Start2 Group, Inc. today announced STRIDE Ventures, a new initiative funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (NSF TIP) to advance breakthrough innovations that reinforce the U.S. technological leadership, economic security, and industrial resilience.
By supporting the translation of high-potential research into deployable solutions, STRIDE Ventures aims to strengthen the nation’s capacity to leverage emerging technology to address critical challenges. Through targeted funding, expert guidance, and strategic partnerships, STRIDE Ventures will foster the development of scalable technologies, accelerating radical innovations to market.
Tech Metal Transformation Challenge: Building a Resilient U.S. Metals Supply Chain
The first investment of STRIDE Ventures will be the Tech Metal Transformation Challenge, which provides funding and support to accelerate the development of breakthrough technologies that strengthen the U.S. supply chain for critical and strategic metals.
These metals form the backbone of modern industry powering energy systems, defense technologies, advanced manufacturing, and the digital economy. Yet access to many of these essential materials remains highly concentrated in a few producing regions, leaving domestic industries vulnerable to geopolitical and logistical disruptions.
The Challenge calls for bold, interdisciplinary innovation integrating biological, chemical, and physical-mechanical processes to close this gap. Competing teams will design and demonstrate end-to-end prototype systems capable of extracting, converting, and reintroducing metals, including those from complex domestic waste streams, into high-performance materials that meet advanced manufacturing specifications.
The Tech Metal Transformation Challenge represents a shift in strategy, from dependence on traditional extraction pathways toward an innovation-driven model for domestic materials security. By developing processes that can transform secondary and unconventional sources into functional metals, the program aims to build a resilient foundation for current and future industries.
Structured as a multi-year, three-stage program, the Challenge is modeled after and running in parallel to Germany’s SPRIND Tech Metal Challenge and will advance breakthrough innovations from research and development to market validation to scale-up and deployment, supported by tiered funding and guidance from a panel of experts. SPRIND is the German Federal Agency for Breakthrough Innovation that sponsors innovation competitions to find the most effective approaches and solutions to grand, hard problems.
“Through STRIDE Ventures, we’re creating a platform where innovation meets implementation, ensuring that breakthroughs in science become tangible industrial capabilities,” said Annika Pierson, CEO of Start2 Group, Inc.
“Critical minerals are the foundation of technologies that power our economy and national security. NSF’s investment in the Tech Metal Transformation Challenge addresses this urgent need while also enabling new models of innovation—connecting researchers and entrepreneurs to real-world challenges and accelerating breakthrough solutions to market,” said Erwin Gianchandani, NSF Assistant Director for TIP.
Discover the latest trends and insights—explore the Business Insights Journal for up-to-date strategies and industry breakthroughs!
