Venture capital firm seeks to offset some Trump research cuts
Lux Capital wants to help fill the void.
Driving the news: Lux, whose portfolio includes Anduril and Databricks, last month carved $100 million out of existing funds to back stranded scientists.
It refers to the effort as a "helpline" for researchers at a crossroads, including those who haven't viewed themselves as entrepreneurs or who feel their work is too early for commercialization.
In some cases this could mean forming and funding a de novo startup.
In others, it could mean having an existing Lux portfolio company sponsor, license, or acquire ongoing research.
What they're saying:"You look at so many of our publicly traded companies that come from academically-derived science, from Genentech ... to Google," explained Lux co-founder Josh Wolfe, during an on-stage conversation in New York City at the Axios AI+ Summit. "It's absolutely critical — probably 10 or 15% of our portfolio are things totally derived from university research."
"The sort of sledgehammer approach as opposed to a surgical approval is hurting American science ... [and] national security," he adds.
Behind the scenes: Lux's endeavor began when its partners began getting inundated with calls for advice from friends and peers. Eventually, a decision was made to take it national.
Look ahead: The big question now is if other VC firms will do something similar, either in partnership with Lux or on their own.
Particularly the small cohort of investors who have cheered the cuts on social media, saying private industry can make up the difference. At the very least, they could put their money where their mouths are.
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Software companies Synopsys (SNPS), Cadence (CDNS), and Siemens (SIEGY) said they will now restore access for their Chinese customers. These firms develop important electronic design automation tools used in chipmaking. The US also lifted licensing rules for ethane producers. Earlier restrictions were part of Trump's response to China blocking rare earth exports, which had disrupted supply chains for cars, aerospace, and defense industries. Reuters reports: Read more here. President Trump had targeted Vietnam with some of the highest tariffs of any country on his April "Liberation Day." That's at least partly because he and top advisers have made Vietnam an example of a country that is allegedly "ripping off" the US. Vietnam has become the US's 10th-largest trade partner, according to US Census data. And it is the seventh-largest source of imports, sending goods worth over $130 billion. It contains factories for some of the biggest US-based apparel makers, including Nike (NKE) and Lululemon (LULU). Vietnam became a destination for companies looking to diversify manufacturing as US-China tensions escalated over the past decade. Vietnam's trade surplus with the US ballooned to over $123 billion last year. This year's US trade deficit with Vietnam stood over $50 billion through just April as companies raced to move more operations out of China. President Trump followed up his previous announcement of a trade deal with Vietnam with some additional details on social media. "It is my Great Honor to announce that I have just made a Trade Deal with the Socialist Republic of Vietnam after speaking with To Lam, the Highly Respected General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam," Trump posted on Truth Social. Trump wrote that the two sides agreed to a 20% tariff rate on all goods sent from Vietnam to the US and a 40% tariff rate on transshipment — essentially, when goods from China or other countries are routed through Vietnam. Tariffs on goods from the country were previously set to return to 46% on July 9. Vietnam also lowered tariffs on US goods to zero, Trump said, and is lowering trade barriers. The president suggested US automakers could introduce more SUVs to the Southeast Asian country. "In return, Vietnam will do something that they have never done before, give the United States of America TOTAL ACCESS to their Markets for Trade," Trump wrote. "In other words, they will 'OPEN THEIR MARKET TO THE UNITED STATES,' meaning that, we will be able to sell our product into Vietnam at ZERO Tariff." The US and Vietnam are said to be very close to a establishing a trade framework that will see goods given a scaled range of tariffs depending on the percentage of foreign content, according to people familiar with the talks. Reuters reports: Read more here. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
