The Dirty Jobs Summit is Back: VSC Ventures Convenes the Founders and Funders Bringing Innovation to America’s Dirty, Dusty, and Dangerous Industries

VSC Ventures, the early-stage venture fund backing startups in dirty, dusty and dangerous industries, is bringing back The Dirty Jobs Summit, an invite-only gathering to convene the country’s leading startup founders and investors building automation and AI for America’s physical industries. Following a sold-out debut of the event in San Francsico in 2024, Dirty Jobs is back for 2025—and it’s bigger, bolder, and headed to the East Coast. The event will take place on May 22nd in New York City and is doubling in size to host 200 of the sector’s most impactful voices.

From painters and plumbers to pipeline inspectors and power grid operators, Dirty Jobs champions innovation in the backbone industries of the U.S. economy, like materials, manufacturing, transportation, construction, and public safety, that are often overlooked. The 2025 event will convene 100 startup leaders and 100 investors and strategic partners, all focused on transforming these industries with frontier technologies like robotics, AI, and advanced hardware.

“Last year, we proved that founders building in unsexy categories deserve a stage. This year, the conversation couldn’t be more critical as we face uncertainty around global trade and the future of blue-collar workforces,” said Jay Kapoor, Partner at VSC Ventures. “Dirty Jobs celebrates all of the founders and investors who are betting alongside us that physical AI and automation are the only answer to re-industrializing America.”

The urgency is felt on every physical job site in America. Between retirements and unfilled roles, the U.S. is short 2.5 million workers across all sectors of trade work, and we’re not making more of them. These are the dirty, dusty, and dangerous jobs most people don’t want, and no amount of hiring incentives will close a generational labor gap that’s now baked into every major physical industry.

At the same time, there’s a renewed urgency to onshore manufacturing and secure America’s future. The only way forward is through AI and automation—not just to boost productivity, but to keep the physical world functioning. Dirty Jobs will meet this moment of disruption and opportunity head-on, rallying the builders working to modernize the unsexy, essential industries that make up $80T of global GDP.

This year’s agenda features six roundtable discussions for attendees to share actionable insights and hard-won wisdom on topics such as:

• Delivering automation in legacy industries profitably.

• Managing working capital in hardware and robotics.

• Avoiding legacy labor, procurement, and political pitfalls.

• Dialing in your storytelling when selling unsexy categories.

• Navigating headwinds in regulated industries.

• What gets funded & acquired in the era of physical AI.

Led by partners Jay Kapoor and Vijay Chattha, VSC Ventures invests in mission-driven founders solving hard, real-world problems. The fund brings together decades of experience in venture capital, storytelling, and company building to support the next generation of industrial innovators. Its portfolio spans sectors like logistics, construction tech, robotics, and energy, industries essential to America’s re-industrialization and climate resilience.

Due to high demand, registration for Dirty Jobs is limited and curated to ensure meaningful connections and real conversations. To learn more or request an invitation, visit vscventures.com.

About VSC Ventures

VSC Ventures is built on the core thesis that it has become easier than ever before to start a startup, but harder than ever before for that company to break out or get noticed. We back exceptional founders at Seed & Series A, then leverage our expertise in narrative building, storytelling, and media strategy to help these founders cut through the noise and let their stories reach the right customers, employees and investors. Our award-winning comms firm has represented over 550 startups, including 3 IPOs, 16 unicorns, and 50+ exits.

VSC Ventures invests in startups that bring innovation and automation to the dirty, dusty, and dangerous industries that are the backbone of our economy, including Glacier, Presso, PaintJet, Sesame Solar, and more. We’re backed by operators and executives from Poshmark, Discord, Tinder, Krux, Osmo, Group Nine, Liftoff, and Lyft, as well as GPs at many early-stage funds.

Contact Information

Abigail Hanson

Senior Account Manager

VSC PR

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