# ZIA | $500,000 Pre-Seed Round
## Jon Caraveo, Founder | Pre-seed investor and strategic partner proposal
575-231-6564 · caraveo@me.com
Prepared October 29, 2026

### The immediate ask: $500,000 pre-seed
The priority is the $500K pre-seed round. Proposed use: $150K optics / manufacturing process / IP diligence; $125K site / utility / mining feasibility; $75K customer and commercial planning; $75K financial / legal / grant-readiness work; $75K reserve. Total: $500K. Deliverables: defined technical scope, IP path, customer evidence, site and utility feasibility, mining economics, and a documented plan for the $2M seed round. Valuation, security, ownership and liquidity rights remain to be negotiated.

### The pitch
The ultimate product is XR and AI-assisted smart vision: wearable glasses designed to present digital information, spatial interfaces, and AI assistance within the wearer’s view. Build a U.S. optical manufacturing business through Zia, develop Bitcoin mining and AI facilities with the proposed campus plan and NMMINE service capabilities, and pursue wind energy with solar only where it improves economics. Common ownership is stated by Jon; legal entity relationships should be documented before investment or applications.

### Single-number planning estimates
| Area | Estimate | Scope |
|---|---:|---|
| Zia manufacturing | $500 million | Requested federal CHIPS Act grant; manufacturing scope and eligibility subject to confirmation |
| Mining + AI | $300 million | Owner-confirmed planning budget for 40 mining units and 64 DGX B200 servers; allocations remain illustrative |
| Wind | $250 million | Illustrative owned 117.8 MW project; not secured |
| Indicative project program | $1.05 billion | $500M manufacturing + $300M mining / AI + $250M wind; financing sources must not be double-counted |
| Pre-seed | $500,000 | Proposed early development financing |
| Seed | $2 million | Proposed follow-on development financing |
| Series A | $300M–$500M | Proposed private financing envelope; baseline campus project cost remains $300M |

Jon Caraveo directs the $500M federal CHIPS grant request and confirms the $300M mining / AI planning budget. Mining allocations and the $250M wind estimate remain illustrative, not vendor estimates. Do not use them as a construction authorization. No incentive is treated as awarded. Optional solar, battery storage, ongoing grid and firming costs, and major offsite grid upgrades beyond the stated allowance are excluded. Utility, manufacturing, and hardware scopes can materially change the result.

Zia: $500M is an owner-directed request for funding from the U.S. federal government through the CHIPS Act, not an awarded grant or validated factory estimate. Create a bottom-up process, facility, equipment, qualification, startup, and contingency budget. Define purchased-chip assembly versus in-house chip fabrication before confirming scope. Required private matching / complementary capital remains to be established.
Mining / AI basis: mining equipment / containers / cooling $110M; AI servers / networking / storage $55M; site / buildings / electrical / utility works $60M; commissioning / startup $15M; contingency $60M.
Wind basis: turbines and installed balance of plant $190M; development / land / interconnection allowance $20M; contingency $40M.
### Financing and proposed investor exits
- Pre-seed ask: $500K. Validate IP, scope, customer demand, site / utility options, and mining economics.
- Seed ask: $2M. Complete engineering and commercial diligence and prepare the campus / pilot financing package and applicable grant materials.
- Combined pre-seed and seed: $2.5M. Round proceeds finance program costs; do not add them again to project totals.
- Series A ask: $300M–$500M. Private financing led by mining / AI infrastructure. The campus baseline remains $300M; any amount above it needs a specific approved use-of-funds plan. This envelope is not an independently costed revised campus estimate.
- Proposed early investor and Series A liquidity: net proceeds from a mining-facility sale or refinancing, subject to ownership rights, transaction feasibility, lender consent, solvency, and definitive investor agreements.
- Requested federal CHIPS Act grant: $500M for the proposed Zia manufacturing program. A formal award would trigger IPO readiness evaluation; it does not guarantee a listing or investor exit.
- Series B: optional IPO bridge financing if needed. Amount and terms to be established. Investor exit would depend on an eventual public-market transaction and applicable lockups / liquidity.

Mining exit mechanics: establish entity ownership and contractual distribution rights; secure power / permits; commission and document operations; seek buyer or lender indications; deduct debt, liens, fees, taxes, and reserves from transaction proceeds; distribute only under agreed terms and applicable law. Refinancing creates debt and may produce no distributable cash. A sale must protect any retained AI / manufacturing utility, land, and access arrangements. Zia shareholders do not automatically have rights to proceeds of a separately owned mining entity.

CHIPS grant funds are not budgeted for investor buyouts or redemptions. Use proceeds only for authorized award purposes. Document related-party agreements and shared-cost allocations. IPO preparation includes audited financials, governance, reporting controls, award compliance, corporate structure, securities counsel, and potential underwriters; SEC requirements, exchange rules, operating performance, and market conditions govern execution. No sale, refinance, redemption, return, or IPO is guaranteed.

