Westmag, a stealth-mode American startup co-founded by David Hansen, has spent the past year building motors and actuators domestically, targeting the robotics and drone supply chain that currently runs almost entirely through China. The company is backed by Not Boring Capital as one layer of what the publication calls the Electric Stack, the full domestic manufacturing chain required to build electromechanical systems on American soil.
The strategic case is direct: drones, humanoid robots, and industrial automation all run on motors and actuators. Whoever controls that component layer controls the hardware economy. Westmag is building for that position at scale, not as a boutique supplier. The original piece goes deep on why this specific component, at this specific moment, is the right place to plant a flag, and the manufacturing and supply chain details make that argument concrete.
Read the full piece for the technical breakdown of what motors and actuators actually do inside robotic systems, why domestic production is harder than it sounds, and how Westmag plans to reach the volume needed to matter. The investment thesis embedded in the essay is as much about industrial policy as it is about one company.
[READ ORIGINAL →]