From ore to orbit

​Critical minerals have become the strategic chokepoint of modern industrial supply chains. The companies that can extract, process, and refine them at scale will shape the next decade of AI infrastructure, energy systems, and national security.

​Join OVNI Capital and Gigascale for an evening in downtown San Francisco built for founders, operators, and investors who care about the physical constraints behind the next wave of technology.

​Agenda

​5:00 – 6:00 · Doors open
Light dinner is served alongside drinks.

​6:00 – 6:05 · Welcome & framing
Quick context from the hosts on why this moment matters.

​6:05 – 6:20 · Permission to build
Delian Asparouhov (Founders Fund & Varda) delivers the opening remarks

​6:20 – 6:50 · Panel 1 — Who Controls the Midstream
Processing and refining concentration, export controls, and the structural gaps that new Western capacity must close for AI power systems, batteries, and defense.
Moderator: Evaline Tsai (Gigascale)
Panelists: Alex Grant (Magrathea), Hooman Reza Nezhad (Solcoa), Wiles Kase (Clareo) and JP Soulier (Prelude)

6:55– 7:25 · Panel 2 — From Process to Plant
What it actually takes to turn a critical minerals technology into a deployable business: capital intensity, permitting timelines, offtake structures, and the unit economics that separate interesting science from bankable companies.
Moderator: Matt Logan (Earthshot Ventures)
Panelists: Rajesh Swaminathan (Khosla), Milo Werner (DCVC), Jackson Switzer (Red Metals) and Tom Hunt (KoBold Metals)

​7:30– 7:40 · Aymeric Preveral presents Lithosaquare

​7:45– 7:55 · Thomas Wilson presents Atana Elements

​8:00 onwards · Sandwiches & drinks provided by the organizers
Grab food, keep talking.