### 1. Zia: make the optics
Define the substrate and waveguide process, optical coatings / patterning, projector assembly, alignment, test equipment, required IP, and customer specifications. Prove yield, image quality, repeatability, and unit economics in a pilot. Use customer qualification to set capacity, not an arbitrary wafer count. Zia's existing website describes an early-stage product vision, not an operating manufacturing plant.

CHIPS eligibility is an open technical question. Passive optical glass and module assembly do not automatically qualify. Document whether any actual process manufactures / packages semiconductors or produces materials / equipment used in semiconductor manufacturing. A product that uses chips is not necessarily an eligible semiconductor facility.

### 2. Mining and AI: develop in phases
Source concept: 40 mining installations, 64 DGX B200 servers, approximately 44 MW mining and 1.4 MW AI facility load. The 45.4 MW subtotal excludes shared ancillary loads, upstream losses, and Zia manufacturing. None establishes secured utility capacity. Confirm ASIC population, GPU equipment quotes, utility upgrades, reliability, cooling, fiber, security, and customers.

Separately meter and protect manufacturing / AI and controllable mining. Mining curtailment needs equipment capability and utility approval; do not assume a demand-response revenue stream. Model mining with Bitcoin price and difficulty downside, power escalation, equipment replacement, and uptime. Model AI with contracted utilization, realized pricing, support, and refresh cost. Do not assume mining proceeds subsidize the factory.

### 3. Energy: wind first
Compare wind PPA with ownership / developer partnership. The source concept uses 19 x 6.2 MW = 117.8 MW nameplate. At an illustrative 40% capacity factor this averages 47.112 MW, or about 412.7 GWh annually. The 45.4 MW campus alone uses about 397.7 GWh annually at continuous operation. This is annual energy matching, not continuous firm supply. Add Zia's load after engineering, then model hourly generation, losses, curtailment, grid imports, and firming. Wind site, turbine model, production, and interconnection are unconfirmed. Add solar only after hourly and financial comparisons. Do not presume batteries can make the entire campus continuously renewable.

### CHIPS and capital strategy
Lead the investor story with three linked businesses, but ring-fence financial models and eligible costs. No CHIPS dollars are assumed for Bitcoin mining or ordinary AI data center operation. Energy has its own PPA or project finance route.

NIST lists November 1, 2026 as the concept-plan deadline for its reopened semiconductor materials / manufacturing equipment opportunity. Check exact portal cutoff and fit immediately. This opportunity is not a general optical-product manufacturing grant, and the former commercial fabrication intake is closed. A different qualifying semiconductor process requires a separately verified route.

For an eligible materials / equipment project, prepare the actual output and supply-chain nexus, applicant ownership, site / utility / permit plan, customer evidence, IP rights, capital budget and sources / uses, financial statements, requested incentive gap, sustainable operating plan, workforce / community commitments, education / training commitments, and required written state / local covered incentive offer. Follow the current NOFO phase requirements. Ask the program office to resolve uncertainty; do not submit invented qualifications to meet a deadline.

Review Section 48D separately: IRS instructions state 35% for qualifying investment placed in service after 2025, with construction required to begin before 2027. Actual qualifying facility, property, taxpayer, construction timing, and interaction with other benefits need review. No credit is included as committed capital.

### Proposed roadmap
- Immediate: establish process and applicant; confirm funding eligibility and deadline; define project leader and owner equity.
- Days 1–30: customer letters, IP records, vendor quotes, site options, utility feasibility request, state / local incentive discussions.
- Days 31–60: pilot targets, separate financial models, power / wind study, environmental screening, workforce plan, training partner outreach.
- Days 61–90: select pilot, negotiate commercial / power terms, prepare investment decision, pursue only confirmed eligible and open programs.
- Build phase: starts only after land, utility, permits, financing, customer validation, and engineering gates. No construction date is promised.

### Investor decision gates
Manufacturing: licensed / owned process, customer specifications, independently reviewed pilot plan, qualification milestones, credible yield and unit costs.
Mining / AI: written power terms, acceptable downside cash flow, hardware / cooling design, customer commitments, enforceable curtailment arrangements.
Energy: land rights or executable PPA, resource validation, interconnection cost / schedule, hourly matching and firming price, bankable contractor scope.
Expansion: measured operating acceptance and committed capital for the next tranche.

### Local benefit
Develop paid optical / electrical / mechanical / controls and IT training with regional educators and workforce organizations. Set numeric jobs, wages, local procurement, and training goals after engineering and operating budgets. Publish energy / water use and community results. No existing education partnership is claimed.

### Open decisions
Confirm plant site; glass versus semiconductor scope; technology ownership; actual customer demand; owner equity; Zia load and throughput; land / utility status; wind ownership versus PPA; solar need; round-specific investment and liquidity terms. No return or valuation is proposed without a financial model.

### Sources
- https://ziateam.com
- https://ziateam.com/story
- https://ziateam.com/tech-specs
- https://nmmine.com
- https://www.nist.gov/chips/chips-incentives-funding-opportunities
- https://www.nist.gov/chips/incentives-funding-opportunities/notice-funding-opportunity-semiconductor-materials-equipment
- https://www.nist.gov/chips/chips-incentives-funding-opportunities/facilities-for-semiconductor-materials-and
- https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i3468