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How to Enable a Manufacturing Renaissance
@ a16z
05/01/25
Takeaways
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Ian Cinnamon
05/01/25
@ a16z
I'm Ian Cinnamon, CEO and co-founder of Apex, and we're ensuring that the US and the West win the new space race by building the core platform for satellites, known as the satellite bus, to rapidly produce spacecraft at our facility in Los Angeles.
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Ian Cinnamon
05/01/25
@ a16z
China is far surpassing the US and our allies in spacecraft production, with plans to launch over 13,000 government satellites in the coming years, while the US government launched barely over 200 last year.
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Ian Cinnamon
05/01/25
@ a16z
At Apex, we're fortunate to have dozens of satellites ordered by customers and our largest shareholder is Andre Horwitz.
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Chris Power
05/01/25
@ a16z
I'm Chris Power, CEO and founder of Hadrian, and we build automated factories for the aerospace and defense industry, serving major companies like SpaceX and Andril, as well as startups aiming to scale quickly.
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Chris Power
05/01/25
@ a16z
Most skilled labor in the defense industrial base is aging, with an average age of 62, which poses a challenge for manufacturing components for critical defense hardware.
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Chris Power
05/01/25
@ a16z
To compete with China in global manufacturing, we need to leverage software, AI, and robotics to empower American workers and enable faster, cheaper production.
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Chris Power
05/01/25
@ a16z
We chose Los Angeles for its unique combination of aerospace talent and the need to integrate engineering with manufacturing, allowing us to build high-quality products efficiently.
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Ian Cinnamon
05/01/25
@ a16z
At Apex, we wanted to combine traditional engineering and manufacturing with new space companies, and Los Angeles is the only place that offers all three elements we need.
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a16z Cast
05/01/25
@ a16z
The current administration has improved the process for building and launching facilities, but we still face significant delays in obtaining permits and energy connections in California.
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Ian Cinnamon
05/01/25
@ a16z
We are expanding our manufacturing capabilities in Los Angeles while also looking to other states and allied nations, as we believe there will always be challenges regardless of location.
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a16z Cast
05/01/25
@ a16z
Regulatory uncertainty is a major issue for us, as investing in facilities without guaranteed permits can slow down operations significantly.
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a16z Cast
05/01/25
@ a16z
In the past three years, there's been a significant shift in the perception of manufacturing and national security, with more young talent wanting to work in this sector rather than at traditional tech companies.
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Ian Cinnamon
05/01/25
@ a16z
Ten years ago, I started a company focused on AI and computer vision for national security, and we faced daily protests against working with the government.
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Ian Cinnamon
05/01/25
@ a16z
The hardest part about building a satellite is having the necessary parts to construct it; without them, it's not happening.
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Ian Cinnamon
05/01/25
@ a16z
Software is often undervalued in hardware systems; the leading cause of anomalies in space is software, not hardware.
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Chris Power
05/01/25
@ a16z
Manufacturing is a challenging game where you constantly face unexpected issues, and it's crucial to scale operations quickly to meet customer demand.
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Chris Power
05/01/25
@ a16z
To succeed in manufacturing, you need to grow at a billion-dollar scale, which requires rapid growth and effective workforce development.
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a16z Cast
05/01/25
@ a16z
Policies should encourage onshoring manufacturing to rebuild the industrial base, which has been eroded since the 1970s.
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a16z Cast
05/01/25
@ a16z
It's essential to make manufacturing appealing again to attract a younger workforce, as many believe a college degree is the only path to success.
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Ian Cinnamon
05/01/25
@ a16z
We need to ensure that the US industrial base is competitive globally, so our allies choose to buy from us instead of adversaries.
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Ian Cinnamon
05/01/25
@ a16z
Export licenses for aerospace need to be expedited to prevent other countries from easily taking business away from the US.