Beyond Chips: Rare Earth Magnets and the Future of AI Infrastructure
From Radical Talks by Radical Ventures
January 21, 2026 · 30 min
About this episode
John Maslin discusses the critical role of rare earth magnets in AI infrastructure and the risks of a concentrated supply chain.
John Maslin, CEO and Co-Founder of Vulcan Elements, joins Radical Partner Molly Welch to unpack the overlooked physical infrastructure behind AI. While chips dominate most conversations, John explains why rare earth magnets are a foundational dependency across data centers, semiconductor manufacturing, robotics, EVs, and defense systems, and why today’s globally concentrated supply chain poses real economic and national security risk. Drawing on his work rebuilding domestic magnet manufacturing, the discussion explores what it takes to reshore critical industrial capacity, why execution matters more than policy alone, and how physical constraints will increasingly shape AI at scale.
People in this episode
Host: Molly Welch
Guest: John Maslin
Topics covered
- AI infrastructure
- rare earth magnets
- supply chain
- domestic manufacturing
- economic security
Keywords
- rare earth magnets
- AI
- infrastructure
- supply chain
- domestic manufacturing
- economic risk
- national security
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Vulcan Elements, Radical Ventures
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