Spencer Trask & Co.

Last updated
Spencer Trask & Co.
Industry Financial services
Headquarters
New York City
,
United States
Key people
Kevin Kimberlin (Chairman)
ServicesBuilding advanced technology companies
Website spencertraskco.com

Spencer Trask & Co. is an American company founded in 1881 by Spencer Trask and George Foster Peabody as an investment firm. [1] [2] The company is headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut, and funds early-stage ventures in technology, healthcare, and science. [3]

Contents

History

Spencer Trask & Co. was established in 1881 by Spencer Trask, evolving from his earlier ventures, including Trask & Stone, a brokerage house founded in 1868. [1] [4]

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the firm played a key role in financing technological advancements. [5] Notably, it supported Thomas Edison in the development of electric power systems. [6] [7] Trask was president of the New York Edison Company, the world's first electric power company, for nearly 15 years. [1] The company became known as Consolidated Edison (ConEd). [8] Spencer Trask was one of the first companies to be supplied with electric lamps. [9]

Spencer Trask & Co. also provided financing for Guglielmo Marconi, whose work in radio technology laid the groundwork for today's wireless communications. [5]

In the summer of 1896, Spencer Trask invested in Adolph S. Ochs's acquisition of the financially struggling New York Times. Trask remained a minority stockholder as Ochs rejuvenated the newspaper and placed it on a profitable basis. [9]

Spencer Trask & Co. was an early investor in Ciena Corporation, which made significant advancements in fiber optic communications technology. Ciena first commercialized dense wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) technology. [10] This became a core component of modern fiber-optic communications and telecommunications infrastructure. [11]

The firm provided the first funding to Myriad Genetics, a genomics diagnostics company known for sequencing the breast cancer gene, BRCA1. [12] This work contributed to advances in genomic medicine.

In addition, Spencer Trask & Co. invested in Health Dialog [13] [14] to commercialize partner Jack Wennberg's work in evidence-based medicine and informed patient-based decision-making. [15] Health Dialog's support and research provided the analytical foundation for the Affordable Care Act (ACA). [16]

In August 2024, Spencer Trask launched Signal12 Inc. (Signal12), a clinical-stage ocular health company. [17]

Spencer Trask & Co. has historically backed companies in the field of genomics, healthcare, mobile technology and global communications. [18]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "SPENCER TRASK & CO. 50 YEARS OLD TODAY". The New York Times. 1931-05-01. Retrieved 2024-11-01.
  2. ↑ "George Foster Peabody". New Georgia Encyclopedia. 2013-08-09. Retrieved 2024-11-01.
  3. ↑ "Spencer Trask & Co". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2024-11-01.
  4. ↑ "Yaddo records". archives.nypl.org. 2017-08-10. Retrieved 2024-11-01.
  5. 1 2 "Trask Marconi". Newspapers.com. 1903-11-01. Retrieved 2024-11-01.
  6. ↑ "The Edisonian, Vol. 8, Issue 1, Sept. 2011". Thomas A. Edison Papers. 2011-09-23. Retrieved 2024-11-01.
  7. ↑ "Global forex brokerage firm FxPro enters UAE". GulfNews. 2022-04-14. Retrieved 2024-11-01.
  8. ↑ "The Edison Electric Illuminating Co. of New York" (PDF). Columbia University. January 21, 1891. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
  9. 1 2 "An Expanding Spencer Trask & Co. Keeps Its Personal Touch; Spencer Trask Keeps Personal Touch". The New York Times. 1968-02-05. Retrieved 2024-12-13.
  10. ↑ "Spencer Trask & Co. Partners with UCLA Samueli School of Engineering to Support 50th Anniversary of the Internet Celebration". markets.businessinsider.com. 2019-10-29. Retrieved 2024-11-01.
  11. ↑ Markoff, John (1997-03-03). "Fiber-Optic Technology Draws Record Stock Value". The New York Times. Retrieved 2024-11-01.
  12. ↑ Angier, Natalie (1994-09-20). "Fierce Competition Marked Fervid Race For Cancer Gene". The New York Times. Retrieved 2024-11-01.
  13. ↑ "Health Dialog Services Corp". Venture Capital and Tech Investment Insights. 2012-09-23. Retrieved 2024-11-01.
  14. ↑ "Health Dialog company information, funding & investors". Space Tech. 2024-11-01. Retrieved 2024-11-01.
  15. ↑ Gale A (2016). "John Wennberg, MD: The Influential Doctor Who Blames Physicians and Fee-For-Service Medicine for the High Cost of Health Care. Obama Care is Based on His Research". Mo Med. 113 (3): 156–8. PMC   6140041 . PMID   27443035.
  16. ↑ Fisher, Elliott S.; Wennberg, David E.; Stukel, Thrse A.; Gottlieb, Daniel J.; Lucas, F. L.; Pinder, Étoile L. (2003-02-18). "The Implications of Regional Variations in Medicare Spending. Part 1: The Content, Quality, and Accessibility of Care". Annals of Internal Medicine. 138 (4). American College of Physicians: 273. doi:10.7326/0003-4819-138-4-200302180-00006. ISSN   0003-4819.
  17. ↑ Spencer Trask &amp (2024-08-13). "Spencer Trask & Co. Launches Dry Eye Venture Signal12 with Former Aerie Pharmaceutical Executives Thomas Mitro and Marvin Garrett". PR Newswire. Retrieved 2024-12-13.
  18. ↑ "Spencer Trask Joins UNICEF and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to Support 5th Annual World Polio Day". markets.businessinsider.com. 2017-10-23. Retrieved 2024-12-13.
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