Ex-SpaceX engineers launch robotic steel factory startup 1872
Ex-SpaceX engineers launch 1872 to automate steel parts for AI data centers and small reactors.
The startup initially focuses on automating the production of steel skids, rectangular steel frames that serve as movable foundations for modular buildings. It aims to supply customers developing AI data centers or small modular nuclear reactors, Ars Technica reported.
Dan Summers, chief executive of 1872, told Ars Technica, "We're building towards autonomy, but we're not necessarily building in a dogmatic fashion towards full autonomy." He said the company may achieve 80 percent autonomous operations and decide that is enough because "there's just diminishing returns to go to full 100 percent."
The three founders previously worked on rocket engines at SpaceX before turning to the steel manufacturing sector.