The real threat to U.S. hardtech leadership is China’s rules

American hardtech venture is finally being taken seriously. Deep tech funds are outperforming conventional VC. The opportunity is real, and it’s being funded the way it should be, by investors who bear the cost of being wrong. But there’s an elephant in this room, and it isn’t a coastal fund getting into the game without the capital, infrastructure, or institutional knowledge to truly back physical technology. It’s a structurally different kind of competitor entering t...