America Forgot How to Make Things. Cameron Schiller Is Fixing That.
America Forgot How to Make Things. Cameron Schiller Is Fixing That.
Pirate Wires, August 28, 2026, by Richard Dewey (Revenant VC, discloses small investment in Rangeview).
The company: Rangeview
Cameron Schiller founded Rangeview in El Segundo, California — the “Gundo” cluster that has become the center of gravity for a new generation of hard-tech startups. The company makes turbine blades using a manufacturing process that combines robotics with 3D-printed ceramic molds, cutting the cost and lead time of producing the precision components that power gas turbines.
Its two primary markets:
- Data center power turbines — the aeroderivative gas turbines being deployed behind-the-meter to power AI data centers that can’t wait for grid upgrades.
- Drone interceptors — defense applications for counter-drone systems.
Most strikingly: Rangeview is already profitable, with more in committed customer orders than it has raised in capital.
The “Crucible One” vision
Schiller’s stated target is “Crucible One” — a 1,300-person production facility planned for completion by mid-2030. The vision is less startup and more industrial policy: rebuilding American manufacturing capacity for critical components at scale.
The Gundo ecosystem
The piece situates Rangeview within a broader cluster of hard-tech founders working in El Segundo:
- Augustus Doricko — Rainmaker (weather modification)
- Isaiah Taylor — Valar Atomics (nuclear)
- Soren Monroe-Anderson — profiled alongside the others
Backers include Michael Gibson (1517 Fund) and Shahin Farshchi (Lux Capital), two investors who have consistently bet on founders who build physical things.
Why the piece exists
Dewey’s implicit argument is that the Gundo cluster represents something genuinely new: technical founders who chose hard manufacturing problems specifically because the rest of the startup ecosystem abandoned them. The comparison throughout is to the hollowing-out of American manufacturing over the past 30 years — companies optimized for software margins and asset-light business models, leaving critical physical capabilities to erode.