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- Industrial Vanguard Vol. 31
Industrial Vanguard Vol. 31
Week of July 28, 2025
Joe Tenbusch
August 01, 2025
Introduction
This week’s theme: chase milestones, not just money. A thoughtful Tech.eu piece argues that deep‑tech hardware companies win by sequencing technical inflection points (proof‑of‑physics → pilot‑ready product → manufacturable design → certified, repeatable output) and aligning each step with the right capital (non‑dilutive grants, milestone‑based seed/Series A, and project finance at scale). It emphasizes early DFM/DFA, supplier co‑development, paid pilots over POCs, and clear unit‑economics gates before scaling. The takeaway for hard‑tech investors: underwrite verification milestones and supply‑chain readiness as much as the market narrative. Read more
Two quick notes: I’ll be on vacation next week. Look for a short special edition on hard‑tech investing instead of our usual news rundown. And a big thank you to Walsh Ventures for the invite to speak about industrial tech at their NewLab event.
Materials
Mariana Minerals launches to strengthen domestic critical‑minerals supply with an initial focus on responsible development and processing partnerships. Read more
Energy
GeologicAI raises $44M Series B to apply machine learning and robotics to core scanning and subsurface intelligence. Read more
Eight startups at the AI–energy nexus spotlight grid forecasting, demand response, and asset optimization. Read more
Private equity leans into gas‑fired power as data‑center demand rises and firming needs intensify. Read more
1KOMMA5° extends its pre‑IPO round to accelerate distributed energy and electrification platforms. Read more
Wind installations jump—for now amid policy tailwinds and supply‑chain catch‑up. Read more
Who pays for AI’s power tab? Data‑center growth ignites a fight over cost allocation. Read more
Ore Energy connects the first grid‑tied iron‑air battery (Delft), expanding the LDES toolkit. Read more
Can nuclear meet AI’s surge? A look at the milestones needed for a nuclear‑ready AI grid. Read more
Design & Development
Diode Computers raises $11.4M Series A to speed PCB design‑to‑production with a modern toolchain. Read more
Efficient‑AI chip startup secures $51.6M to push new architectures aimed at lower inference cost. Read more
Why the Pritzkers are all‑in on quantum—a look at philanthropic capital meeting nation‑scale moonshots. Read more
Anthropic nears funding at ~$170B valuation as AI enterprise adoption accelerates. Read more
UK quantum computing’s push to universality via scaling breakthroughs and ecosystem investment. Read more
Makersite raises €60M to expand product‑lifecycle intelligence for cost, ESG, and supply‑risk decisions. Read more
Manufacturing
Asylon raises $26M Series B to deploy autonomous “robot guard dogs” for perimeter security and monitoring. Read more
Joby Aviation scales manufacturing in California and Ohio as eVTOL commercialization approaches. Read more
L3Harris expands rocket‑motor capacity in Arkansas to meet defense and space demand. Read more
India surpasses China in U.S. smartphone exports as its electronics manufacturing surges. Read more
Supply Chain & Logistics
Recycling
ReElement, Electrified Materials, and Blackion team up on strategic battery‑recycling collaboration. Read more
Venture Capital & Private Equity
Why traditional VC struggles with deep tech—and how to fix it: longer horizons, milestone‑based tranched checks, and blended capital stacks. Read more
Markets, Policy & News
Fintech/AI financing: Ramp reportedly valued at $22.5B in latest round. Read more
Thanks for reading Industrial Vanguard. We track the tech and capital shaping the future of industry—across materials, energy, manufacturing, supply chains, and recycling.
Found this useful? Forward it to a colleague or friend. See you after the short break with our Hard‑Tech Special Edition.