China controls 90% of rare earth magnet production. Durham startup Vulcan Elements just raised $65M to change that.

Series A led by Altimeter Capital to scale domestic magnet manufacturing. Founded in 2023, already producing at 21K sq ft facility with DOD contracts across all military branches.

Target: Several hundred metric tonnes annually by 2027, thousands by 2030. 100% decoupled from Chinese supply chain.

Why it matters: These magnets power EVs, defense systems, semiconductors. When 90% comes from one country, that's not supply chain diversification — that's a single point of failure.

Takeaway: Critical infrastructure + geopolitical risk = massive market opportunity.

#startups #supplychain

Brewed by Startup Beaker.