+3.4%
since Sep 30
The idea
I believe the economy is starting to pay more for discovery than for knowledge, since AI makes information cheap but speeds up how fast anyone can attempt something new. Rather than guess which lab finds the next breakthrough, this basket owns the tools that get paid regardless of who wins: instrument makers, simulation and AI-for-science software, DNA reading and writing, and lab automation. It's spread across many names so no single company carries the bet, keeps a small cash buffer for weakness, and is meant to be held for years, not judged by any single quarter.
What it owns
- These companies sell the core instruments, consumables and services that labs worldwide depend on for every discovery attempt, collecting revenue regardless of which research direction succeeds. · Thermo Fisher ScientificIt sells instruments, consumables and services to research and biopharma labs worldwide, so it collects revenue on nearly every discovery attempt regardless of outcome., DanaherIt owns a portfolio of life-science and diagnostics businesses that get paid as biology research and drug production scale, while consistently adding new tools through acquisitions., Agilent TechnologiesIt supplies chromatography, spectroscopy and lab instruments with high-margin recurring revenue from consumables and services that chemistry and biology labs run every day., BrukerIt sells advanced scientific instruments including NMR, mass spectrometry and microscopy that frontier research cannot conduct without., Waters CorporationIt dominates liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry with high-margin recurring revenue from its installed base, the core tools for molecular identification., RevvityIt sells reagents, instruments and software that life-science labs and diagnostics providers consume as they work, with strong recurring revenue from consumables., Mettler-ToledoIt makes precision balances and measurement equipment that sit in essentially every lab and quality-control line globally, used to start every experiment with exact measurements.34%
- These companies sell the software that lets researchers and engineers test ideas on computers before building them, displacing some physical trial and error with computation. · SchrodingerIt sells physics-based simulation software that lets drug hunters test molecules on a computer before making them, replacing some wet-lab work with computation., Cadence Design SystemsIt operates as one half of the chip-design software duopoly and is expanding the simulation-first approach into drug discovery and broader systems design., SynopsysIt sells the design software without which no modern chip gets designed, and semiconductor design activity is increasingly central to discovery work., CertaraIt sells biosimulation software that models how drugs behave in the body, letting companies and regulators replace some animal testing with computation.19%
- These companies provide the tools and platforms that let researchers design, build and sequence new biological systems, from synthetic genes to single-cell analysis. · IlluminaIt makes the machines that read DNA, the raw data layer of biological discovery, and gets paid per run on a large installed base of research labs., Twist BioscienceIt writes DNA to order on silicon chips, letting researchers start biology engineering projects with cheap synthetic genes instead of hunting for natural ones., 10x GenomicsIt sells tools that let researchers study biology at single-cell and spatial resolution, a level of detail increasingly central to discovery work., Ginkgo BioworksIt operates a platform for engineering organisms where companies outsource their biology R&D attempts rather than building labs themselves, capturing value in outsourced cell programming., Pacific BiosciencesIt reads long stretches of DNA accurately, catching structural variations and completeness that short-read sequencing misses, adding value as genomics research advances.16%
- These companies make the test, measurement and sensing gear that engineers and scientists use to develop new electronics, materials and physical systems. · Keysight TechnologiesIt makes the test and measurement equipment that engineers use to develop new electronics, wireless systems and quantum hardware at the frontier of physical technology., Teledyne TechnologiesIt makes sensors, cameras and instruments that let scientists measure phenomena from ocean depths to orbit, expanding what researchers can observe and study., FortiveIt sells precision instruments and workflow software that industrial and healthcare operations depend on, capturing value as more industries run on physical-world data.13%
- These companies automate the handling, testing and movement of samples and components as discovery work scales up, getting paid on rising attempt volume. · AzentaIt stores, moves and manages the biological samples that discovery work generates, so sample volumes and automated handling directly drive its business., TeradyneIt tests semiconductor chips before shipment and sells collaborative robots that automate lab and factory work, getting paid as production and automation volumes rise.9%
- Cash9%