Jim Belosic, chief executive of sheet‑metal maker SendCutSend, spent years deriding Silicon Valley and calling venture capitalists “grifters.” He grew the firm to $200 million in revenue without outside money. When the AI surge sparked demand from robotics, data‑center builders and aerospace firms, Belosic realized self‑funding would force him to turn away work. The company runs a 300,000‑square‑foot Reno plant that can ship orders day.

A March visit from Sequoia Capital partner Andrew Reed changed the equation. Sequoia, alongside Paradigm and Stripe co‑founders Patrick and John Collison, led a $110 million round that valued SendCutSend at $1 billion, to accelerate its global expansion. The funding gives the Reno‑based company capital to scale production capacity and pursue larger contracts that would have been out of reach.

SendCutSend’s raise illustrates how the AI boom is channeling venture money into manufacturers that supply the hardware backbone of data centers and robotics. Investors traditionally focused on software are now betting on physical‑goods playbooks, expanding the pool of capital available to U.S. manufacturers. The deal positions the company as a key strategic supplier as demand for AI‑driven infrastructure accelerates.