sector · cluster
Physical health & disease
Eliminate the infectious diseases we already know how to beat.
Malaria, TB, and HIV still kill millions every year despite proven interventions. The bottleneck is coverage and delivery, not science. Pair that with the next-gen agenda — broad-spectrum antivirals, CRISPR therapeutics, mRNA platforms — and the floor for civilizational health rises a full order of magnitude.
Problems in this sector
2 rankedCompanies on it
13 mapped →mRNA platform company. Pandemic preparedness via rapid vaccine development, plus pipeline in malaria, HIV, and rare disease.
De-extinction and genetic engineering. Biosecurity adjacency via rapid genome editing and cold-chain logistics.
Global pharma. Manufacturer of RTS, S and R21 malaria vaccines; major HIV and TB portfolios.
HIV franchise leader (Biktarvy, Descovy, lenacapavir as twice-yearly PrEP). Also hep B/C, oncology.
Vaccine alliance funding immunization in low-income countries. Vaccinated over 1B children since 2000.
Distributes long-lasting insecticidal nets. Consistently top-rated GiveWell charity for cost-effective impact.
AI-driven drug discovery. Industrializes biology through automated phenotypic screening at scale.
Alphabet-spinoff applying AlphaFold-class ML to drug design. Deals with Novartis and Eli Lilly.
Cellular rejuvenation via partial reprogramming. $3B at founding with Shinya Yamanaka on scientific board.
Alphabet company for aging biology. Research partnership with AbbVie; long-horizon mandate rare in pharma.
Cellular reprogramming, autophagy, and plasma-exchange therapeutics. Seed-funded by Sam Altman at $180M.
Partial reprogramming for aging, started by Blake Byers, Jacob Kimmel, and Brian Armstrong.
Capital on it
7 allocators →Emergent Ventures
GrantFast grants. High-variance, unconventional, talent-first.
Thiel Fellowship
Fellowship$100k to stop out of school and build something important.
Deep Science Ventures
Venture StudioOutcome-first venture creation. Define the holy-grail outcome, then recruit founders.
Founders Fund
Venture CapitalContrarian hard tech that rebuilds the industrial base.
Lux Capital
Venture CapitalCounter-conventional science at the edges of physics and biology.
Fifty Years
Venture CapitalEvery portfolio company must solve a UN SDG. Profit with purpose, no exceptions.
Rise Fund (TPG)
Venture CapitalGrowth-stage impact investing with rigorous Impact Multiple of Money scoring.