Dispo Co-Founder’s Shift From Social Media to Steelmaking
▼ Summary
– Daniel Liss, co-founder of Dispo and Teaser AI, is launching Nemo Industries, a startup focused on modernizing steelmaking using AI.
– Liss’s interest in steel began after participating in a war game exercise highlighting U.S. supply chain vulnerabilities in shipbuilding and steel production.
– Nemo Industries plans to use AI to optimize pig iron production and build its own furnaces, aiming for a 20-30% margin advantage over competitors.
– The startup will use natural gas for furnaces to reduce carbon emissions and may leverage tax incentives for carbon capture under the Inflation Reduction Act.
– Nemo has raised $28.2 million, is seeking a $100 million Series A, and has received over $1 billion in incentives from two states for future plant expansions.
From social apps to smelting furnaces, Daniel Liss is betting big on an unexpected pivot, modernizing America’s steel industry with AI. The Dispo co-founder’s latest venture, Nemo Industries, aims to revolutionize steel production by combining artificial intelligence with sustainable manufacturing practices.
Liss traces his fascination with steelmaking back to a National War College simulation where he realized the critical vulnerabilities in U.S. supply chains, particularly shipbuilding capacity and raw material shortages. That epiphany led him to launch Nemo, a startup focused on optimizing pig iron production, a key ingredient in steel alloys, through advanced technology.
Unlike traditional steel plants reliant on outdated systems, Nemo plans to integrate AI from the ground up, giving it what Liss calls a 20-30% margin advantage over competitors. The company isn’t just developing software; it’s building its own furnaces powered by natural gas, significantly reducing carbon emissions compared to coal-dependent methods. With tax incentives from the Inflation Reduction Act, Nemo is also exploring carbon capture to further minimize environmental impact.
Partnering with Michael DuBose, a veteran of Cheniere Energy’s LNG projects, Liss is tackling an industry where scale is everything. Nemo has already secured $28.2 million in funding and is negotiating a $100 million Series A round. The startup has also received over $1 billion in state incentives to establish three plants within 15 years, a bold vision that aligns with Liss’s belief in steel’s untapped potential for outsized investor returns.
History, he argues, is on his side. “The Rockefellers and Carnegies built fortunes in industries just like this,” Liss noted. “The dollar amounts here are massive, and so are the opportunities.” For a tech entrepreneur known for social apps, it’s an audacious leap, but one he’s convinced will redefine an essential sector.
(Source: TechCrunch)
