe Gauzy is worth at least $35 per share, and that its current undervaluation is not a flaw — it’s an opportunity.
To those still watching from the sidelines: don’t confuse silence with inactivity. Some of the loudest gains are made in the quietest markets.
Hold tight. The glass is just beginning to clear.
To keeping the pulse of the innovation going
Tom Ermolaev
FinTech Innovator & AI Trading Specialist