NVP Capital’s Vaughn Crowe has built one of the early venture positions in NVP Capital manufacturing investment, and the firm’s debut fund is now ranked in the top quartile of 2020-vintage funds, according to NVP Capital, citing Aduro’s Q3 2025 Fund Performance Benchmark Report.
The New York and San Francisco-based firm closed its second fund at $80 million in 2025, with a portfolio spanning robotics, rare earths, logistics software, and power systems.
NVP Capital manufacturing investment rooted in Newark origins
Crowe, who cofounded NVP Capital with Dan Borok, grew up in Newark, New Jersey, historically one of America’s industrial centres. His proximity to the city’s port and airport shaped an early instinct for the sector.
‘Before I knew what being a financier was, there was the thought that being a longshoreman wasn’t a bad idea,’ Crowe said. ‘When you’re from that environment, you can apply some critical thinking and understanding that there’s value to be created.’
The firm began investing in manufacturing and industrials from its founding in 2020, before the sector attracted widespread venture attention. Crowe credits the pandemic with forcing a broader reckoning.
‘COVID put a spotlight on supply chain, travel, logistics, energy, power,’ he said. ‘Manufacturing, shipping, and receiving. So, we were seeing where the U.S. economy was affected at scale, and that flashlight shined brightly on nursing and healthcare, of course, but also on the supply chain.’
Geopolitical pressure on aerospace and defence reinforced that shift, he added, as governments moved to support industries seen as mission-critical.
AI and the physical world driving the next phase
Crowe told Fortune that artificial intelligence is accelerating the convergence of software and the physical economy. ‘We’re at the intersection of where AI meets the physical world, and it’s impacting everything, including space, robotics, and manufacturing,’ he said. ‘We’re at the precipice of something truly revolutionary in the physical world.’
NVP’s portfolio includes Haptica Robotics, Optimal Dynamics, Class8, Outlast Power, Human Archive, Laborup, Reaxiomatic, Upwell, and Vulcan Elements, a rare earths startup now valued at about $2 billion. NVP was an early backer of Vulcan Elements.
On exits, Crowe said the firm expects a mix of IPOs and mergers and acquisitions. ‘For some of these legacy manufacturers, there could be a roll-up play,’ he said. ‘The options become real as you demonstrate how critical these industries are and how well they can perform. The public realm and commercial markets will also open up, and there will be enhanced chances for IPOs. There are multiple ways to create venture-like returns in this space.’
The NVP Capital manufacturing investment thesis is now competing in a space that has grown crowded. Private capital and venture dollars have flowed into the industrial base across manufacturing, defence, and energy, with reindustrialisation moving from a talking point to an active deployment theme.
Crowe said the firm’s Newark roots remain an operational advantage. ‘Our firm today is in New York and San Francisco, but my experience of seeing all this live, this unique moment in time, and layering on some of my experiences growing up in an old industrial city, we know enough to be dangerous,’ he said. ‘We can speak the language.’
Fund I’s top-quartile ranking among 2020-vintage funds, per Aduro’s Q3 2025 benchmark, positions NVP to raise further capital as interest in the sector continues to grow.
