About
Lux Capital, founded in 2000 by Peter Hébert, Robert Paull, and Josh Wolfe, represents a distinctive venture capital approach: identifying and backing scientist-founders building counter-conventional technologies with radical potential. Based in New York City (headquarters) with offices in Menlo Park, California, Lux manages over $5-7 billion in assets under management and employs 40+ professionals with technical backgrounds spanning physics, chemistry, engineering, and computer science. The firm's investment thesis emphasizes founders who see reshaping entire industries as merely table stakes, identifying teams willing to tackle fundamental technological challenges others avoid. Lux's investment flexibility spans from $100,000 seed checks through $100,000,000+ growth investments, enabling deep support across company lifecycles. The firm's sectors include deep tech (physics-based technologies), biotechnology, climate/energy, defense/aerospace, and emerging technologies where scientific rigor and technical judgment create competitive advantage. Notable Lux portfolio companies operate at the intersection of frontier technology and massive markets: quantum computing, advanced materials, synthetic biology, directed energy, and emerging defense technologies. The firm's recent fundraising success (2024-2025 saw substantial capital raised) reflects increased institutional focus on deep tech and emerging technologies, particularly in defense-aligned sectors. Josh Wolfe, co-founder and head of research, has become a prominent voice on technological disruption, publishing the Lux Research publication and regularly speaking at major tech conferences. The firm's founder-scientist approach—backing experts with domain knowledge rather than pure operators—differentiates Lux in a venture landscape often skewed toward software/SaaS expertise. Lux's combination of technical sophistication, capital scale, and founder network positions it as a premier deep tech venture capital firm.