Breakthrough to Scale
Join us for Breakthrough to Scale, an intimate afternoon bringing together leaders driving America's industrial resurgence, presented by the NextGen Industry Group and MIT Initiative for New Manufacturing as part of Tough Tech Week 2026.
One year on from our last event, Solving for Scale, the US manufacturing renaissance is picking up steam across every sector. This year we are focused on how companies bring the next generation of technologies to life. From the nitty gritty of production ramp to creative financing strategies to strategic partnerships and governmental support, we'll hear directly from top-tier leaders working with these solutions today.
Agenda
12:30 PM | Registration
1:00 PM | Opening Remarks
Milo Werner (NextGen Industry Group) and John Hart (MIT Initiative for New Manufacturing)
1:15 PM | Fireside Chat with Northrop Grumman
Greg Simer, CTO of Northrop Grumman, in conversation with Milo Werner.
How a prime decides when a new technology, and the capability to build it, is worth investing in.
1:35 PM | Panel: Partnership in Practice
How universities, startups, and primes work together to get breakthroughs to market faster.
Moderator: Milo Werner (NextGen Industry Group)
Greg Simer (Northrop Grumman), Sanjay Sarma (MIT), Matt Carey (Teradar), Billy Thalheimer (REGENT)
2:00 PM | Networking Break
2:15 PM | Panel: How Fast Can We Scale?
What sets the real speed limit: capital, customers, supply chain, or talent? And what should founders pace differently the second time around?
Moderator: Ben Armstrong (MIT)
Greg Matter (JLL), Claudio Spadacini (Energy Dome), Josh Gruenstein (Tutor Intelligence)
2:40 PM | Updates from the Industrial Capital Initiative
Andrew Lo (MIT Laboratory for Financial Engineering)
2:55 PM | Panel: Building the Stack
How founders finance their first factories without giving away the company.
Moderator: Jake Guglin (Foundation Alloy)
Austin Badger (HSBC Innovation Banking), Ray Wood (Bank of America), Jonathan Price (CSC Leasing)
3:20 PM | Introducing the Industrialization Frameworks with ASME
3:25 PM | Breakout Sessions (choose one)
Process Manufacturing, led by Fred Huang (NextGen Industry Group) and Ben Wolkon
Discrete Manufacturing, led by John Grimes (ASME) and Nathaniel Ezolino (NextGen Industry Group)
3:55 PM | Networking Break
4:05 PM | Breakout Read-Outs
4:15 PM | Power Law and the Great Wall
Dave Banks (American Council for Capital Formation) in conversation with Michael Bruce (Emerson Collective) and Milo Werner (DCVC)
Why America invents the breakthroughs but China scales them, and how subsidized overcapacity breaks the venture power law.
4:30 PM | Panel: Equity, Debt, and Washington
The federal government’s role in catalyzing industrial investment.
Moderator: Michael Bruce (Emerson Collective)
Nick Myers (Phoenix Tailings), Jon Biele (Office of Strategic Capital), Dipender Saluja (Capricorn), Sarah Sclarsic (Voyager Ventures)
4:55 PM | Closing
5:00 PM | Networking Happy Hour
Tough Tech Week is a celebration of transformational science and engineering and the companies bringing it to the world, alongside the ecosystem supporting their path to impact. Explore the full calendar of events, including demos, pitches, workshops, and networking opportunities with investors, partners, and government, at luma.com/toughtechweek.