Lux Capital

Reviewed Updated Mar 20, 2026

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Location New York, NY / Menlo Park, CA
Founded 2000
Fund Size $1.5B (Fund IX, 2026); $7B+ total AUM
Website https://www.luxcapital.com
Stage Focus
seed series-a series-b growth
Sector Focus
deep-tech defense biotech ai robotics space healthcare

Team

Josh Wolfe Partner & Co-Founder
Peter Hébert Partner & Co-Founder
Brandon Reeves Partner
Deena Shakir Partner
Shahin Farshchi Partner
Grace Isford Partner
Shaq Vayda Partner
David Yang Partner
Lan Jiang Partner
Tess van Stekelenburg Partner
Bilal Zuberi General Partner

About

Lux Capital is a venture capital firm focused on frontier science and deep technology, founded in 2000 by Peter Hébert, Josh Wolfe, and Robert Paull 89. The firm is headquartered in New York City with a second office in Menlo Park, California 10. Neither founder had a prior track record, wealthy family, or deep network when they started the firm in March 2000, just as the tech bubble was about to burst 9.

The firm manages over $7 billion in assets and employs more than 40 full-time professionals 10. Lux invests across a wide range, from $100,000 to $100 million per deal 10. In January 2026, Lux closed its ninth fund at $1.5 billion, the largest in the firm’s history, focused on frontier science and defense technology 11. The prior fund, Lux Ventures VIII, closed at $1.15 billion in 2023 8. Early backers of the firm included financiers Stanley Druckenmiller, Ken Griffin, and Peter G. Peterson, though most current LPs are endowments and nonprofit institutions 9.

In 2025, Lux launched Lux Labs, a $100 million initiative to fund academic research in science-driven innovation 8. Notable portfolio exits include Auris Health (acquired by Johnson & Johnson for $6.1 billion in 2019), Chronosphere (acquired by Palo Alto Networks for $3.35 billion in 2025), and CTRL-Labs (acquired by Meta) 812.

Stated Thesis

Lux Capital’s tagline is “We believe before others understand” 10. The firm publicly describes its focus as investing in “transformational change rather than incremental progress,” targeting “leaders with a vision, who see a radically different future” 10.

Co-founder Josh Wolfe has articulated a “100-0-100 investment philosophy”: the first 100 represents certainty that Lux will invest in “the most cutting-edge, crazy things,” the 0 represents intellectual humility (“I have no idea what those things will be”), and the final 100 is confidence in knowing where to find them — “at the edge of our already cutting-edge companies” 13.

Wolfe has described Lux’s origins in areas “we thought were totally neglected” — specifically the “chemistry, physics, and material science departments” 13. The firm states it aims to “turn science fiction into science fact” by backing companies at the intersection of science and finance 13.

Inferred Thesis

Based on the 24 portfolio companies listed on Lux Capital’s website as of March 2026 14, the following patterns emerge. Note: this represents a subset of an estimated 287 total portfolio organizations 12, so percentages reflect only the most prominently featured investments.

Sector distribution (24 featured companies): - AI/ML and infrastructure: 8 of 24 (33%) — Hugging Face, Cognition, Applied Compute, Runway, Sakana AI, Together.xyz, Modal, Databricks - Biotech/healthcare: 6 of 24 (25%) — Eikon Therapeutics, Kallyope, Recursion Pharma, Aera Therapeutics, A-Alpha Bio, Auris Health - Defense/aerospace: 3 of 24 (13%) — Anduril, Applied Intuition, Hadrian - Enterprise/infrastructure: 4 of 24 (17%) — Benchling, Chronosphere, Matterport, Ramp - Other (sensing, chemistry): 3 of 24 (13%) — Osmo, Erebor, Physical Intelligence

Stage distribution: Lux invests primarily at Series A and Seed, with 107 Series A investments (average round size $27.9M) and 102 Seed investments (average round size $15.8M) historically 12.

Geographic focus: Primarily U.S.-based companies, concentrated in New York and Silicon Valley 810.

Notable pattern: Defense technology is a significant and growing focus. Anduril ($30.5 billion valuation) and Applied Intuition ($15 billion valuation) are the firm’s top portfolio companies by valuation 11. The firm positioned itself in defense technologies years before geopolitical shifts made the sector broadly attractive 11.

Co-investor patterns and portfolio unicorns: The portfolio includes 26 unicorns as of January 2026, with 12 IPOs and 59 acquisitions 12.

