Lux Capital

Calling all NYC builders and future founders! On May 9, we're teaming up with BoxGroup, First Round Capital, and Union Square Ventures to host a free, day-long summit of real conversations about building in New York 🗽 🍎 Come here from leaders in the Lux portfolio like Geoff Charles of Ramp, Alejandro Matamala-Ortiz of Runway, Roshan Rao of EvolutionaryScale, Kate Ryder of Maven Clinic, and others! Plus our Josh Wolfe and Grace Isford sharing what we look for in ambitious founders. No pitches, no fluff - just honest dialogue about how to shape the future of NYC tech 🚀 Apply here: https://lnkd.in/esGbiB3P

🚨 Huge congrats to Lux fam co Together AI and their $305M Series B at $3.3B valuation 🚨 In less than two years, Vipul Ved Prakash and team have built the leading AI Acceleration Cloud, becoming the go-to platform for building with open source models. The numbers speak for themselves: ⚡ 450,000+ AI developers and enterprises building on their platform ⚡ 200+ open source models across all modalities ⚡ 2-3x faster inference than traditional hyperscaler solutions ⚡ 200 MW of secured power capacity ⚡ Plans for 36,000 NVIDIA GB200 NVL72 GPUs deployment Together AI has cracked a crucial problem: making powerful AI infrastructure accessible without compromise. They're not just another cloud provider – they're building the backbone that lets both individual developers and global enterprises like Salesforce and Zoom harness open source AI's full potential. As early investors, we've had the privilege of watching Vipul Ved Prakash and team execute with incredible precision. Congrats on this milestone round led by General Catalyst and co-led by Prosperity7 Ventures. The future of AI is Together 🚀

Just a few spots remain for our Los Angeles Riskgaming event – see details:

🚨 We're thrilled to announce our lead investment in Atrandi Biosciences' $25M Series A round 🚨 🧬 What makes Atrandi special? While single-cell analysis has revolutionized our understanding of biology, most approaches today are limited to RNA sequencing. Atrandi's semipermeable capsule (SPC) technology opens up entirely new possibilities - from high-throughput whole genome sequencing that reveals cancer heterogeneity to combined DNA+RNA analysis at the single-cell level. 🔬 The technology first caught our attention through Dr. Sanjay Srivatsan at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center. As our David K. Yang began digging deeper, he discovered something compelling: leading scientists, like Dr. Jay Shendure, weren't just using Atrandi's platform - they were actively collaborating with the company. In a field where researchers maintain incredibly high standards for new technologies, this level of engagement spoke volumes about Atrandi's potential. 🌍 Founded in Vilnius, Lithuania (a rising biotech hub home to major Thermo Fisher Scientific operations and the upcoming €7B BIO CITY project), Atrandi is now expanding to Boston. They're perfectly positioned at the intersection of technical innovation and clinical application. ⚡ Congratulations to CEO Juozas Nainys and the entire Atrandi team. We're excited to support their mission to advance precision biology through next-generation single-cell analysis tools. Read more: 📖 Andrew Dunn's exclusive at Endpoints News: https://lnkd.in/d293SUkk 📖 GenomeWeb: https://lnkd.in/eY_FuqY9 📖 Atrandi Biosciences: https://lnkd.in/eFqqP9Vh

Come join Lux's latest Riskgaming events, coming up soon:

Excited to announce Brett McGurk is joining Lux Capital as Venture Partner 🚀 The era of sci-tech diplomacy is here – where diplomatic victories are measured not just in treaties, but in semiconductor agreements and AI governance frameworks. Brett brings an extraordinary perspective to this new landscape. Having served four presidential administrations at the highest levels of U.S. foreign policy and national security, he understands how technology and operational statecraft intersect in ways few others can match. His track record speaks volumes: 💥 Built and led an 80+ nation coalition to combat ISIS 💥 Spearheaded complex diplomatic negotiations for the release of Israeli hostages and a ceasefire in Gaza 💥 Championed new technology and energy corridors between India, the Gulf states, Israel, Jordan, and Europe 💥 Witnessed firsthand how AI and computing infrastructure have become essential to maintaining strategic partnerships At Lux, Brett will help our founders navigate a landscape where breakthrough innovation and international cooperation are inseparable. As we back companies building transformative technologies, his unique combination of diplomatic experience and strategic partnership-building will be invaluable. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/eah2Qkgu Learn more about Brett here: https://lnkd.in/eQjHk_rW

I really enjoyed my conversation with political science Daniela Richterova, who has researched the changing economics of international espionage. Here are some of my favorite highlights:

This is dead serious. We must STEP UP. COMPETE. WIN. •China produces 50% of all AI undergrads •38% of AI researchers in the US are from China vs. America (37%) •US share of international students (down from 23% in 2000 to 15% now)

My latest newsletter column on the AI scaling dilemma: spend trillions or go small and open-source:

Excited to share that Dorm Room Fund is launching its inaugural Pitch @ Penn program, open to all students and recent graduates! This program is designed to help founders refine their pitch, connect with top investors, and compete in an in-person pitch competition in early February. Accepted founders will be paired 1:1 with industry-specific mentors from leading VC firms like Primary Venture Partners, BBG Ventures, VamosVentures, Lux Capital and more. It’s a low-stakes, high-impact opportunity to get direct feedback from experienced investors and elevate your pitch. If you’re a student or recent graduate founder—or know someone who fits the bill—please apply at the link in comments by EOD Sunday, 1/5. A big thank you to Tobias Citron, Claire Biernacki, Ashley Ryder, Nithanth Ram for participating as mentors and judges! If you’re an investor interested in getting involved, feel free to reach out to me at [email protected]. Cc: Anna Marie Manning Adanna M. Advika Jayanti Anisha Musti Aryan Shah Ian McCreadie Jacob Kopelman Jacques L. Katie Xu Lindsay Esterman Nimisha Shinday Nithanth Ram Om Shastri