A new company creation platform called Foundry Management is recruiting technical founders to develop artificial intelligence tools embedded within physical industrial operations. The venture, launched by a16z and Atlas Holdings and led by CEO Barnehama Arye, provides recruits with direct access to the Atlas portfolio, which represents $26B in annual revenue across energy, logistics, and automotive supply chains. Technical founders work with factory operators to build products that a16z and Atlas will later support as independent spin-out companies.

The initiative targets the difficulty early stage founders face in gaining the trust and access to mission critical work required for industrial reindustrialization. By deploying technologists directly into America's largest industrial businesses, the founders believe they can accelerate the deployment of advanced technology from the factory floor upward.