Developed alongside ElementUSA's real-world critical-material processing and supply-chain operations, Element IQ is a specialized AI platform that helps companies and government agencies quickly understand critical-material supply chains, identify sourcing risks, and evaluate alternative domestic supply options.
A specialized AI for critical-material supply chains.
Companies that build semiconductors, batteries, defense systems, and advanced electronics depend on critical materials. Rare earths, lithium, graphite, gallium, germanium, and dozens more. Knowing where they come from, how they're processed, and what supply-chain risks exist is genuinely complex.
Element IQ is a specialized AI platform proven inside ElementUSA's real-world critical-material processing and supply-chain operations as a working prototype. It is now being built out for commercial release, with expanded domain coverage, a production-ready application, and integrations into the tools end users already work in.
QUESTIONS YOU CAN ASK IT
› Where does this material actually come from?
› Is supply concentrated in countries we can't rely on?
› Where are the processing bottlenecks?
› What domestic alternatives exist, and at what scale?
Ask in plain English · Every answer shows you where it came from · Convert to supply map, brief, or report
02 / 19
00IQELEMENTUSA
A defense procurement manager needs 5 t/yr of germanium. Today, the answer takes weeks of consultant work and fragmented research.
Suppliers often lack visibility into the full upstream supply chain, while traditional sourcing and market analyses can take weeks and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Generic AI tools may produce incomplete or unreliable answers because they lack specialized industry knowledge and verified data sources. In fast-moving policy and procurement environments, organizations need faster and more dependable intelligence.
SLOW
Weeks per sourcing question.
Technical reviews, supplier outreach, and fragmented information sources can slow sourcing and procurement decisions.
EXPENSIVE
High-cost external analysis.
Complex sourcing and market studies often require outside consultants, engineering firms, and specialized research support.
UNRELIABLE
Generic AI lacks domain context.
General-purpose AI tools are not designed for specialized critical-material workflows and may produce incomplete or unreliable answers without verified industry data and source validation.
03 / 19
00IQELEMENTUSA
Three major trends are rapidly reshaping critical-material supply chains.
FORCE 01
Strategic dependence is becoming harder to ignore.
Export restrictions and geopolitical tensions around critical materials are increasing, while domestic processing capacity and alternative supply sources remain limited. Governments and industrial buyers need better visibility into sourcing risks and supply-chain alternatives.
FORCE 02
Domestic critical-material capacity is being rebuilt.
Governments and industry are deploying meaningful capital toward domestic critical-material processing and supply-chain resilience at a scale not seen in decades.
FORCE 03
AI can now organize complex industrial information at scale.
Recent advances in AI make it possible to analyze technical, regulatory, and supply-chain information more efficiently than traditional research methods. Combined with specialized industry knowledge and verified data sources, these tools can support faster and more informed sourcing decisions.
04 / 19
00IQELEMENTUSA
A specialized AI, built on industry data and operational reality.
Most AI platforms are trained on broad public information and are not designed for highly technical industrial and supply-chain analysis. Element IQ is being built specifically for critical-material sourcing and processing workflows using industry knowledge, technical data, supply-chain intelligence, and government information gathered through ElementUSA's operating businesses. The platform is designed to provide source-backed answers, organize complex technical information, and deliver outputs in formats decision-makers can immediately use.
INDUSTRY KNOWLEDGEELEMENT IQDECISION-READY OUTPUT
Processing data
Technical reports
Government information
Supply-chain intelligence
Supply maps
Procurement briefs
Risk analysis
Technical briefings
Specialized AI · Critical-material workflows · Source-backed analysis
05 / 19
00IQELEMENTUSA
Curated industry knowledge combined with traceable, source-backed answers.
Element IQ is being built around four pillars. The platform is designed to deliver source-backed answers and convert them into supply maps, briefings, flowcharts, and reports.
SPECIALIZED KNOWLEDGE
Curated industry and supply-chain intelligence tailored to each question.
INTELLIGENT ANALYSIS
The platform applies the most relevant industry knowledge and data sources to each question.
DECISION OUTPUTS
Generate exportable briefings, supply maps, flowcharts, and reports.
