Money has always flowed to where intelligence met matter, but today that meeting takes place on new terms. Massimo Portincaso, founder of Arsenale BioYards, calls the coming period the Neo-Industrial Era — a time when the industrial base of the 19th and 20th centuries is being rebuilt with the help of deep tech, artificial intelligence and new sources of energy.
According to Portincaso, deep tech has already solved the problem of discovery, but has not managed to scale production. An "industrial transfer gap" arises: between a working prototype and a factory capable of producing goods in millions of units. This is precisely where many startups perish, despite billion-dollar investments.
Geopolitics is accelerating the changes. China is betting on coupling intelligence with energy and manufacturing, while the West often focuses on pure AI. The transition from "petrostates" to "electrostates" is changing the flows of capital: investors are beginning to reassess assets tied to biomanufacturing, precision fermentation and adaptive factories.
The neo-industrial company, according to Portincaso, is built on ten pillars: from software-driven manufacturing and AI-native operating systems to vertical integration and special financial structures for capital-intensive projects. Such firms do not simply add AI to old factories — they rebuild the very logic of value creation.
For the private investor, this means a shift in thinking. Instead of the familiar software unicorns, attention should be paid to companies capable of closing the loop from a model of the world to real production. Money works differently here: long cycles, high capital intensity, but also the potential for durable competitive advantages in an era of fragmenting supply chains.
Portincaso emphasizes: the winners are those who design production from day one, rather than trying to "add" intelligence to outdated infrastructure. This also changes personal financial strategies — from the choice of funds to understanding which sectors will generate new wealth in the coming decades.
Ultimately, the Neo-Industrial Era redefines not only factories, but also the way we think about capital: not as a speculative flow, but as a resource that helps build real capacity in a world where energy and manufacturing are once again becoming key.