Portfolio

Company Stage Year Sector Status Source
Helion Energy Series G 2026-06-04 Fusion / Energy Active ($15.5B valuation) 1
Anduril Seed (also Series C, D, E, H) 2017 (Seed); 2026-05-13 (Series H) Defense Active (valued at $61B post Series H) 111823
Applied Intuition Seed 2017 Autonomous vehicles/Defense Active (valued at $15B) 1119
Hugging Face Series A 2019 AI/ML Active 1420
Runway Seed 2018 AI/Creative tools Active 1121
Databricks Growth 2021 Data infrastructure Active 14
Cognition Early (2024); $1B+ growth co-led at $26B post-money 2024; 2026-05-27 AI / Developer Tools / Coding Agents Active 1426
Physical Intelligence Early 2024 Robotics/AI Active 14
Eikon Therapeutics Early 2019 Biotech Active 14
Recursion Pharma Early 2016 Biotech Public (RXRX) 814
Benchling Series A 2015 Life sciences software Active 14
Ramp Seed 2019 Fintech Active 1422
Hadrian Early 2021 Defense manufacturing Active 14
Matterport Early 2012 3D mapping Public (via SPAC) 814
Chronosphere Series A 2019 Cloud monitoring Acquired (Palo Alto Networks, $3.35B) 12
Auris Health Early 2014 Medical robotics Acquired (J&J, $6.1B) 8
Osmo Seed 2022 Chemistry/Scent Active 14
Kallyope Early 2015 Biotech Active 14
Sakana AI Early 2024 AI research Active 14
Together.xyz Early 2022 AI infrastructure Active 14
Modal Seed 2022 Cloud compute Active 14
A-Alpha Bio Seed 2019 Biotech Active 14
Aera Therapeutics Early 2021 Biotech Active 14
Applied Compute Early 2024 AI infrastructure Active 14
Erebor Early 2023 Technology Active 14
Nominal Series B Extension 2026 Defense Tech / Hardware Active 16
XDOF Venture 2026-06-17 Robotics / AI Infrastructure Active ($70M launch from stealth with Thrive, Spark, a16z, WndrCo) 2930
Cloaked Series A 2022 Consumer / Privacy Active 17
Cognichip Seed + Series A 2024 AI / Semiconductors Active 15
Amca Series B (participant) 2026-05-20 Aerospace & Defense / Manufacturing Active 24
Armada Series B (participant) 2026-05-19 AI Infrastructure / Edge Active 25
Observable Space Series A (led, $90M) 2026-05-28 Space / Defense / Lasercom Active 27
Impulse Space Series D (participant, $500M at $4.26B post-money; 137 Ventures + BANNER VC co-led) 2026-06-02 Aerospace / In-Space Mobility Active 28
Flourish Venture (co-led, $500M at $2.5B post-money; with GV) 2026-06-04 AI / Neuroscience / Connectomics Active 234
Westmag Seed (participant, $11M; a16z led) 2026-06-02 Defense / Robotics / Drone Motors / Actuators Active 567
1001 Series A (led, $30M) 2026-06-30 Sovereign AI / Critical Infrastructure Active 313233
Traysar Seed (participant, $25M; Silent Ventures led) 2026-06-16 Defense / Subterranean Robotics Active 343536
Monogram Seed (co-led with DST Global, $40M) 2026-07-07 AI / Consumer AI / Mobile Active 373839

This table represents approximately 9% of Lux Capital’s estimated 287 portfolio organizations 12. Years shown are approximate based on available data.

In Their Own Words

“Lux started with this sort of definitional focus on areas we thought were totally neglected. Let’s go after the chemistry, physics, and material science departments.” — Josh Wolfe, Lux Capital co-founder 13

“I like to find areas where there’s really high scientific and technical complexity.” — Josh Wolfe 13

“We like to think differently, but the truth is, we want people to agree with us… but later.” — Josh Wolfe 13

“I’m both an optimist about the endless frontier of technological possibility and a realist who believes failure comes from a failure to imagine failure.” — Josh Wolfe 9

“Try to understand what the consensus is, find a variant perception, something that people aren’t thinking about.” — Josh Wolfe 13

“What is predictive of financial returns is how much capital is going into the sector. The more capital that is going into the sector, the worse financial returns will be.” — Josh Wolfe 13

What Founders Say

No independently sourced founder testimonials found. Lux Capital’s portfolio companies have spoken positively about the firm’s hands-on advisory approach and network access 8, but specific verified founder quotes attributable to named individuals could not be independently confirmed at this time.

