From Social Media to Steel: The Dispo Founder's Unexpected Career Shift

Daniel Liss's Venture into Steelmaking with Nemo Industries

Daniel Liss, known as the co-founder of Dispo and Teaser AI, believes his latest undertaking – steel production – represents a significant opportunity for innovation.

From Social Media to Steel

Liss’s interest in this sector unexpectedly arose from a series of opinion pieces published in TechCrunch concerning antitrust regulations within the social media landscape.

These articles reportedly gained the attention of individuals in Washington, D.C., leading to an invitation for Liss to participate as a guest judge in a war game capstone exercise at the National War College in the spring of 2023. The scenario simulated a conflict between the U.S. and China over Taiwan and the South China Sea.

Supply Chain Concerns

A key realization from the war game exercise was that the U.S. lacks sufficient capacity for shipbuilding and, critically, the necessary steel production to support it. “Our core supply chain of the arsenal of democracy…we don’t have the steel to make it,” Liss explained.

This insight sparked a deep, even obsessive, focus on the steel supply chain, ultimately leading to the formation of Nemo Industries.

Nemo Industries: AI and Steel

Nemo Industries’ core concept blends two prominent American concerns: the revitalization of steelmaking and the application of artificial intelligence.

The company has been operating discreetly until recently, but Liss has now provided TechCrunch with an overview of its operations.

Modernizing Steel Production

Nemo Industries intends to leverage AI to optimize the production of pig iron, aiming to modernize an industry that Liss characterizes as significantly behind the times. Current practices in many plants rely on basic tools like Excel spreadsheets or even manual clipboard tracking.

While acknowledging the deep expertise of those currently working in the industry, Liss believes this knowledge base doesn’t readily lend itself to large-scale expansion.

Building New Furnaces

However, Nemo’s ambitions extend beyond simply offering industrial software. The company plans to construct its own steel furnaces, driven by the belief that businesses built with AI from the ground up will achieve a 20% to 30% margin advantage over their competitors.

Significant Investment Required

Such a venture demands substantial capital investment. Hyundai Motor Group, for example, announced plans in March to invest $6 billion in a Louisiana steel plant to support its U.S. manufacturing operations.

Nemo’s plant may require a smaller investment, as it will focus on pig iron, an intermediate product used by steelmakers to create various alloys.

Sustainable Practices

The furnaces will initially be powered by natural gas, a fuel source that produces less carbon dioxide than traditional coal used in iron and steel production.

Liss also indicated the company is exploring carbon capture technologies, encouraged by the continued availability of tax incentives outlined in the Inflation Reduction Act.

Experienced Partnership

Liss is partnering with Michael DuBose, an investor with a background at Cheniere Energy, a major natural gas infrastructure company. “He’s built billions of dollars in LNG infrastructure,” Liss stated.

Funding and Incentives

Achieving success will require significant scale. Nemo has already secured $28.2 million in funding, as reported by PitchBook, and is currently seeking a $100 million Series A investment from existing stakeholders.

Furthermore, the company has reportedly received incentive offers exceeding $1 billion from two southern states, contingent upon the construction of three plants within a 15-year timeframe.

Ambitious Goals and Historical Precedent

Liss recognizes the challenge but asserts that such ambition is necessary to deliver the returns expected by venture capitalists. He points to the historical success of basic industries like steel in generating substantial investor returns.

“Many of the greatest companies that created outsize outcomes for their initial investors were in these categories,” Liss noted, referencing historical figures like Rockefeller, Carnegie, Mellon, and Frick and the substantial capital they invested in foundational industries.