Zane Hengsperger, founder of Nox Metals, is setting out to transform America’s industrial supply chain by applying software speed to heavy manufacturing. His startup, part of the Y Combinator Summer 2025 batch (YC S25), is building vertically integrated, automated metals factories designed to deliver raw materials faster, cheaper, and more reliably to U.S. manufacturers.
At its core, Nox Metals positions the factory itself as the product. Rather than relying on legacy supply chains bogged down by middlemen and manual processes, the company designs and operates factories that run on software and automation end-to-end. Every order flows directly from the customer’s screen to the shop floor, where robots pick, cut, package, and ship with precision.
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“Our vertically integrated factories run on software and automation to deliver lightning-fast, low-cost metal to our customers,” the company states. “Our goal: power the next industrial era by becoming the fastest, most advanced supplier to America’s industrial base.”
The problem Nox Metals is targeting is decades old. Current supply chains require days just to generate a quote, involve multiple markups through brokers, and rely on slow fulfilment processes that lack visibility. With fragmented workflows and high overhead, U.S. manufacturing competitiveness suffers.
Nox Metals’ model promises a streamlined alternative. Quotes are instant, orders translate directly into jobs on automated lines, and real-time tracking keeps customers informed from placement to delivery. By removing brokers, schedulers, and excessive overhead, the company offers shorter lead times, lower costs, and greater certainty. Its customer base ranges from small job shops to aerospace, defense, and large-scale industrial manufacturers.
For Hengsperger, Y Combinator has been instrumental in shaping the startup’s approach. “How’s YC going as a manufacturing startup? I get asked this almost every day. My answer’s the same always: it’s been awesome,” he shared on LinkedIn. He described YC’s Request for Startups for techno-industrialists as “a call to arms for the next generation of factory builders. Build the machines. Build the factories. Build the infrastructure that keeps the country standing.”
Hengsperger emphasized that the principles enabling SaaS companies to scale quickly can and should be applied to physical production. “We’re behind on sheer output, so we have to be 10x better than the incumbents. That’s only possible with technology-driven manufacturing,” he wrote, adding that the sector must attract younger talent by funding new companies “worth joining.”
Reflecting on his YC experience, he highlighted the team, network, fundraising, and mentorship as “wildly impactful.” Each interaction, he noted, sharpened Nox Metals’ approach to go-to-market strategy, product building, and internal operations.
“YC is showing me how to take the speed of code and apply it to the weight of atoms,” Hengsperger said.