“This is the most thrilling period of scientific and technological experimentation and advancement in the history of mankind,” says co-founder and New York-based Managing Partner Josh Wolfe. “We believe the next generation of industrialist titans will be scientists, technologists and inventors who are doing more than challenging the status quo—they’re literally challenging the laws of physics.”

“At Lux, we invest at the outermost edges of what is possible. This is what venture capital was meant for,” says co-founder and Menlo Park-based Managing Partner Peter Hébert. “We are looking for new advancements with complex technical and scientific barriers that often require the collaboration of multidisciplinary teams. The most amazing, Earth-shattering ideas come to light when you bring together the smartest minds from seemingly unrelated fields of science and technology.”

Among Lux Capital’s current investments:

• Kymeta, which uses the physics of metamaterials to make satellite antennas as thin as paper
• Shapeways, a 3D-printing platform and marketplace that offers a new manufacturing tool set for inventors and industrial designers
• Evolv, which makes new security products using computational imaging and sensors to improve security at airports, stadiums and buildings
• SOLS, which offers consumers custom perfect-fit 3D scanned and 3D printed orthotics
• Kurion, which combines robots and breakthrough chemical engineering to eliminate nuclear waste (including at Fukushima)
• Matterport, which is 3D scanning, capturing and digitizing physical spaces and interiors of buildings and homes
• 3Scan, which develops ultra-high resolution, 3D brain scans and digital organ reconstruction
• Lux also invests in more “every day” technologies, such as drones, satellites, machine learning and artificial intelligence.

“We are fortunate to count as investors some of the world’s most respected institutions, foundations, families and individuals,” says Adam Kalish, General Partner. “Many of our limited partners have built multi-generational empires and even entire industries. They have been generous and eager to help our startups as partners, co-investors, customers and connectors.”

“Cornell is proud to be an investor in Lux Capital's fourth fund,” says Albert J. Edwards, Chief Investment Officer at Cornell University. “We have a broad private equity portfolio and were looking for a venture firm with a differentiated perspective on science and technology. We are excited to be a part of the creation of the next generation of industrial leaders and change makers who are introducing the world to futuristic products, from 3D printers and scanners to autonomous flying vehicles and technologies that even help us see through walls."