−3.9%
since Oct 9
The idea
I believe the economy is starting to pay more for discovery than for knowledge, since AI makes knowing things cheap but makes the rate of new attempts at drugs, materials, and chips faster than ever. Rather than bet on which lab wins, I own the toolkit everyone uses to try: lab instruments and automation at roughly half the basket, simulation and AI-for-science software, and the genomics layer that makes and tests biology. I hold about 9% in cash for weakness and plan to hold this for years, not quarters, only rethinking it if discovery itself stops accelerating.
What it owns
- These companies sell the core instruments, consumables and services that labs worldwide depend on for research and diagnostics, collecting revenue on discovery attempts regardless of which ones succeed. · Thermo Fisher ScientificIt is the largest supplier of instruments, consumables and services to research and diagnostic labs worldwide, collecting revenue on nearly every discovery attempt., DanaherIt owns a portfolio of life-science and diagnostics businesses that benefit as research and drug production scale, and regularly expands its toolkit through acquisitions., Agilent TechnologiesIt supplies chromatography, spectroscopy and laboratory instruments along with recurring consumables and services that those tools require., Waters CorporationIt dominates liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry with high-margin recurring revenue from an installed base that pharma and materials labs depend on daily., BrukerIt sells advanced scientific instruments including nuclear magnetic resonance, mass spectrometry and microscopy that frontier research requires., Mettler-ToledoIt makes the precision balances and measurement instruments that sit in essentially every laboratory and quality-control facility globally., RevvityIt sells reagents, instruments and software to life-science labs and diagnostics providers as they conduct research and generate results.34%
- These companies provide the software platforms that let researchers model and test molecules, drugs and chip designs on computers before building them, replacing some physical trial and error with computation. · SchrodingerIt sells physics-based simulation software that lets drug researchers test molecules on computers before synthesizing them, enabling computational drug design at scale., Cadence Design SystemsIt is the other half of the chip-design software duopoly and is extending its simulation-first approach into drug discovery and systems design., SynopsysIt supplies the design software without which modern chips cannot be created, holding roughly half of the chip-design software market alongside one major competitor., CertaraIt provides biosimulation software that models how drugs behave in the body, allowing researchers and regulators to reduce human and animal testing through computation.19%
- These companies provide the tools and platforms for generating, sequencing and analyzing biological data at the raw level where discovery attempts begin. · IlluminaIt makes the machines that read DNA sequences, operating a large installed base that generates revenue per run as research sequencing volumes grow., Twist BioscienceIt synthesizes DNA to order on silicon chips, enabling biology engineers to start experiments with affordable custom genetic sequences., 10x GenomicsIt sells tools for studying individual cells and spatial biology, enabling researchers to understand biological systems at resolutions that discovery increasingly demands., Pacific BiosciencesIt reads long stretches of DNA accurately, capturing genetic information that short-read sequencers miss, serving research labs willing to pay for completeness., Ginkgo BioworksIt operates a platform for engineering organisms on behalf of clients, enabling companies to outsource their biology R&D work rather than building internal labs.16%
- These companies make the measurement, sensing and test equipment that engineers and scientists use to develop new electronics, materials and physical systems. · Keysight TechnologiesIt makes the test and measurement instruments that engineers use to develop new electronics, wireless systems and quantum hardware across industries., Teledyne TechnologiesIt makes sensors, cameras and instruments that enable scientists and engineers to measure and observe phenomena across fields from oceanography to space., FortiveIt provides precision instruments and workflow software to industrial and healthcare operations that rely on measurement and data from the physical world.13%
- These companies automate the sample handling, storage and testing work that discovery labs perform, scaling the throughput of research attempts. · AzentaIt stores, moves and manages the biological samples that research labs generate, so discovery volume directly drives its business., TeradyneIt tests semiconductor chips before shipment and sells collaborative robots that automate laboratory and factory workflows, both scaling with production volume.9%
- Cash9%