TRACEABLE SOURCES
Every claim is linked to supporting industry knowledge and source material.
06 / 19
00IQELEMENTUSA
Accelerating analysis, not replacing expertise.
Element IQ is being built to organize complex sourcing and supply-chain information in minutes while maintaining transparent, source-backed outputs that allow teams to validate findings and apply their own judgment.
STEP 01 · ANALYSIS
We do the heavy lift.
The platform gathers, organizes, and links technical, regulatory, and supply-chain information to supporting sources.
STEP 02 · SOURCE VALIDATION
Every answer remains traceable.
Supporting references and source materials remain visible throughout the analysis process.
STEP 03 · HUMAN REVIEW
Your team applies judgment and expertise.
Teams can review findings, validate conclusions, and make informed sourcing and procurement decisions.
STEP 04 · DECISION OUTPUTS
Deliverables integrate into existing workflows.
Outputs can be converted into supply maps, briefings, reports, and other decision-support formats.
07 / 19
00IQELEMENTUSA
Faster sourcing intelligence for critical-material supply chains.
Source-backed answers fast; teams review and decide significantly faster than with traditional research.
"Where can we source 5 t/yr of germanium domestically. And what's the supply-risk profile of each option?"
, a recurring question for defense-prime procurement teams
Element IQ analyzes data from sources like USGS, DOE, and ElementUSA's own offtake intelligence to evaluate producers, processing capacity, sourcing concentration, and export-control risk.
Every answer remains source-backed and traceable.
Generate exportable supply-chain briefs and sourcing analyses ranked by strategic fit.
08 / 19
00IQELEMENTUSA
Traditional consulting, generic AI, and specialty tools each solve only part of the sourcing workflow.
General Purpose AI ChatGPT · Claude · Gemini
Top consultancies McKinsey · Hatch · BCG
Specialty AI tools domain-specific startups
Element IQ
OPERATIONAL GROUNDING
Trained on the public web
External experts, rotated
Pure software, no operations
Developed alongside real-world critical-material operations
DOMAIN ACCURACY
Not trained on industry-specific data or workflows
High
Variable
Vetted domain knowledge, audit trail
SOURCE TRACE
None
Internal
Variable
Every answer shows you where it came from
SPEED TO ANSWER
Seconds
3 to 6 weeks
Seconds
Minutes for first answer · days for full study
WORKFLOW INTEGRATION
External chat. Copy / paste.
External deck. Manual handoff.
External app. Limited integrations.
Delivered into the tools your team already uses
DELIVERY LAYER
Chat only
Bespoke decks
Single output
Multi-format · workflow-mapped
HUMAN HANDOFF
None. You vet alone.
Consultant does 100% (slow, costly)
None. Software only.
The platform handles the analysis. ElementUSA's team can support review and execution when needed.
Note: Element IQ capabilities reflect the working prototype and the seed-funded commercial build-out.
09 / 19
00IQELEMENTUSA
Element IQ is one of the Element USA business units.
Element IQ was developed inside an operating critical-material business and is being commercialized as a scalable intelligence platform for critical-material sourcing and processing workflows.
ElementUSA Inc., the parent company, is a midstream industrial minerals business focused on critical-material processing, supply-chain development, and specialized industrial operations. Each business unit operates independently with its own leadership and operating structure.
WHY IT EXISTSThe intelligence layer for critical-material sourcing and processing did not previously exist. ElementUSA developed Element IQ to support real-world operational workflows across its businesses.
TWO MODESPlatform-first, with optional expert support. Element IQ is designed to be used as a standalone intelligence platform, or combined with technical and sourcing support from ElementUSA's team for more complex initiatives.
10 / 19
00IQELEMENTUSA
Early validation from a national-lab principal engineer.
"A principal engineer at Savannah River National Laboratory used the platform to crack a 15-year glass-corrosion mystery in hours. Asked the same questions, Google Gemini gave confident, completely wrong answers. The difference is the curated industry knowledge behind it."
