Lux Capital

Lux Capital

Logo
Company type	Private
Industry	Venture capital
Founded	2000;25 years ago (2000)
Founders	Peter Hébert Robert Paull Josh Wolfe
Headquarters	New York, NY , United States
Total assets	$5.0 billion
Website	luxcapital.com

Lux Capital is a venture capital firm based in New York City. It was founded in 2000, and focuses on investments in emerging technologies. ^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}

History

Lux Capital was founded in 2000 by Peter Hébert, Robert Paull and Josh Wolfe. ^[5] In April 2011, former McKinsey Senior Partner Richard N. Foster and former CIA Director James Woolsey joined the organization in senior management roles. ^[6] In August 2012, former Pfizer head Jeff Kindler joined the organization in similar capacities. ^[7]

The organization had raised approximately $1 billion in investment funds by August 2019. By June 2021, it had raised approximately $1.5 billion in investment funds. ^{[8] [9]}

In 2020, Lux Capital joined a group of technology companies investing in Anduril Industries, a defense technology company. ^[10] Anduril's product lineup includes unmanned aerial systems, robotic submarines, and counter-drone technologies, which have been deployed in military operations and border surveillance. ^{[11] [ verification needed ]}

Lux Research was founded by Lux Capital in 2004, with Lux Capital's co-founder Peter Hebert leading the spin-off, making Lux Research a portfolio company initially backed by the firm. Lux Research was later sold to Bregal Sagemount in 2017, creating a historical link rather than an active parent-child relationship. ^[12]

Portfolio companies

• 3Scan ^[13]
• AltspaceVR ^[14]
• Anduril ^[15]
• Applied Intuition ^[16]
• Armada ^{[17] [18]}
• Auris Health ^[19]
• Bright Machines ^[20]
• Clarifai ^{[21] [22]}
• Desktop Metal ^[23]
• Everspin Technologies ^{[24] [25]}
• Kymeta ^{[26] [27] [28]}
• Luxtera ^{[29] [30]}
• Magie ^[31]
• Nanosys ^{[32] [33]}
• Nervana Systems ^{[34] [35]}
• Orbital Insight ^[36]
• Planet Labs ^[37]
• Ramp ^[38]
• Siluria Technologies ^[39]
• Transphorm ^[40]
• Modal Labs, INC.
• Yonder, formerly New Knowledge ^[41]

No longer operating:

• Tempo Automation ^[42]

