The idea
I think the economy is starting to pay more for discovery than for knowledge, since AI makes knowing things cheap while speeding up how fast people can attempt new breakthroughs in drugs, materials, and chips. Rather than guess which lab wins, I own the tools that get paid regardless: instrument makers, simulation and AI-for-science software, DNA reading and writing, and lab automation, spread across many names so no single company carries the bet.
What it owns
- Large diversified suppliers of instruments, consumables and services that labs and manufacturers depend on for every experiment and quality check, collecting revenue across discovery attempts regardless of outcome. · Thermo Fisher ScientificSupplies instruments, consumables and services to research and biopharma labs globally, collecting revenue on nearly every discovery attempt regardless of who succeeds., DanaherOwns a portfolio of life-science and diagnostics businesses that benefit as biological research and drug production scale, and regularly adds to its toolkit through acquisitions., Agilent TechnologiesSupplies chromatography, spectroscopy and laboratory instruments plus the recurring consumables and services that those systems pull through daily., Waters CorporationDominates liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry instruments with high-margin recurring revenue from consumables and installed base across pharma and materials labs., BrukerSells advanced scientific instruments including NMR, mass spectrometry and microscopy systems that frontier research cannot perform without., RevvitySells reagents, instruments and software that life-science labs and diagnostics providers consume daily, with recurring revenue as research spending grows., Mettler-ToledoMakes precision balances and measurement equipment that sit in nearly every lab and quality-control line globally, scaling with lab growth and rising quality standards.34%
- Software platforms that use physics-based modeling and computational design to replace or reduce physical trial and error in drug discovery, chip design and systems engineering. · SchrodingerSells physics-based simulation software that lets drug hunters test molecules on a computer before synthesis, replacing some wet-lab trial and error with computation., Cadence Design SystemsPart of the chip-design software duopoly and pushing simulation-first approaches into drug discovery and systems design as design activity grows., SynopsysDominates the software without which modern chips cannot be designed, capturing revenue as semiconductor design activity grows and chips become platforms for discovery., CertaraSells biosimulation software that models how drugs behave in the body, letting developers use computation to replace some human and animal testing with regulatory approval.19%
- Companies that provide the tools to synthesize, sequence and analyze biological molecules and cells at the foundation of biotech research and engineering. · IlluminaMakes the machines that read DNA sequences from a large installed base of research labs, generating recurring revenue on every run performed., Twist BioscienceWrites DNA to order on silicon chips, enabling researchers to start biological engineering with cheap synthetic genes rather than natural sources., 10x GenomicsProvides tools that let researchers study individual cells rather than bulk tissue, enabling the higher resolution of analysis that discovery increasingly demands., Ginkgo BioworksOperates a platform for engineering organisms and getting paid as companies outsource biology R&D attempts rather than building internal discovery labs., Pacific BiosciencesReads long stretches of DNA accurately, catching genetic variation that short-read sequencing misses, capturing share as long-read adoption grows in research budgets.16%
- Makers of sensors, measurement gear and test equipment that let engineers and scientists observe and quantify physical phenomena in electronics, communications, materials and environmental research. · Keysight TechnologiesMakes the test and measurement equipment that engineers use to develop new electronics, wireless systems and quantum hardware across R&D efforts., Teledyne TechnologiesMakes the sensors, cameras and instruments that let scientists and engineers measure across domains from oceanography to space, expanding with physical-science measurement demand., FortiveSupplies precision instruments and workflow software that industrial and healthcare operations depend on, capturing demand as more sectors rely on data from physical-world measurement.13%
- Providers of systems and robots that automate sample handling, storage and testing, reducing manual work as research and production volumes grow. · AzentaStores, moves and manages biological samples that discovery work generates, scaling revenue as experiment volumes compound across research organizations., TeradyneTests chips before shipment and sells collaborative robots that automate lab and factory work, capturing revenue as chip production and automation adoption grow.9%
- Cash9%