Human Upgrade Stack
jackie luo@jackie
−1.4%
since Sep 30
The idea
I believe human-machine merge tech, from brain-computer interfaces to gene editing to longevity drugs, moves from fringe to mainstream over the next decade. Since the purest BCI plays are still private, I built this through public companies already putting electrodes in nervous systems, editing genes, and supplying the surgical and compute infrastructure underneath it all. It spans neural interfaces, gene editors, longevity and metabolic drugs, bionics, and the chips that power it, with large incumbents carrying the core and smaller high-upside bets sized so no single one can sink it.
What it owns
- These companies implant devices that communicate with the brain and nervous system, building the foundation for brain-machine interfaces at scale. · MedtronicIt has more electrodes implanted in human nervous systems than any competitor, giving it decades of surgeon relationships and regulatory approvals for the neural implant era., Boston ScientificIt sells nerve stimulation systems at scale across spinal cord and deep brain applications, positioning it as a major player in mainstream neural implants., Abbott LaboratoriesIts deep brain stimulation systems treat movement disorders today, making them the closest working brain-computer interface available to the public., LivaNovaIts vagus nerve stimulators represent implanted machine interventions in the nervous system, following the path from niche treatment to mainstream adoption., NeuroPaceIt makes an implant that reads brain signals and stimulates back in real time, offering the purest public brain-computer interface while private alternatives remain private.23%
- Drugs that chemically reprogram how bodies work represent the first mass-market human upgrade, shifting metabolism and extending healthy lifespan. · Eli LillyIts GLP-1 drugs are already changing how millions of bodies work metabolically, making it a leader in the first mass-market biology upgrade., Novo NordiskIt invented the GLP-1 category and proved millions will pay to reprogram their metabolism, establishing it as a leader in the first practical human upgrade., Alnylam PharmaceuticalsIt upgrades human biology by turning genes off with RNA interference, offering an alternative path to enhancement beyond DNA editing.17%
- Rewriting DNA is the most direct biological upgrade, and approved therapies now turn genetic science from lab demonstrations into actual medicines. · Vertex PharmaceuticalsIt brought the first CRISPR therapy from lab to approved medicine and to market, proving that gene editing can become a real product category., CRISPR TherapeuticsIt is the pure-play on editing human DNA and co-owner of the first approved CRISPR therapy, positioned to capture upside if gene editing becomes routine., Beam TherapeuticsIt edits single DNA letters without cutting the strand, representing a more precise second generation of editing tools for human enhancement., Intellia TherapeuticsIt edits genes inside the body rather than in laboratory dishes, pursuing the scalable version of gene editing that could reach millions of people.17%
- Engineered replacement parts and the robots that install them scale hardware upgrades from experimental procedures into routine medicine. · Intuitive SurgicalIts robot-assisted surgical systems are becoming the standard way surgeons install implants, making it the foundational infrastructure for scaling human-machine procedures., StrykerIt builds the hardware that goes into joints, spines, and increasingly neural systems through acquisitions, giving it scale and balance sheet strength in bionic parts., Edwards LifesciencesIt replaces failing heart valves with engineered hardware, extending lifespan through machine parts that move procedures from open surgery to routine treatment.14%
- Decoding neural signals and designing gene edits both run on advanced processors, making chip manufacturing the computational backbone of human enhancement. · NVIDIAIt supplies nearly all the processors that decode brain signals and design gene edits, making it the computational foundation the entire stack depends on., Taiwan SemiconductorIt fabricates every advanced chip in this take, from implant electronics to AI processors, making it the manufacturing bottleneck for the entire merge.12%
- Reading and interpreting human biology through sequencing and AI diagnostics creates the measurement layer that makes all other upgrades possible. · IlluminaIts sequencers read most of the world's genomes, making them the backbone that cheaper, more common sequencing depends on for all downstream edits and upgrades., Tempus AIIt feeds patient biology into AI models to guide treatment decisions, serving as the data interpretation layer between raw genomes and actual upgrades.7%
- Cash10%