Cory Trivelpiece, Savannah River National Laboratory · paraphrased; attribution use cleared pending public release
15-yr
problem solved in hours by SRNL principal engineer
SRNL
national-lab proof point · DOE Genesis Initiative adjacency
EUSA
flagship customer commitment · paid pilot / LOI track
Live
curated industry data sources across critical minerals · expanding
Element IQ is currently being piloted and refined through real-world operational and technical workflows across ElementUSA and select external counterparties. Early engagement includes national labs, industrial operators, and strategic supply-chain stakeholders evaluating sourcing and technical-analysis use cases.
11 / 19
00IQELEMENTUSA
Firm-wide annual subscriptions for a platform designed to reduce the cost, time, and risk of complex sourcing decisions.
PRICING
$50K – $500K annually, per organization.
Tiered by organization size, deployment requirements, workflow configuration, and user access levels, including multi-tenant and secure isolated deployment environments. Beta-program implementation fees may be waived for select early customers. Standard contracts are 12 months, with discounted multi-year agreements available.
REFERENCE COMPARISONS
What the buyer is replacing.
One Hatch engineering study: ~$250K. One pilot plant: ~$1M. One failed R&D direction: $5M+. One sourcing analysis from a top consultancy: ~$150K and 6 weeks. Element IQ pays back on the first major decision it informs.
PRICING PRINCIPLEElement IQ is priced as enterprise infrastructure for critical decisions, with tiers aligned to the value those decisions create.
12 / 19
00IQELEMENTUSA
One platform serving the broader critical-material ecosystem.
Element IQ is designed to support the broader critical-material value network. The initial commercial focus is sourcing intelligence for material buyers and resource owners, where supply-chain risk, procurement urgency, and budget availability are most immediate.
RESOURCE OWNERS
Primary ore + waste holders
Element IQ identifies viable products, customers, and processing pathways for resource owners' material. The platform turns disposal cost into a revenue stream.
TECH OWNERS
Process engineers · IP holders
The platform matches technology owners' proprietary processes with feedstocks that can scale. This opens up licensing revenue and lowers scale-up costs.
MATERIAL BUYERS
Defense · semi · energy
Element IQ helps material buyers find domestic supply sources that reduce supply-chain risk and procurement volatility. Initial commercial focus.
STRATEGIC PARTNERS
Co-developers · pilot operators
Element IQ enables strategic partners to run joint pilot testing, flowsheet co-development, and commercialization pathway design. Both sides share the development risk.
GOV & DEFENSE
DoD · DOE · DoW · national labs
Element IQ supports government and defense work on domestic supply chains and industrial waste reuse. The work serves national security and supply-chain resilience.
$30B+
TAM · domain-expert AI for industrial + defense (directional)
$4B
SAM · critical-mineral sourcing & supply intelligence subset
$12.5M
Year-3 SOM · 50 named accounts × $250K avg
13 / 19
00IQELEMENTUSA
Twelve · twenty-four · thirty-six months. Each milestone supports the next phase of growth.
12 MONTHS
Initial commercial validation
Complete the production-ready application and end-user software integrations, alongside expanded domain coverage across priority critical materials including gallium, germanium, scandium, rare earth elements, and lithium. Launch three paid commercial pilots beyond ElementUSA. Advance SOC 2 readiness and secure isolated deployment capabilities.
Target: $1.5M–$2M ARR
24 MONTHS
Expansion into adjacent industrial workflows
Expand into defense materials, energy storage, and related supply-chain intelligence applications. Grow to 15+ paying customers and establish channel relationships with select industrial and defense partners.
Target: $5M–$6M ARR
36 MONTHS
Enterprise-scale platform maturity
Deploy advanced enterprise capabilities including domain-authoring tools, custom orchestration workflows, and full SCIF/ITAR-ready environments. Expand to 50+ customer accounts and position the business for broader enterprise and government adoption.
Target: $12.5M+ ARR
The roadmap is designed to advance the platform from working prototype through commercial validation, broader market adoption, and enterprise-scale deployment. Seed funding completes the commercial build-out and funds the initial paid pilots; those pilots establish market credibility; future growth capital supports expansion into adjacent workflows and markets.
