Venture Capital Is Coming For Rare Earth Magnets

One of the most successful investors in Silicon Valley is placing a new bet on a rare earth magnet company in America. But, why?

What’s happening:

• American rare earth magnet producer Vulcan Elements has raised $65M USD in a new Series A financing round
  
• The new funding round was led by prominent Silicon Valley investment company Altimeter Capital Management founded and run by Brad Gerstner
  

Why it matters:‍

• Vulcan Elements is one of the only private rare earth companies in America that has existing contracts with the United States Navy, Army and Air Force
  

Going deeper:‍

• Vulcan Elements has publicly stated they plan to use the new growth capital to scale up commercial production of rare earth magnets at their facility located in North Carolina and continue to advance leading edge research around magnetics science
  
• Securing domestic rare earth magnet supply has also been a major theme in the public markets lately, with GM (NYSE: GM) just recently striking a new deal with Noveon Magnetics for the supply of rare earth magnets and MP Materials (NYSE: MP) landing a historic investment directly from the United States Department of Defense

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