−5.1%
since Oct 1
The idea
I believe the economy is starting to pay more for discovery than for known knowledge, since AI makes information cheap but accelerates the rate of new attempts at breakthroughs. Rather than guess which lab or biotech wins, I own the picks and shovels that get paid regardless: instrument makers, simulation and AI-for-science software, DNA reading and writing tools, and lab automation, spread across many names so no single one carries the bet. I keep a 9% cash reserve for weakness and plan to hold this for years, not quarters.
What it owns
- These companies sell the core instruments, consumables and services that labs worldwide depend on for every discovery attempt, collecting revenue across the entire research ecosystem. · Thermo Fisher ScientificIt is the largest global seller of instruments, consumables and services to research labs, collecting revenue on nearly every discovery attempt regardless of which researcher or company succeeds., DanaherIt owns a portfolio of life-science and diagnostics businesses that get paid as research and drug production scale, and it regularly expands its toolkit through acquisitions in pathology and discovery tools., Agilent TechnologiesIt supplies the chromatography, spectroscopy and lab instruments that chemistry and biology labs run daily, plus the high-margin consumables and services those instruments require., Waters CorporationIt dominates liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry with a large installed base and high-margin consumables revenue, remaining essential as pharma and materials labs scale their discovery work., BrukerIt sells the advanced scientific instruments, including NMR, mass spectrometry and microscopy, that frontier research cannot do without in academic and industrial labs., Mettler-ToledoIt makes the balances and precision measurement instruments that sit in essentially every lab and quality-control line globally, paid on the growth of lab counts and quality standards worldwide., RevvityIt sells the reagents, instruments and software that life-science labs and diagnostics providers consume as they conduct research and testing work.34%
- These companies provide the software platforms that let researchers model molecules, design chips and simulate drug behavior on computers, replacing some physical trial and error with computation. · SchrodingerIt sells physics-based simulation software that lets drug hunters test molecules on a computer before synthesizing them, enabling computational design to displace some wet-lab work., SynopsysIt sells the design software without which no modern chip gets designed, holding a half of the design-software duopoly as semiconductor design activity grows., Cadence Design SystemsIt holds the other half of the chip-design software duopoly and is extending its simulation-first approach into drug discovery and systems design as design activity expands., CertaraIt sells biosimulation software that models how drugs behave in the body, allowing companies and regulators to replace some human and animal testing with computational evidence.19%
- These companies provide the foundational tools for generating and analyzing biological data, from DNA sequencing and synthesis to single-cell analysis and organism engineering platforms. · IlluminaIt makes the machines that read DNA sequences, the raw data layer for biological discovery, and gets paid per run across a large installed base of instruments., Twist BioscienceIt writes DNA to order on silicon chips, enabling researchers to start biology engineering projects with inexpensive synthetic genes rather than waiting for natural sources., 10x GenomicsIt sells tools that let researchers study biology one cell at a time, enabling the single-cell and spatial analysis resolution that the discovery economy increasingly demands., Pacific BiosciencesIt reads long stretches of DNA accurately, capturing genetic details that short-read sequencing misses, and gets paid as long-read sequencing gains share in research budgets., Ginkgo BioworksIt runs a platform for engineering organisms, getting paid as companies outsource their biology R&D attempts rather than building internal research infrastructure.16%
- These companies make the test, measurement and sensing equipment that engineers and scientists use to develop new electronics, materials, quantum systems and physical technologies. · Keysight TechnologiesIt makes the test and measurement instruments that engineers use to develop new electronics, wireless systems and quantum hardware, getting paid on every R&D push in physical technology., Teledyne TechnologiesIt makes sensors, cameras and measurement instruments that let scientists see and measure phenomena they could not observe before, across oceanography, space and industrial applications., FortiveIt sells precision instruments and workflow software for industrial and healthcare operations, serving the applied measurement toolkit as more industries depend on data from the physical world.13%
- These companies automate the handling, storage and testing of samples and products, getting paid as discovery volume and manufacturing complexity increase over time. · AzentaIt stores, moves and manages the biological samples that discovery work generates, so growth in experiment volume directly drives demand for its automated sample management services., TeradyneIt tests chips before shipment and sells collaborative robots that automate factory and lab work, earning revenue as chip production and automation adoption both grow.9%
- Cash9%