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From industrial design software to agricultural robots, these young entrepreneurs are building a more high-tech and sustainable future. J ordan Taylor, 29, quit his job at Nvidia to build AI-driven industrial design tools with his childhood friend Kaelan Richards , also 29. Today, their company, Vizcom, has raised $25 million from investors that include Index Ventures, and signed big-name customers that include Ford and New Balance.
“It doesn’t really feel like I’m building a company,” Taylor said. “I’m just trying to solve the problem for myself, and other people just happen to also have that problem.” Artificial intelligence is a key theme of this year’s Forbes 30 Under 30 list in Manufacturing & Industry, which highlights young entrepreneurs across fields like manufacturing, robotics, aerospace, agriculture and climate tech.
Many are using AI, but few are using it in the same way. Take Dylan Conway and Jim Zhu , both 27, for example. They’re using AI to shake up manufacturing with their San Jose-based startup Squint.
The company’s software helps industrial giants, including Michelin, Siemens and Nestlé, train new machine operators, manage equipment and automate data entry with a goal of increasing efficiency. Then there’s Samuel Lam , 29, whose company PermitFlow aims to make construction building faster and less expensive by applying AI to paperwork. The New York City-based startup’s software helps developers and contractors to prepare, submit and track building permits across municipalities.
PermitFlow has raised $36.5 million from investors that include Kleiner Perkins. Lam, the company’s chief technology officer, says the company’s tech helps make construction projects faster and more affordable.
Many of this year’s listmakers are also trying to solve problems related to climate change. Michelle Chao , 28, cofounded Phoenix Tailings, a Woburn, Massachusetts-based startup that harvests rare earth metals – essential for producing electric vehicles, wind turbines and consumer electronics – from waste products. Her company’s technique enables recycling without carbon emissions or toxic byproducts.
Phoenix Tailings has raised $28 million from investors and is now scaling up its operations to meet commercial demand. Also in climate, Diana Virgovicova , 23, Kerem Topalismailoglu , 22, and Shirley Zhong , 21, started Xatoms, a Toronto-based startup focused on clean drinking water based on a new material that Virgovicova, the company’s CEO, discovered as a teenager. And Krish Mehta , 28, started San Francisco-based PHNX Materials to turn landfill coal ash into a high-quality replacement for cement, a major contributor to CO2 emissions.
This year’s list also features three aerospace startups. General Galactic, cofounded by Luke Neise and Halen Mattison , both 26, is repurposing aerospace technology to produce clean energy sources. Using proprietary reactor technology, the El Segundo, California-based company turns carbon dioxide waste into fossil-free fuels.
Meanwhile, in Lowell, Massachusetts, Thiel fellow Alexander Taylor started Orb Aerospace to build autonomous aviation in areas that lack infrastructure due to natural disaster or conflict. And Raven Space Systems cofounders Blake Herren and Ryan Cowdrey , both 28, are 3D printing aerospace-grade composites for spacecraft. Robots are increasingly being found on factory floors and beyond, and this year’s listmakers are pushing the technology forward.
Max Cao , 25, and Lars Berscheid , 29, have raised $6.2 million to make robot arms that are faster and easier to program at Berkeley, California-based Jacobi Robotics. Pivot Robotics cofounders Siddharth Girdhar , 24, and Vignesh Rajmohan , 25, are using robotics to automate dangerous and labor-intensive tasks like metal grinding and sanding.
Rosalind Shinkle , 29, and Kathleen Brandes , 27, started New York City-based Adagy Robotics, which uses AI to help keep robots running. And Charlie Wu, 22, dropped out of college to start Orchard Robotics, which helps growers manage their crops with cutting-edge cameras and computer vision software. To find the best of the best in Manufacturing & Industry, Forbes reporters Amy Feldman, Elisabeth Brier and Bella Sayegh combed through hundreds of nominations submitted online or generated by our own reporting.
To be considered for the list, all candidates had to be under the age of 30 as of December 31, 2024, and never before named to a North America, Europe or Asia 30 Under 30 list. We then sent the top candidates to our team of expert judges to help us choose the final 30. This year our judges were Diane Hendricks , cofounder and chair of ABC Supply; Amit Chaturvedy , global head and managing partner at SE Ventures; Peggy Johnson , CEO of Agility Robotics; and Katherine Homuth , founder and CEO of Sheertex and an alum of the 2020 Under 30 list in Manufacturing & Industry.
This year’s list was edited by Amy Feldman, Elisabeth Brier and Bella Sayegh. For a link to our complete 2025 Manufacturing & Industry list, click here , and for our full 30 Under 30 coverage click here . 30 UNDER 30 RELATED ARTICLES.
