The Reindustrialization Of America | Jakob Diepenbrock

Jakob Diepenbrock is running a hard-tech fund from El Segundo, backing young engineers building defense, manufacturing, robotics, energy, and other critical industries. He joins Lukas and Saila to explain how he skipped the credential ladder, built Discipulus Ventures, raised a fund by treating the process like a startup launch, and why Anduril’s breakout made defense tech the allocation everyone suddenly wanted.They also discuss cost-plus military contracts, drones versus soldiers, DJI’s domination of creator hardware, automated American textile factories, why humanoid robots are TikTok bait, insectoid factory machines, American-made peptides, ethanol and farm lobbies, machine financing at 30%, the tacit knowledge trapped in aging machinists, lowballing retiring boomers for obscure industrial monopolies, founder bench-press requirements, a Vegas magician who broke reality, CIA remote viewing, UFOs as Space Force marketing, medical isotope enrichment, Russian shell companies, and Germany’s reverse house-flipping bureaucracy.Sponsored by:Polymarket: https://polymarket.comZcash: https://z.cashCitizenX: https://citizenx.comPassage Press: https://passage.press_________________________________Watch, listen, and join the discussion:Plausibly Deniable: https://plausiblydeniable.orgYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PlausiblyDeniableExperienceSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3cU3OBRKnYGY7fyGF6x2ThApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/plausibly-deniable/id1866452505Substack: https://plausiblydeniable.substack.comX: https://x.com/PD_EXPJakob Diepenbrock: https://x.com/jakobdiepenDiscipulus Ventures: https://www.discipulusventures.comDiscipulus Cohort: https://www.discipulusventures.com/cohortLukas: https://x.com/SCHIZO_FREQSaila: https://x.com/sailaunderscoreContact: [email protected]:00:00 Intro and Sponsors01:25 The Substack Payment Processor Is Finally Fixed05:00 Turning the Podcast Into a Call to Action07:08 Meet Jakob / Long-Distance Running Is Adult Self-Harm09:19 El Segundo, Chamath, and the Defense-Tech Wave11:17 Why Hard Tech Belongs in El Segundo14:40 Starting a Fund Without Credentials17:29 Venture Capital Is Crappy Beta19:23 Raising a Fund Like a Startup22:46 The 22-Year-Old Fund Manager Problem24:36 Why Defense Tech Suddenly Became Cool27:27 Elon, DOGE, and the $20 Million Missile29:05 How Cost-Plus Contracting Broke Defense30:00 The Defense Industry Is Smaller Than You Think32:19 Political Risk for Government Contractors35:17 Robotics Is the Next Bubble36:29 Reindustrialization and the American-Made Premium40:00 DJI, Drones, and the Captured Creator Economy42:03 “Reindustrialized” Sweaters Made in China43:47 Automated American Textiles47:59 Humanoid Robots Are Boomer Bait50:51 Insect Robots, Chemicals, and Ethanol54:58 RFK’s Fitness Camps and American-Made Peptides57:11 Bioreactors and Cheaper Drug Manufacturing58:23 Lowballing Boomers for Strategic Companies1:03:51 America Runs on Three Old Guys and a Notebook1:08:37 Grants, Tariffs, and Supply-Chain Sovereignty1:12:38 Wire Harnesses and 30% Machine Financing1:17:08 El Segundo Culture and the Founder Bench Test1:21:48 The Vegas Magician Who Broke Reality1:24:49 CIA Remote Viewing, UFOs, and Space Force1:28:33 Medical Isotopes and Russian Shell Companies1:31:05 Germany’s Reverse House-Flipping Program1:33:20 Mandatory Call to Action