New Industry VC Research
Investment Thesis
New Industry VC is a seed-stage venture capital firm focused exclusively on Deep Tech hardware startups at the very beginning. The fund is built on a distinctive dual-pillar investment philosophy that evaluates founders on two essential qualities: Narrative Command and Operational Mastery.
Narrative Command
The firm believes that in new market verticals, success is not predetermined by technology or team alone, but by the company that dominates the discourse in that vertical. Narrative Command—the ability to seize and structure the narrative around a technology or market—is a critical yet undervalued factor in startup success. Examples include Tesla (autonomous vehicles), OpenAI (AI), SpaceX (rockets), Uber (rideshail), and Anduril (defense).
NIVC believes startups should make Narrative Command an explicit goal from day one, deploying strategic communication from seed stage to establish their story as the dominant narrative in their vertical. This is distinct from traditional marketing—it requires conscious, strategic reshaping of how the market understands the entire category.
Operational Mastery
The second pillar is Operational Mastery: the disciplined approach to managing the three core risks in Deep Tech hardware startups—technical, demand, and execution—across four distinct stages: Lab, Pilot, Demonstration, and Commercial. NIVC explicitly rejects founders undisciplined about risk sequencing.
The fund points to Rivian as a masterclass (nine years in stealth, deliberate stage progression) and Fisker as a cautionary tale of its absence. Most Deep Tech hardware startups fail not from bad technology but from leadership being overwhelmed by organizational complexity and making stage-inappropriate decisions.
Stage Focus
New Industry VC focuses exclusively on very early-stage Deep Tech hardware:
- Pre-seed and Seed stage
- Lab or early Pilot stage companies
- Founder stage, before Series A
Check Size
Based on their first investment (Extellis, $6.8M seed round), NIVC participates in seed rounds in the $1M-$10M range, with typical check sizes likely $250K-$2M.
Lead Tendency
NIVC typically participates as co-investor rather than leads. Their first investment in Extellis was led by Oval Park Capital, with NIVC as participant.
Recent Activity
NIVC is newly launched:
- Fund 1, Investment 1 (F101): Extellis (November 12, 2025)
- Round: Seed ($6.8M), Led by Oval Park Capital
- Technology: Metasurface technology for reliable, all-weather satellite imagery
- Built on decade of Duke University research + $2.3M DARPA grant
- Founder: Michael Boyarsky with Prof. David Smith (Duke)
Portfolio Highlights
Extellis: Patented metasurface technology enabling weather-independent satellite imagery. Demonstrates NIVC thesis in action: novel hardware tech (10+ years R&D), DARPA-backed credibility, clear path through hardware scaling stages from Lab (Duke research) to Commercial (industrial production).
Team
Patrick Hunt, General Partner
- Former Rivian employee #15, instrumental in $100B exit
- Aerospace engineer with hardware experience on military cargo planes and Mars missions
- Location: Evanston, IL
- Expertise: Operational excellence, hardware scaling, manufacturing complexity
- Contact: patrick@nivc.us | LinkedIn: patrickjhunt
Alex Roy, Partner
- Technical entrepreneur and writer on autonomous vehicles, hardware, technical narrative
- Published extensively on Tesla FSD, autonomous systems, and hardware limitations
- Expertise: Technical narrative strategy, autonomous vehicle market, hardware constraints
- Contact: alex@nivc.us | LinkedIn: alexroy | X: @AlexRoy144
Investment Philosophy
NIVC invests in Deep Tech hardware founders who understand that winning in new markets requires both technical excellence AND reshaping how the world understands the category. The firm provides capital and operational guidance to help founders navigate four hardware scaling stages while building unassailable narrative dominance.
Thematic match to Sapphire Ventures and Lowercarbon Capital, but with explicit emphasis on founder narrative capability as predictor of success.
Decision Process
Partnership-based. Decisions require alignment between Patrick (operational expertise) and Alex (narrative/technical expertise). Likely 2-4 week decision timeline with technical due diligence on hardware involved.
Founder Preferences
NIVC seeks founders with:
- Technical depth in hardware domains (aerospace, manufacturing, defense, autonomous systems)
- Narrative capability to articulate market vision and why solution is foundational
- Operational discipline and staged thinking across Lab, Pilot, Demonstration, Commercial
- Vision of novel market opportunities
- Commitment to Narrative Command as explicit goal from day one
- Willingness to build in stages rather than rush to market
Geographic Focus
US-focused (team in Chicago, Patrick from Rivian/Midwest). Likely secondary interest in defense and aerospace markets.
Warm Introductions
Likely required. Prefer introductions from technical advisors, hardware domain experts, or prior Rivian/autonomous vehicle networks.