Latest news with #ChrisPower
Business Insider
5 days ago
- Business
- Business Insider
I went to the 'save America' conference in Detroit, where patriotic founders vied for VC dollars
At a still-under-construction tower in downtown Detroit, venture capitalists and founders from both coasts gathered for the second annual Reindustrialize Summit. The site was a fitting, if unintentional, metaphor for the conference's central theme: how startups and venture capitalists can spur an American industrial renaissance. The conference speakers, who were mostly company builders and their investors, boldly shared the event's mission: "Welcome to year two of the save America conference," Chris Power, CEO of automated factory startup Hadrian, said in his opening speech. "We're about to go into a generational grudge match with the Chinese Communist Party." Reviving the country's manufacturing and defense base has become an ascendant obsession in Silicon Valley, fueled in part by Trump 2.0's assertions about tariffs energizing American manufacturing and a proposed $1 trillion defense budget for fiscal year 2026. (The House passed an $832 billion defense funding bill for the same year early Friday.) Y Combinator, a program that invests in and provides mentorship for early-stage startups, collaborated with the June event in requesting applications from founders who hope to modernize manufacturing. According to PitchBook, defense tech investments soared to $1.4 billion in the first quarter of 2025, compared with $200 million in the same period last year. A handful of companies announced news at the two-day event in what seemed like a competition for venture eyeballs. Anduril founder Palmer Luckey hinted at the possibility of the company producing American-made computers. Hadrian announced its $260 million Series C financing led by Founders Fund and Lux Capital, and a factory expansion loan facility arranged by Morgan Stanley. Chariot Defense, a startup that makes energy infrastructure for the military, launched at Reindustrialize, publicizing a seed funding round led by General Catalyst and XYZ Venture Capital. Regent said that it will start making its seaglider vessels for defense applications. It became yet another company targeting dual-use strategies. And California Forever, the group behind a new city a stone's throw away from San Francisco, announced on Thursday plans to build a manufacturing park. Please help BI improve our Business, Tech, and Innovation coverage by sharing a bit about your role — it will help us tailor content that matters most to people like you. What is your job title? (1 of 2) Entry level position Project manager Management Senior management Executive management Student Self-employed Retired Other Continue By providing this information, you agree that Business Insider may use this data to improve your site experience and for targeted advertising. By continuing you agree that you accept the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . 'The art of the possible' Growing geopolitical tensions with China, which has a strong manufacturing base and a modernizing military, undergirded Secretary of the Navy John Phelan's address about the importance of skilled laborers in the industrial race against American adversaries. "We've spent the last 10 years teaching people how to code," he said in a speech on Wednesday. "We're going to spend the next 10 years teaching people how to use their hands." Selling venture capitalists with deep pockets on the image of a pro-industrialization America seemed as important as the mission itself. Whitney Houston's 1991 Super Bowl performance of the national anthem blasted over speakers to a packed auditorium before Phelan's speech. The conference's imagery blended old and new Americana: a waitress confronted with a buzzing drone, a worker riding an electric scooter, and Wyoming's cowboys under the shadow of the Grand Tetons and a fighter jet. "The people that founded this country and the people that pushed out into the frontier are really inspiring to a lot of the folks who are attending," Mike Slaugh, a Reindustrialize cofounder and producer, told Business Insider. "They see the art of the possible." Slagh worked on Reindustrialize's branding with Warpcraft, a design firm for hardware and frontier tech startups. He said the creative team generated and edited the images using artificial intelligence. Americana Swagger Attendees' outfits spoke volumes, too. They sported event-provided nametags affixed to American flag-printed lanyards and picked up tie-dye merch on their way out. Some strutted the halls wearing "Make American Nuclear Great Again" caps, a riff on Trump's MAGA trucker hat. Others opted for headgear that promoted their portfolio companies. Swag aside, Gregory Bernstein, a Reindustrialize cofounder and CEO of investment firm New Industrial Corporation, told BI that the mission captivated many: "It's like an actual movement," he said. "The people who come are here because they legitimately want to solve this problem. It's not an ego thing." But not everyone bought in. Protesters from a group called Engineers Against Apartheid, according to a flyer obtained by BI and distributed by the demonstrators, gathered outside the conference venue and in front of a nearby Gucci store to protest the event and defense companies like Palantir Technologies. Palantir CTO Shyam Sankar said at the conference on Thursday, "Our greatest threat isn't China. It's ourselves."
Bloomberg
5 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Hadrian Raises $260 Million on ‘Factories As a Service'
Defense tech startup Hadrian has raised a $260 million Series C funding round led by Founders Fund. Hadrian CEO Chris Power joins Ed Ludlow on 'Bloomberg Tech' to discuss how the company's tech addresses a manufacturing skills shortage in the US. (Source: Bloomberg)
CNBC
6 days ago
- Business
- CNBC
Defense manufacturing startup Hadrian closes $260 million funding round led by Peter Thiel's Founders Fund
Defense manufacturing startup Hadrian on Thursday announced the closing of $260 million Series C funding round led by Peter Thiel's Founders Fund and Lux Capital. The machine parts company said it will use the funding to build a new 270,000 square foot factory in Mesa, Arizona, and expand its Torrance, California, location as it looks to beef up its shipbuilding and naval defense capabilities. "What we really need in this country is this quantum leap above China's manufacturing model," said CEO Chris Power in an interview with CNBC's Morgan Brennan. "It's about supercharging the worker versus replacing them." Defense tech startups like Hadrian are disrupting the mainstay defense contracting industry, which is led by leaders such as Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin, and battling it out to boost U.S. defense production while scooping up Department of Defense contracts. Hadrian said the Arizona space will be four times the size of its California facility and start operations by Christmas. The factory will create 350 local jobs. The Hawthrone, California-based company said it is working on four to five new facilities to support production over the next year to support Department of Defense needs. Hadrian said it uses robotics and artificial intelligence to automate factories that can "supercharge American workers." Power said demand is rapidly growing, but the lack of U.S.-based talent is a major hurdle to building American dominance in shipbuilding and submarines. Using its tools, the company said it can train workers within 30 days, making them 10 times more productive. Its workforce includes ex-marines and former nurses who have never set foot in a factory. "We have to do a lot more ... but certainly we're able to keep up with the scale right now, and grateful to our team and customers for letting us go and do that," he said. "As a country, we have to treat this like a national security crisis, not just the economics of manufacturing." The fresh raise also includes investments from Andreessen Horowitz and new stakeholders such as Brad Gerstner's Altimeter Capital. The company closed a $92 million funding round in late 2023.
CNBC
6 days ago
- Business
- CNBC
Startup Hadrian raises $260 million to expand its AI-powered factories to meet soaring demand
Morgan Brennan sits down with Hadrian founder and CEO Chris Power to discuss the startup's $260 million Series C round led by Founders Fund and Lux, as well as a factory expansion line led by Morgan Stanley. Morgan and Chris explore how Hadrian is leveraging AI and automation to modernize U.S. manufacturing, support the defense industrial base, skill workers rapidly, and compete with China's industrial dominance. Amid the focus on reshoring manufacturing and reindustrializing the U.S., Hadrian's revenue grew tenfold last year.
Bloomberg
30-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Hadiran CEO Power Speaks on Re-Shoring High Skill Labor
Hadrian CEO Chris Power speaks at the Reagan National Economic Forum in California on re-industrialization and the re-shoring of high skill labor. He says you "have to automate" due to the lack of high skill laborers, but when automation and AI cannot do the job, a highly productive workforce is important. (Source: Bloomberg)
