Industrial Vanguard Vol. 36

Introduction

Reporting in after a packed week at ACG’s Great Lakes Capital Connection: the takeaway was loud and clear that private equity needs to take Industrial Tech more seriously. The next decade of returns will be built where atoms meet AI: rare-earth and magnet supply chains getting de-risked, fusion and advanced nuclear moving from science to finance, photonics and quantum creeping into the data center stack, and automation reshaping factories and freight. This week reflects that shift: strategic offtakes in critical minerals, blockbuster fusion funding, grid/dev-tools for clean energy build-out, scaled bets on integrated photonics, and steady capital flowing to autonomy and industrial AI—amid policy/tariff crosswinds that demand operator discipline.

Materials

• ReElement x Principal Minerals will stand up U.S. rare-earth separation and metal production, tightening a domestic link long dominated by China. Read More

• Critical Metals (CRML) secures a 10-year TANBREEZ offtake with DoD-funded Ucore, signaling durable feedstock for non-Chinese magnet supply. Read More

• Tariffs on deck: latest threats target China magnets and digital services taxes, with pass-through risk for autos and electronics. Read More

Energy

• Commonwealth Fusion Systems raises $863M (Series B2)—massive runway for SPARC builds and supply-chain maturation. Read More

• Fermi America announces three partnerships, stitching more of the advanced-nuclear ecosystem together. Read More

• Natron Energy to shut down despite a $1.4B NC project—sobering reminder of commercialization risk in novel storage. Read More

• Euclid Power lands $20M (Series A) to streamline dev, interconnection, and asset ops for renewables. Read More • Read More

• Offgrid Energy Labs raises $15M to push alternative chemistries from lab to grid edge. Read More

Design & Development

• OpenLight raises $34M (Series A) to scale integrated photonics for AI data centers (less power, more bandwidth). Read More • Read More

• Phasecraft raises $34M to move quantum from theory to applied algorithms. Read More

• TracXon raises €4.75M to scale printed electronics, challenging classical PCB economics. Read More

• Quantinuum raises at a $10B valuation (with Nvidia), underscoring quantum’s commercialization arc. Read More

• IQM secures $300M+ (Series B) for European quantum hardware expansion. Read More

• Anthropic raises $13B (Series F) at $183B post-money, fueling agentic AI R&D that will permeate industrial workflows. Read More

Manufacturing

• Hyundai boosts U.S. investment to $26B through 2028 across vehicles, robotics, and steel—an end-to-end industrial footprint. Read More

• Industrial systems engineering + AI: domain-specific approaches are outpacing generic tooling. Read More

• HappyRobot raises $44M (Series B) to scale flexible automation and AMR fleets. Read More

Supply Chain & Logistics

• Robomart RM-5: a curbside autonomous mini-store—blurring delivery, retail, and inventory placement. Read More

• Nauta raises $7M (seed) to drive AI-enabled savings in global logistics/procurement. Read More

• Augment raises $85M (Series A) for AI supply-chain orchestration at enterprise scale. Read More

• FERNRIDE adds €18M to expand autonomous yard operations into defense logistics. Read More

• BETA Technologies gets $300M from GE Aerospace toward hybrid-electric flight. Read More

Recycling

• Nuclear waste recycling sentiment brightens—fresh pathways could make advanced fuel cycles viable sooner. Read More

Venture Capital & Private Equity

• ACA Angel Funders Report 2025: angels remained durable early-stage capital through headwinds. Read More

• Emerald Technology Ventures marks 25 years—a masterclass in patient climate/industrial investing. Read More

• SVB H2’25 State of the Markets: macro cool-down, but infrastructure, energy, automation remain investable. Read More

• Yale’s PE model gets tougher to replicate—edge tilts toward specialist operators and hands-on value creation. Read More

Markets, Policy, & News

• Ford secures a $3B loan to buffer tariff uncertainty and sustain capex. Read More

• GM targets pricing & cost discipline to absorb a $1.1B tariff impact. Read More

Thanks for reading Industrial Vanguard. If this roundup helped, please forward it to a friend or colleague. We track the frontier of industrial tech so operators and investors can move first.