Sources

  1. Helion Energy press release, “Helion Raises $465 Million Series G Funding Round to Meet Surging Global Demand for Power,” June 4, 2026. Accessed June 2026. https://www.helionenergy.com/newsroom/helion-raises-465-million-series-g-funding-round-to-meet-surging-global-demand-for-power↩

  2. Maria Deutscher, “AI startup Flourish reportedly raises $500M round backed by Jeff Bezos,” SiliconANGLE, June 4, 2026. Accessed June 2026. https://siliconangle.com/2026/06/04/ai-startup-flourish-reportedly-raises-500m-round-backed-jeff-bezos/ — Confirms Lux Capital and GV co-led Flourish’s $500M round on June 4, 2026 at $2.5B post-money valuation; Catalio Capital Management and Jeff Bezos also participated. ↩

  3. “The AlleyWatch Startup Daily Funding Report: 6/5/2026,” AlleyWatch, June 5, 2026. Accessed June 2026. https://www.alleywatch.com/2026/06/the-alleywatch-startup-daily-funding-report-6-5-2026/↩

  4. “Catalio’s Neuroscience Startup Flourish Emerges With Funding from Bezos, Google Ventures,” citybiz, June 2026. Accessed June 2026. https://www.citybiz.co/article/856404/catalios-neuroscience-startup-flourish-emerges-with-funding-from-bezos-google-ventures/↩

  5. BusinessWire (via Las Vegas Sun), “Westmag Emerges With $11 Million Seed Led By Andreessen Horowitz to Build America’s Drone Motor and Robot Actuator Industry,” June 2, 2026. Accessed June 2026. https://lasvegassun.com/news/2026/jun/02/westmag-emerges-with-11-million-seed-led-by-andree/ — Confirms Andreessen Horowitz led; Founders Fund, Lux Capital, NFDG, and Menlo Ventures participated. Erin Price-Wright (a16z GP) quoted. ↩

  6. The AI Insider, “Westmag Emerges From Stealth With $11M in Seed Funding for American-Made Drone Motors and Robot Actuators,” June 3, 2026. Accessed June 2026. https://theaiinsider.tech/2026/06/03/westmag-emerges-from-stealth-with-11-million-seed-in-funding-led-by-andreessen-horowitz-for-american-made-drone-motors-and-robot-actuators/ — Independently confirms Lux Capital participation alongside Founders Fund, NFDG, and Menlo Ventures. ↩

  7. DroneXL, “Westmag Raises $11M To Build American Drone Motors, Betting Scale Beats China On Price,” June 3, 2026. Accessed June 2026. https://dronexl.co/2026/06/03/westmag-11m-american-drone-motors-fcc-ban/ — Third independent confirmation: “the round was led by Andreessen Horowitz, with participation from Founders Fund, Lux Capital, NFDG and Menlo Ventures.” ↩

  8. Sparkco, “Lux Capital: A Comprehensive Investor Profile,” accessed March 2026. https://sparkco.ai/blog/lux-capital↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩

  9. Newcomer, “Ignored, Obscure, Obscure, Obscure,” accessed March 2026. https://www.newcomer.co/p/ignored-obscure-obscure-obscure↩↩↩↩

  10. Lux Capital website, “About,” accessed March 2026. https://www.luxcapital.com/about↩↩↩↩↩↩

  11. TechCrunch, “Lux Capital lands $1.5B for its largest fund ever,” January 7, 2026. https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/07/lux-capital-lands-1-5-billion-for-its-largest-fund-ever/↩↩↩↩↩↩

  12. Tracxn, “Lux Capital - 2026 Investor Profile, Portfolio, Team & Investment Trends,” accessed March 2026. https://tracxn.com/d/venture-capital/lux-capital/__GYav2s0CpJYtKuH74TT9JyNQSZPYCXHgZgoi2ivawOM↩↩↩↩↩↩

  13. 25iq, “Lessons from Josh Wolfe (Lux Capital),” July 2018. https://25iq.com/2018/07/07/lessons-from-josh-wolfe-lux-capital/↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩

  14. Lux Capital website, “Companies,” accessed March 2026. https://www.luxcapital.com/companies↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩

  15. BusinessWire, “Seligman Ventures Leads Cognichip’s $60M Series A,” April 1, 2026. Lux participated in seed and Series A. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260401581076/en/↩

  16. “Nominal Valued at $1B as Founders Fund Leads $80M Acceleration Round.” GlobeNewsWire, March 5, 2026. https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/03/05/3250350/0/en/Nominal-Valued-at-1B-as-Founders-Fund-Leads-80M-Acceleration-Round.html↩

