Union Square Ventures

A week before my parts were due, after months of weekly check-ins, the supplier told me there was a three week slip. My production schedule was gone and the program was in jeopardy. That's the industry today - you find out last, and by then it's your problem. Isembard is changing how the industry does business. We're building out a distributed, resilient, modular supply chain that scales with demand. We are the supplier I always wanted, setting a new standard for manufacturing execution - accelerating how quickly parts can be made, and redefining the speed, quality and customer service of the industry. Last week I spoke about the future of manufacturing hosted by Mona Alsubaei and Union Square Ventures, and the funny thing was that all of us on the panel are doing the same thing from different angles - becoming the supplier we each knew the industry needed. Mohamad Fayez Taha at Kerrigan Robotics who is building out the robot integration engine and Jamie Niu Serota at Podium Automation, accelerating how fast control panels are made for critical technologies. Hardware startups are building the future. Come be part of it. Thank you for the invite Nikhil Raman & Matt Cynamon! Excited to see where we all end up 🚀

Zanskar has been selected by the U.S. Department of Energy for two projects that would put new approaches to geothermal discovery and production to the test. In Nevada, the project would use deep, directional wells and near-real-time model updates to shorten the path from anomaly to discovery and test a new approach to resource confirmation. At our existing Lightning Dock site in New Mexico, the project would explore how advanced drilling and enhanced geothermal technologies can complement the existing hydrothermal field. The projects address both sides of America’s vast geothermal opportunity by advancing the discovery of new resources and unlocking more energy from fields already in operation. Read more about the project selections and their potential to expand what geothermal can deliver for the United States: https://lnkd.in/gCekQPzu

A well deserved honor for one of the best executing teams we have the pleasure of working with. Towards a future of creating pride and abundance in Colombia.

EN: Thrilled to share that Addi was recognized by Fortune today as one of the 50 Companies that are changing the world in its Change the World 2026 list (the only Colombian company on the list). We've had a banner year so far, delivering record growth, strong margins, 2+ years of positive IFRS Net Income, as well as a few incredible recognitions. Yet this one feels quite personal. Our purpose at Addi is to create pride and abundance for our customers - individuals and merchants. While we've built a great business, I'm proudest of the fact that we've built a company that is delivering financial inclusion and social change in our country. Growing up I witnessed firsthand how tragic it can be when the financial sector works against the people it is supposed to serve. We work every day to change that. Today Addi connects nearly 4 million consumers with close to 60,000 partner merchants across 1,050 municipalities in Colombia — nearly 95% of the national territory. Many of them are accessing a financial tool for the first time, one they didn't have access to before. As I told the team yesterday, doing what we do is not easy. We run a closed loop payment network, build and operate our own stack, try to ship new products, all while navigating a complex and ever changing environment. Grateful to call them my partners and get to work with them every day. Link in the comments ES: Feliz de compartir que hoy Fortune reconoció a Addi como una de las 50 empresas que están cambiando el mundo en su lista Change the World 2026. Este ha sido un gran año para Addi: crecimiento récord, márgenes sostenibles, más de 2 años de utilidad neta positiva, y reconocimientos a nivel internacional. Y aún así, este reconocimiento me llegó al corazón. Nuestro propósito en Addi es crear orgullo y abundancia para nuestros clientes, tanto personas como comercios. Hemos construido un gran negocio, sí, pero de lo que más orgulloso me siento es de haber construido una compañía que está generando inclusión financiera y cambio social en nuestro país. Crecí viendo de cerca lo trágico que puede ser cuando el sector financiero trabaja en contra de las personas a las que debería servir. Trabajamos todos los días para cambiar eso. Hoy Addi conecta a casi 4 millones de consumidores con cerca de 60.000 comercios aliados en 1.050 municipios de Colombia, casi el 95% del territorio nacional. Muchos de ellos están accediendo por primera vez a una herramienta financiera a la que antes no tenían acceso. Como le dije ayer al equipo, hacer lo que hacemos no es fácil. Me siento muy agradecido de trabajar con ell@s todos los dias, mis socios y coequiperos. Gracias! #FortuneChangeTheWorld #FinancialInclusion #Addi

Excited to share that I've joined Union Square Ventures' investment team! I spent the last few years in product, and now I get to sit on the other side of the table, using that experience to work with founders in the earliest, most exciting parts of building. More on the transition here: https://lnkd.in/gX8G-3Yp I'm so looking forward to working with Michael Mignano, Rebecca Kaden, Nick Grossman, and Nikhil Raman, and the rest of the team. If you're building or exploring something, please reach out - I'd love to hear about it.

manufacturing is being transformed at an accelerating rate. we're hosting an event on the topic at Union Square Ventures on this upcoming Monday 9/21 great group of speakers: Brian Potter, Jamie Niu Serota (Podium), Mohamad Fayez Taha (Kerrigan), Chloe Cullen (Isembard) sign up if you're interested and building in the space: https://luma.com/233vo3y0

In many ways investing in Rune felt like fate. It’s hard to imagine an approach to data centers and inference we'd get more excited about: use hardware innovation to tap into abundant but overlooked resources, then connect them into a network that’s greater than the sum of its parts. Now the promise is inference cheap enough to make an entirely new class of applications economically possible. Congrats to William Layden, Varun Palivela as well as our partners at Spark Capital, Activate, Lowercarbon Capital, Logos, Timeless, Committed Capital and the entire Rune team on this $40 million round.

I come from a manufacturing family. My father, grandfather, sister, and brother all spent their careers building windows and glass doors. It was the kind of facility you'd see Steve Martin operating in Father of the Bride but be hard pressed to believe still exists in the US. Whenever I would visit the factory as a kid I would mostly just play computer games and get matzah ball soup at the only deli in Hialeah. It came as no surprise to anyone that I ended up here instead of there. But as I've gotten older I find myself more and more drawn to that world. Partially out of an interest in how things get made, and partially because manufacturing once again feels like an economic frontier. So on September 21st I'm cohosting an event at Union Square Ventures with Mona Alsubaei and Nikhil Raman. It'll feature Kerrigan Robotics, Podium, and Isembard. If you find this half as interesting as we do RSVP below. https://luma.com/233vo3y0