14 / 19
00IQELEMENTUSA
Built by operators inside the critical-material industry.
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Ellis Sullivan
20+ years building and scaling industrial and service businesses, with deep focus on reshoring critical-mineral processing. Former co-founder and CEO of ROC Minerals.
CHIEF STRATEGY OFFICER
Chris Young
Led the launch of ElementUSA in 2020. 35+ years across supply-chain operations, business development, and process transformation. Noranda Aluminum and New Day Aluminum. Duke + Kellogg.
ELEMENTUSA BENCH
A team with decades of hands-on experience processing critical materials at industrial scale.
The Element USA team is processing critical minerals every week, holds active commercial and government contracts, and is investing in a new Louisiana refining facility. That's the operating base Element IQ is built on.
$850M in funding for Louisiana refining initiative
30M+ tons bauxite residue rich in critical minerals
Active contracts Rio Tinto · Department of War · DOE
Lab-grade in Austin in-house mineral testing and characterization
Note: directional placeholders. Final numbers to be modeled before investor circulation. Customer-acquisition assumes 50/50 inbound (DOE Genesis adjacency) and outbound (defense-prime + national-lab targeted accounts).
16 / 19
00IQELEMENTUSA
$3M–$5M seed round to fund 24 months of platform development and commercial expansion.
CAPITAL ASK
$3M–$5M seed round.
The company expects to structure the financing as a SAFE with a $20M–$25M valuation cap. Final structure and ownership allocation will be determined at closing.
USE OF FUNDS
Focused on completing the commercial platform and supporting early customer deployment.
Engineering & Product Development55%
Production platform, integrations, secure deployment capabilities, and domain expansion.
Go-To-Market & Customer Success30%
Commercial pilots, customer onboarding, sales, and strategic partnerships.
Operating Buffer15%
Working capital and execution flexibility.
WHAT THIS FUNDS24 months of runway designed to support commercial traction and position the company for its next stage of growth.
17 / 19
00IQELEMENTUSA
Key risks and mitigation priorities.
RISK 01
Expanding domain coverage efficiently.
Expanding specialized industry coverage currently requires significant expert involvement. Mitigation efforts include workflow-authoring tools, reusable knowledge structures, and partnerships that support scalable domain expansion over time.
RISK 02
Balancing platform scalability with specialized services.
Complex industrial workflows may still require technical and sourcing expertise beyond software outputs alone. Element IQ is designed as a scalable platform, while ElementUSA provides optional technical and operational support for more specialized engagements.
RISK 03
Changes in geopolitical and export-control dynamics.
A reduction in geopolitical tension could moderate near-term urgency around domestic sourcing initiatives. Mitigation includes long-term industrial-policy support, domestic supply-chain investment, and broader commercial demand for sourcing visibility and resilience.
RISK 04
Rapid improvement in general-purpose AI models.
Advances in large language models may reduce differentiation across specialized AI platforms over time. Element IQ's mitigation strategy is built around curated industry data, operational workflows, customer relationships, and proprietary sourcing intelligence developed through real-world industrial operations.
18 / 19
00IQELEMENTUSA
APPENDIX · EXPANSION MARKETS
Initial focus first. Broader network expansion over time.
The initial commercial focus is sourcing intelligence for material buyers and resource owners. From there, the platform can expand across additional critical-material workflows and customer groups using the same underlying data, orchestration, and decision-support architecture.
EXPANSION 01
Technology owners
Process engineers and IP holders need feedstocks where their proprietary technologies can scale. Element IQ supports them with licensing and commercialization workflow tools.
EXPANSION 02
Strategic + industrial partners
Co-developers, pilot operators, and channel partners are key to commercializing materials processing innovations. Element IQ provides them with pilot-design and commercialization-pathway tooling.
EXPANSION 03
National laboratory workflows
DOE Genesis Initiative relationships may support future deployment opportunities within national-lab research and sourcing workflows. Element IQ could be adapted for internal technical and research applications.
CLOSINGThe next generation of critical-material sourcing and processing decisions will require better visibility, faster analysis, and more reliable intelligence. Element IQ was built to support that shift.
ELEMENTUSA
