Manufacturing and industrial technology have entered a new phase for venture capital, according to Vaughn Crowe, co-founder of NVP Capital, as supply-chain disruption, geopolitical tensions and artificial intelligence draw investors towards the physical economy.
Crowe, who grew up in Newark, New Jersey, has invested in industrial businesses since NVP was established in 2020. The firm has backed companies spanning rare-earth materials, robotics, energy, logistics and manufacturing software.
He said the investment case became clearer during the Covid-19 pandemic, when shortages and delays exposed the fragility of global supply chains.
“COVID put a spotlight on supply chain, travel, logistics, energy, power,” Crowe said. “Healthcare is mission-critical for our country, but guess what else is? Manufacturing, shipping, and receiving.”
Growing tensions over aerospace and defence have since encouraged governments to support industries considered vital to national security and economic resilience, Crowe said. That shift has helped turn “reindustrialisation” from an investment theme into a developing market opportunity.
Artificial intelligence is accelerating the trend by connecting digital systems with factories, warehouses, vehicles and other physical infrastructure.
“We’re at the intersection of where AI meets the physical world, and it’s impacting everything, including space, robotics, and manufacturing,” Crowe said. “We’re at the precipice of something truly revolutionary in the physical world.”
Manufacturing and industrial technology attract venture capital
NVP’s portfolio includes Vulcan Elements, Reaxiomatic, Laborup, Outlast Power, Human Archive, Haptica Robotics, Class8, Optimal Dynamics and Upwell. Crowe said the firm expected successful investments to reach the market through a mixture of acquisitions, public listings and consolidation among established manufacturers.
“There are multiple ways to create venture-like returns in this space,” he said.
Vulcan Elements illustrates the scale of the opportunity. The rare-earth magnet manufacturer, which was backed by NVP at an early stage, announced a $65 million Series A in August 2025 and subsequently entered a $1.4 billion partnership with the US government and ReElement Technologies.
Under that partnership, Vulcan plans to develop a 10,000-tonne annual magnet-production facility in the United States. The project is being supported by a $620 million federal loan, $50 million in incentives under the Chips and Science Act and $550 million in private capital. ([vulcanelements.com](https://vulcanelements.com/vulcan-elements-forges-1-4-billion/?utm_source=openai))
NVP closed its second fund at $80 million in 2025, placing the firm in an increasingly competitive part of the venture market. Crowe said its experience of industrial communities gave it an advantage when assessing companies operating beyond traditional software and consumer technology.
“Our firm today is in New York and San Francisco, but my experience of seeing all this live, this unique moment in time, and layering on some of my experiences growing up in an old industrial city, we know enough to be dangerous,” he said. “We can speak the language.”