See also

• Entrepreneurship
• Venture Capital
• Startup company

References

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2. Eden, Scott (2009). "Nano Wunderkinds". Dealmaker. December/January 2009: 35–37. ISSN   1937-304X. OCLC   132936538.
3. Kosoff, Maya (2 April 2015). "Venture firm Lux just got $350 million more to invests in robots, the future, and science". Business Insider. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
4. de la Merced, Michael (2 April 2015). "Lux Capital Raises $350 Million Fund to Back Science Start-Ups". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
5. "Lux Capital Overview" . Retrieved 14 October 2023.
6. "James Woolsey and Richard Foster Join Lux Capital as Venture Partners". Business Wire. 26 April 2011.
7. "Kindler, Former Pfizer Chief, Joins Lux Capital". Dealbook. 8 August 2012.
8. Marinova, Polina (August 1, 2019). "Exclusive: Lux Capital Raises More Than $1 Billion Across Two New Funds to Invest in Companies Building a Sci-Fi Future". www.fortune.com.
9. "Lux Capital raises $800 million for its first opportunity fund". 3 June 2021.
10. Shen, Lucinda. "Controversial surveillance startup Anduril gets a $1.9 billion valuation". Fortune. Archived from the original on 2020-10-20. Retrieved 2025-06-06.
11. MacColl, Margaux (2023-01-06). "Josh Wolfe's War: The Lux Capital Founder Blazes a Controversial Path in Defense Tech". The Information. Archived from the original on 2023-01-06. Retrieved 2025-06-06.
12. "Lux Capital". www.luxcapital.com. Retrieved 2025-12-07.
13. "3Scan Raises $6.67 Million from Lux Capital, Dolby Ventures for New Technologies to Transform Pathology | FierceBiotech". www.fiercebiotech.com. Retrieved 2018-04-10.
14. "VR Chat Room AltspaceVR Raises $10.3M To Sell Virtual Events – TechCrunch". techcrunch.com. 29 July 2015. Retrieved 2018-04-10.
15. Bogaisky, Jeremy (July 1, 2020). "Anduril Raises $200 Million To Fund Ambitious Plans To Build A Defense Tech Giant". Forbes. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
16. Konrad, Alex (22 October 2020). "Applied Intuition Reaches $1.25 Billion Valuation In New Funding For Its Autonomous Vehicle Testing Software". Forbes.
17. "Lux Capital". www.luxcapital.com. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
18. Konrad, Alex. "Startup Armada Is Bringing AI To Remote Places, Using SpaceX Starlink Satellites". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
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21. "Clarifai Lands $30M Series B Round". vcnewsdaily.com. Retrieved 2023-10-14.
22. Clarifai. "Clarifai Raises $60M in Series C Funding to Bring AI to Developers Everywhere". www.prnewswire.com (Press release). Retrieved 2023-10-14.
23. Kolodny, Lora (2018-03-19). "Ford, Future Fund invest $65 million in Desktop Metal 3-D printers". www.cnbc.com. Retrieved 2019-04-16.
24. "Everspin Raises $15M Growth Financing". www.businesswire.com. 2013-08-12. Retrieved 2023-10-14.
25. "Everspin Technologies Raises $15M in Series B Financing". FinSMEs. 2013-08-12. Retrieved 2023-10-14.
26. Sheetz, Michael (2020-08-25). "Bill Gates leads $85 million fundraising for satellite antenna specialist Kymeta to scale production". CNBC. Retrieved 2023-10-18.
27. de la Merced, Michael J. (2015-04-02). "Lux Capital Raises $350 Million Fund to Back Science Start-Ups". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2023-10-18.
28. "Bill Gates and other investors give $62M boost to Kymeta satellite antenna venture". 11 January 2016. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
29. "Luxtera Completes $21.7M". FinSMEs. 2012-02-27. Retrieved 2023-10-18.
30. "Luxtera gets $21 million in funding". Chicago Tribune. 2012-02-28. Retrieved 2023-10-18.
31. MacColl, Margaux (2024-08-22). "Lux Capital made its first investment in Brazil, a $4M seed for AI fintech Magie". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2025-01-05.
32. "Nanosys Raises $30 Million". The Wall Street Journal. 2003-04-24. ISSN   0099-9660 . Retrieved 2023-10-18.
33. Feder, Barnaby J. (2004-05-24). "TECHNOLOGY; Going Public Without Profits Or a Product? Yes, in 2004". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2023-10-18.
34. "Intel to buy artificial intelligence firm Nervana Systems". Reuters. 2016-08-09. Retrieved 2023-10-18.
35. Levy, Ari (2017-09-19). "Chip start-ups were 'almost toxic' before the A.I. boom — now investors are plowing money into them". CNBC. Retrieved 2023-10-18.
36. Insight, Orbital (2019-11-12). "Orbital Insight Announces $50 Million in Funding to Secure Global 2000 Market Leadership". GlobeNewswire News Room (Press release). Retrieved 2023-10-20.
37. Lawler, Ryan (2013-12-18). "Planet Labs Raises $52 Million From Yuri Milner To Build The Biggest (Little) Flock Of Satellites". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2023-10-20.
38. Azevedo, Mary Ann (2021-08-24). "Ramp raises $300M at a $3.9B valuation, makes its first acquisition". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2023-10-20.
39. "Siluria Technologies Attracts $20 Million for Technology Platform That Puts Methane to Use in Production of Fuels and Chemicals, Providing an Abundant, Sustainable Alternative to Oil". www.businesswire.com. 2011-09-27. Retrieved 2023-10-20.
40. Lunden, Ingrid (2012-10-01). "Transphorm, An Energy Groundbreaker Backed By Google Ventures, Gets $35M From Japan Powerhouses". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2023-10-20.
41. Loizos, Connie (2018-08-28). "New Knowledge just raised $11 million more to flag and fight social media disinformation meant to bring down companies". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2025-12-04.
42. Heater, Brian (2016-06-29). "Prototype manufacturer Tempo Automation gets $8M Series A to upgrade factory". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2025-02-22.