The Massachusetts-based manufacturing accelerator Re: Build has indicated that it has raised $2.1 billion in funding. The company incubated an electric vehicle startup Slate Auto in 2023.
The company stated on Tuesday that it will use this funds to “expand the capability to manufacture high-tech products with Re : Build and to launch new industrial startups,” thereby “ensuring that the most innovative products can be manufactured in the United States for the next several generations.” This round of investment is led by General Catalyst and Strategic Investment Group under JPMorgan Chase, with other investors not being disclosed.
With increasing attention and capital flowing towards the idea of rebuilding manufacturing and supply chains in the United States, especially as a hedge against China, this round of financing has also followed.
Re : Build, co-founder Jeff Wilke, said in a statement: "We founded Re : Build because deindustrialization in the United States is a form of economic failure and a threat to national security. This capital has enabled Re : Build to move faster and further than it otherwise could have, and to establish a great manufacturing enterprise as well as a platform for American industrial leadership. The products and companies that have emerged from our ecosystem prove that we can help restore America's industrial strength."
The CEO, Hemant Taneja, echoed this view in his statement, saying, " General Catalyst has long believed that rebuilding America's industrial capacity is one of the most important economic and national security priorities of our time."
Taneja added, "To compete with China, to re-industrialize the United States, and to revitalize those towns and jobs that have fallen behind, we need platform companies that can truly operate on a large scale – we also need an innovative ecosystem to learn how to manufacture hardware again."
Re : Build was established in 2020 and claims to be "America's response to Shenzhen," with numerous connections to Amazon. The co-founder of the company, Wilke, once served as Amazon's former Chief Business Officer. Wei Gao, who has long held positions as vice president at Amazon and provided technical consulting for Bezos, is currently the Re: Build Chief Digital and Product Officer. Several other senior executives from Re: Build have also held positions at this e-commerce giant.
Re : Build indicates that, over its six-year history, the company has "launched hundreds of products and production systems." The company typically operates in two ways: one is by collaborating with industrial companies to "design, engineer, and mass-produce products" in various fields including aerospace and defense; the other is by incubating startups in "key and underserved markets."
Re: According to Build, its company network employs over 2,100 people in the United States and has a manufacturing capacity of more than 2.4 million square feet.
Wilke and co-founder Miles Arnone came up with the idea for Slate Auto in 2022 and decided to spin it off to help attract more capital. Since then, the company has raised at least $1.4 billion in funding, including money from Bezos's family office, with the goal of creating a super-low-cost, bare-bones pickup truck that can be customized to customer preferences.
