Josh Wolfe on X: "Lux’s Q2 Letter to LPs" / X

🌈 Abstract

The article discusses the role of rebellious scientists and the importance of scientific advancement as the cornerstone of our collective future, amidst the backdrop of anxious anger and geopolitical tensions in the world. It highlights the collaborative community of scientists who are driving progress through rigorous research and innovation, in contrast to the narcissistic violence portrayed by fictional characters like V in "V for Vendetta". The article also delves into Lux's investment strategies, focusing on founding and funding companies at the intersection of cutting-edge fields, and the importance of maintaining American scientific and technological superiority in the face of global competition.

🙋 Q&A

[01] V for Vanguard Visionaries: Rebel scientists and the pursuit of truth

1. What is the key role of rebellious scientists in driving progress?

• Rebellious scientists fight against what's wrong in order to search for what's right, with a focus on falsification and renovating antiquated foundations to secure a stronger future.
• They form a collaborative community of comrades conscientiously casting around for a cogent consensus, in contrast to anarchist antiheros who aestheticize narcissistic violence.
• Examples include the scientists and administrators behind major scientific breakthroughs like the atomic bomb, artificial intelligence, and the mRNA vaccine.

2. How can we cultivate a culture that celebrates vanguard visionaries?

• We must celebrate and encourage paths in fields like AI, data science, bioengineering, and defense engineering, with the same fervor as athletic prowess.
• This can be done through initiatives like school science fairs and prestigious awards like the Kavli, Keck, Lasker, Turing and Nobel prizes.

[02] V for Validating Variables: The longitudinal legacy of the laboratory

1. What is the importance of the laboratory in scientific progress?

• The laboratory is the epicenter of fundamental shifts in our understanding of the world, evolving from solitary scenes of serendipity to enormous energetic ecosystems.
• Big breakthroughs now require collaboration and capital-intensive infrastructure found in research parks, national labs and user facilities.
• The private sector is doing more basic research, taking share from universities, and there is extraordinary commercial potential in ambitious and entrepreneurial scientists working in research labs.

[03] V for Valuable Verities: Lux Labs and investment strategies

1. What is Lux Labs and how does it support the creation of cutting-edge companies?

• Lux Labs is an initiative that embodies Lux's commitment to creating companies from scratch in overlooked areas of the hard sciences, turning research from university labs and internally developed theses into groundbreaking ventures.
• Lux Labs has co-founded and funded spinouts from research groups at big tech companies, taking advantage of opportunities as these groups face budget cuts and the risk of being shut down.
• Lux-family companies are carefully curated with a common denominator of competitive advantage through scientific and technological superiority, across fields like life sciences, physical sciences and computational sciences.

[04] V for Volatile Valuations: Artificial Intelligence and a Global Economy in Chaos

1. What are the key challenges facing the AI investment landscape?

• The vertiginous ascent of capital infusion into AI yields a hype-hope continuum, where short-term disappointment may yet yield long-term delight.
• Many of the gains in AI will accrue to the inertia of incumbency, as large tech companies leverage regulatory arbitrage and acqui-hiring to control the space.
• The flood of VC funding adds volatility to valuations, and Lux expects widespread contraction in the number of venture firms and consolidation of LP dollars into fewer, name-brand managers.

[05] V for Versatile Vigilance: The Complexity Advantage in Geopolitics

1. How can the U.S. maintain its scientific and technological superiority in the face of global competition?

• The greater the investment in R&D, the harder it is for others to copy, as modern defense systems represent the culmination of scores of designers, engineers, managers and specialists.
• America must maintain its sci-tech superiority across every domain, from land and sea to air, space, cyber and information, and not surrender to predestined pessimism.
• Lux's investments in aerospace and defense emphasize rapid deployment of frontier technologies ready for multiple domains of warfare, to help maintain America's competitive edge.