What is vertical integration?
Vertical integration means a company owns a stage it used to buy. SpaceX shows what that changes, and what it does not.
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Essays on vertical integration and building a company that runs on its own systems.
1872 Vertical Integration: The AI-Native Steel Factory, Explained (2026)
1872 did not sell factory software to fabricators; it opened its own steel shop in Cincinnati.
AllDigital Specialty Vertical Integration: AI-First MGA, Explained (2026)
AllDigital is an AI-first managing general agent, not a broker tool: about 70% of submissions are decided without a human.
Anduril Vertical Integration and Lattice AI, Explained (2026)
Anduril builds on its own capital, owns Lattice and the hardware it runs, and sells COTS instead of cost-plus.
BYD Vertical Integration and In-House AI Chips, Explained (2026)
BYD makes most of a Seal in-house, about 75% in a 2023 teardown, and in 2026 it builds its own driving chip.
Harper Vertical Integration: The AI-Native Insurance Broker, Explained (2026)
Harper did not sell software to brokers; it became the broker, with about $47 million raised and 160-plus carriers.
OffDeal Vertical Integration: The AI-Native Investment Bank, Explained (2026)
OffDeal did not sell software to Goldman; it became a bank for businesses with $1 to $10 million of EBITDA.
Why AI Makes Vertical Integration Work for Mid-Sized Companies
Vertical integration used to take the scale of a Tesla. AI lowers that bar, so a mid-sized company can now build what its business depends on.