Industrial Vanguard Vol. 28

Introduction

"Every time someone gets close to mining lithium, the Chinese come running with a cheque book." — John Meyer, SP Angel, via Financial Times

This week underscores the high-stakes global competition for critical minerals, as the U.S. continues its push to localize rare earth and battery material production. In a notable move, the U.S. Department of Defense announced a multibillion-dollar partnership with MP Materials — a bold attempt to secure domestic supply chains and challenge China’s dominance in the rare earth market. Meanwhile, deep tech continues to pull record capital across energy, AI, robotics, and quantum.

Materials

• Lithium Startup Raises for On-Site Processing: Technology that turns lithium into battery-grade material. Read more

• Rare Earths for Dummies: A simplified guide to understanding REEs. Read more

• Terra CO2 Raises $124M: To reduce emissions in concrete production. Read more

• Ionic Mineral Technologies Raises $29M: Focused on next-gen anode materials. Read more

• DoD Invests in MP Materials: U.S. government to take equity stake in rare earth producer. Read more

• Massive Rare Earth Deposit Confirmed in Wyoming: A strategic boost for U.S. reserves. Read more

Energy

• Crosstown Raises $3M: To localize and decarbonize Europe’s energy grid. Read more

• Kraken Tech Arm Spins Out at £10B Valuation: Octopus Energy demerges its software platform. Read more

• Tulum Energy Raises $27M: Revives a forgotten hydrogen technology. Read more

• Google & McKinsey Buy Carbon Credits: $41M from Louisiana’s carbon removal pilot. Read more

• Unblock Raises Funding for South American Clean Energy: Led by Goldcrest and Collaborative. Read more

• Virtual Power Plants Explained: How VPPs bolster the grid. Read more

• Helical Fusion Raises $15M: Nuclear tech startup tackles fusion hardware. Read more

Design & Development

• PhysicsX Raises $135M: AI-powered design tools for physical systems. Read more

• Arago Raises $26M: Photonic chip startup reduces AI energy draw. Read more

• Groq Eyes $6B Valuation: Nvidia challenger gains traction. Read more

• QuiX Quantum Raises $17M+: Photonic quantum computing startup scales up. Read more

Manufacturing

• MIT Launches New Program for U.S. Manufacturing: Hopes to reverse decades of decline. Read more

• Parter Raises $5.5M: Hardware manufacturing startup builds smarter supply intelligence. Read more

• Filics Raises €13.5M: Robotics platform targets intralogistics. Read more

• Augmentus Funding Round: Simplifying robotic programming. Read more

• RealSense Spins Out from Intel with $50M: Vision systems for biometrics and robotics. Read more

Supply Chain & Logistics

• Honda Launches Urban Delivery Biz: Quadricycle-based cargo system enters U.S. market. Read more

Recycling

• ReElement Debuts Tolling Service: Urban mining rare earths at >99.5% purity. Read more

Venture Capital & Private Equity

• Corporate Secondaries Trend Up: Older startup stakes sold to fund new AI bets. Read more

• Guide to Chicago’s Startup Scene: Key investors and sectors to watch. Read more

• Michigan's Future Unicorns: Crain’s lists the top contenders. Read more

• New NVCA Board Members Announced: 8 new leaders join the U.S. VC trade group. Read more

Markets, Policy & News

• China EV Shakeout: Only 15 brands will survive the next decade. Read more

• Nvidia Joins $4T Club: Milestone moment for AI-driven public markets. Read more

Thanks for reading Industrial Vanguard. We track the technologies and capital shaping the future of industrial systems — across materials, energy, manufacturing, supply chains, design, and recycling.

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