For two decades, innovation was dominated by software—where mistakes could be fixed with code rollbacks and the “move fast and break things” mentality was law. But the future belongs to industrial startups building physical processes to address problems like resource scarcity, energy use, and climate change. In this world of atoms, not bits, a single mistake can carry a six-figure cost and result in a months-long delay. You can’t “roll back” a damaged pilot plant.

This is where traditional Silicon Valley thinking breaks down, and where traditional engineering firms move too slowly. You need partners who understand both the urgency of startup life and the unforgiving realities of process engineering.