  17. “Cloaked raises $25M Series A.” TechCrunch, March 29, 2022. https://techcrunch.com/2022/03/29/cloaked-series-a/↩

  18. Crunchbase, “Defense Tech Startup Anduril Raises Massive $1.5B Round At $8.5B Valuation,” accessed April 2026. https://news.crunchbase.com/ai-robotics/defense-tech-startup-venture-capital-anduril/↩

  19. Crunchbase, “Autonomous Vehicle Startup Applied Intuition Hits $6B Valuation After $250M Series E,” accessed April 2026. https://news.crunchbase.com/transportation/applied-intuition-valuation-autonomous-vehicle-startup-funding/↩

  20. TechCrunch, “Hugging Face raises $15 million to build the definitive natural language processing library,” December 17, 2019. https://techcrunch.com/2019/12/17/hugging-face-raises-15-million-to-build-the-definitive-natural-language-processing-library/↩

  21. Tracxn, “Runway — Funding Rounds & List of Investors,” accessed April 2026. https://tracxn.com/d/companies/runway/__YJRXAM3_qhw8sHb_MGKQpeME5TjwsPw8p7TiYBSHHgM/funding-and-investors↩

  22. Tracxn, “Ramp — Funding Rounds & List of Investors,” accessed April 2026. https://tracxn.com/d/companies/ramp/__mMFluFx9yKyt9DXRq5KzSGK2frbsYq5y9jc9XK9-g9E↩

  23. TechCrunch, “Anduril raises $5B, doubles valuation to $61B,” May 13, 2026. Accessed May 2026. https://techcrunch.com/2026/05/13/anduril-raises-5b-doubles-valuation-to-61b/ — Series H of $5B at $61B post-money led by Thrive Capital and Andreessen Horowitz; existing investors Founders Fund and Lux Capital also participated (per Axios reporting on the round formation). ↩

  24. PR Newswire, “Amca Closes $300M Series B at $1B+ Valuation to Strengthen America’s Critical Component Supply Chain,” May 20, 2026. Accessed May 2026. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/amca-closes-300m-series-b-at-1b-valuation-to-strengthen-americas-critical-component-supply-chain-302776943.html↩

  25. PR Newswire, “Armada Announces Agreement with Johnson Controls for Galleon Forge One; Raises $230M in Oversubscribed Series B,” May 19, 2026. Accessed May 2026. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/armada-announces-agreement-with-johnson-controls-for-galleon-forge-one-raises-230m-in-oversubscribed-series-b-with-a-pre-money-valuation-of-2b-to-accelerate-deployment-of-the-us-ai-stack-and-support-explosive-customer-demand–302775720.html↩

  26. TechCrunch, “AI coding startup Cognition raises $1B at $25B pre-money valuation,” May 27, 2026. Accessed May 2026. https://techcrunch.com/2026/05/27/ai-coding-startup-cognition-raises-1b-at-25b-pre-money-valuation/ — Confirms Lux Capital co-led Cognition’s $1B+ round on May 27, 2026 at $26B post-money valuation with General Catalyst and 8VC; Elad Gil, Soma Capital, Omri Casspi, Founders Fund, Ribbit Capital, Atreides, and Layer Global participated. ↩

  27. Observable Space, “Observable Space Closes $90 Million Series A to Scale Manufacturing and Turnkey Lasercom Platform, Announces $94 Million U.S. Space Force Contract,” May 28, 2026. Accessed May 2026. https://observable.space/news/observable-space-closes-90-million-series-a-to-scale-manufacturing-and-turnkey-lasercom-platform-announces-94-million-u-s-space-force-contract/ — Confirms Lux Capital led Observable Space’s $90M Series A on May 28, 2026; RTX Ventures, Upfront Ventures, Detroit Venture Partners, and Island Green Capital were co-leads; BRV Capital, Fathom Fund, and Venrex also participated. Observable Space simultaneously announced a $94M Space Force contract. ↩

  28. TechCrunch, “Rocket engine startup Impulse raises $500 million to hire people, not AI,” June 2, 2026. Accessed June 2026. https://techcrunch.com/2026/06/02/rocket-engine-startup-impulse-raises-500-million-to-hire-people-not-ai/ — Confirms Lux Capital participated in Impulse Space’s $500M Series D on June 2, 2026 at $4.26B post-money valuation; 137 Ventures and BANNER VC co-led; Founders Fund and Linse Capital also participated. ↩

