"Legacy" Aerospace Business, Amca, Announces $76M Investment to Revolutionize Component Manufacturing
The enthusiasm for manufacturing persists! On Tuesday, April 8, serial entrepreneur Jai Malik and former SpaceX engineering lead Eli Giovanetti unveiled The Advanced Manufacturing Company of America, or Amca, which aims to enhance the production of "human-machine interface products." These include sensors, power units, and flight-control computers that enable operation of complex systems such as the F-35 aircraft.
Most new companies in aerospace focus on building full systems or automating part production. Amca, however, addresses an important, intermediary layer. Legacy suppliers have played a crucial role in supporting every system in the industry, but their contributions are often overlooked. Instead of starting from zero, Amca is acquiring these businesses, leveraging their established trust, talent, and technical foundations to meet future needs.
The company secured an initial investment of $76.5 million from prominent investors including Caffeinated Capital, Founders Fund, Lux Capital, and Andreessen Horowitz. The capital will be used to acquire specialized suppliers and develop new products.
Amca's strategy involves integrating existing legacy, family-owned component manufacturers into its network rather than constructing new factories. The company has already acquired its first supplier, Electro-Mech Components, a producer of switches for aircraft and military vehicles. Additionally, it is collaborating with Boeing to supply components and actively seeking more suppliers to join its network.
This approach mirrors strategies employed by private equity firms, prime contractors, and companies like Anduril in recent years, focusing on acquiring suppliers to expedite and enhance manufacturing processes to produce advanced technology. However, Amca asserts that it is neither a startup nor a private equity entity.
Amca’s business model is indeed unique. Amca considers itself a legacy business that leverages established technical expertise and knowledge as a force multiplier for the future.
Amca's launch addresses the complexity of the aerospace supplier base, which they argue hinders rapid progress and delivery. Production timelines for weapons have significantly slowed in recent decades, and the supply chain comprises a complex network of legacy suppliers catering to a few large prime contractors.
Efforts by companies such as Hadrian, Re:Build, Anduril, and Castelion have similarly focused on this challenge—revamping US defense requires a reimagined defense manufacturing system. By incorporating suppliers with extensive technical expertise into their network, Amca aims to develop the industrial infrastructure essential for building cutting-edge systems.
Founder Jai Malik emphasised in a LinkedIn post, "The next chapter of American aerospace and defense will not be defined solely by new software, flashy designs, or billion-dollar contracts. It will depend on our ability to manufacture the products that make those systems a reality." Well said.