  29. SiliconANGLE, “Robotic teleoperation data startup XDOF launches with $70M in funding,” June 17, 2026. Accessed June 2026. https://siliconangle.com/2026/06/17/robotic-teleoperation-data-startup-xdof-launches-70m-funding/ — Names Lux Capital as investor in XDOF’s $70M launch from stealth. ↩

  30. The AI Insider, “Robotics Infrastructure Startup XDOF Emerges from Stealth with $70M in Funding,” June 18, 2026. Accessed June 2026. https://theaiinsider.tech/2026/06/18/robotics-infrastructure-startup-xdof-emerges-from-stealth-with-70m-in-funding/↩

  31. Khaleej Times, “1001 raises $30 million to build sovereign AI for GCC’s critical infrastructure,” July 2, 2026. Accessed July 2026. https://www.khaleejtimes.com/business/1001-raises-30-million-to-build-sovereign-ai-for-gccs-critical-infrastructure — Confirms Lux Capital led 1001’s $30M Series A on June 30, 2026, with Sanabil Investments, 9Yards, Hanabi, General Catalyst, CIV, and Chris Ré participating. ↩

  32. Wamda, “1001 closes $30 million Series A to build sovereign AI in GCC,” June 30, 2026. Accessed July 2026. https://www.wamda.com/2026/06/1001-closes-30-million-series-a-build-sovereign-ai-gcc↩

  33. Zawya, “1001 raises $30mln to build sovereign AI for GCC’s critical infrastructure,” June 30, 2026. Accessed July 2026. https://www.zawya.com/en/press-release/companies-news/1001-raises-30mln-to-build-sovereign-ai-for-gccs-critical-infrastructure-fd3s5i9m↩

  34. PR Newswire, “Traysar Raises $25M Seed, Emerges from Stealth at Reindustrialize as the World’s First Subterranean Defense Tech Company,” June 16, 2026. Accessed July 2026. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/traysar-raises-25m-seed-emerges-from-stealth-at-reindustrialize-as-the-worlds-first-subterranean-defense-tech-company-302802698.html — Confirms Silent Ventures led; Lux Capital, Ora Global, NeverLift VC, Mana, Impatient Ventures, New Vista, and Entree Capital participated. ↩

  35. Dealroom.co, “Traysar emerges from stealth with $25M seed for subterranean defence tech,” accessed July 2026. https://app.dealroom.co/news/note/traysar-emerges-from-stealth-with-25m-seed-for-subterranean-defence-tech — Independently confirms Lux Capital participation in Traysar’s $25M seed round. ↩

  36. SatNews, “Underground Maneuver: Traysar Emerges From Stealth With $25M Seed Round to Modernize Subterranean Warfare,” June 23, 2026. Accessed July 2026. https://satnews.com/2026/06/23/underground-maneuver-traysar-emerges-from-stealth-with-25m-seed-round-to-modernize-subterranean-warfare/ — Third independent confirmation: Silent Ventures led, with participation from Lux Capital, Ora Global, NeverLift VC, Mana, Impatient Ventures, New Vista, and Entree Capital; strategic angels include Steve Blank and founders from Anduril Industries and Erebor. ↩

  37. Monogram, “Introducing Monogram, a new interface for AI,” company launch blog post, July 2026. Accessed July 2026. https://www.monogram.ai/blog/introducing-monogram — Company-channel confirmation: “The financing round was led by DST Global and Lux Capital” with participation from Conviction, SOMA Capital, Gradient Ventures, e2vc, Maxitech, and angels including Arthur Mensch, Logan Green, Karim Atiyeh, Garry Tan, Pete Flint, Mario Schlosser, Othman Laraki, Lenny Rachitsky, and Charlie Songhurst. ↩

  38. Eren Bali, X post announcing Monogram launch and $40M seed round, July 7, 2026. Accessed July 2026. https://x.com/erenbali/status/207450267160067293 — Founder-channel confirmation: “Today, we are launching @monogram_ai and announcing our $40m seed round led by DST and Lux Capital.” ↩

  39. Tech Startups, “Venture Capital & Startup Funding Roundup, July 7, 2026,” July 7, 2026. Accessed July 2026. https://techstartups.com/2026/07/07/venture-capital-startup-funding-roundup-july-7-2026/ — Independent third-party confirmation of DST Global and Lux Capital as co-leads of Monogram’s $40M seed round, with participation from Conviction, SOMA Capital, Gradient Ventures, e2.vc, and Maxitech. ↩