This is a a live panel ran by SOSV to introduce and discuss solutions funded by some of the most active investors in deep tech startups fighting Covid-19.

This podcast is hosted by Benjamin Joffe, Partner at SOSV, a global early stage fund focused on deep tech with over $700m under management. SOSV runs multiple accelerator programs, including HAX (intelligent hardware) and IndieBio (life sciences).

Episode Overview

This recording has 3 parts:

The speakers are:

Introduction & Moderation:

Thanks to our speakers for their insights and to our audience for great questions! Speakers can be contacted at Twitter: Jun Axup (@junaxup, @indbio, @SOSV), Alex Morgan (@genomicsdoc or @khoslaventures) Seth Bannon (@sethbannon or @fiftyyears). Some of the remaining questions are on Twitter for further discussion.

Resources

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Eric Rosenblum is a Managing Partner at Tsingyuan Ventures, an early stage US fund with over $100m under management. They believe in the opportunity of cross-border and cross-discipline investments and focus primarily on US-based science startups founded by the Chinese tech diaspora.

• Prior to co-founding Tsingyuan Ventures, Eric graduated from Harvard, worked at BCG then got an MBA at MIT and worked as a management consultant and serial entrepreneur in China for 14 years.

Some context

This episode is particularly timely following the recent ‘Proclamation on the Suspension of Entry as Nonimmigrants of Certain Students and Researchers from the People’s Republic of China’ by the White House.

According to the Department of Homeland Security, in the 2018–19 academic year, there were enrolled at U.S. universities:

• 272,470 undergraduate and graduate students from China.

These restrictions are focused on students coming from mainland universities associated with the army, but might impact the ‘intellectual balance of trade’ that had been so favorable to the US so far.

Episode Overview

In this episode, we discuss:

• The early days of China’s tech scene and the waves of Chinese PhDs in the US, to highlight the upcoming surge in opportunities, particularly with the many applications of AI at scale.

References Mentioned

• Eric mentions successful companies founded by the Chinese diaspora (including Guitar Hero, Nvidia, Zoom, etc.) More here.

Last, here are Eric's all-time favorites, that also happen to be very timely:

• Taylor Branch’s series on MLK Jr. Starting with “Parting the Waters”.

Previous Episodes

• Overview of Deep Tech Investment, Based on the Report by Different

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• Podcast: Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Spotify, etc.

Leslie Jump is the CEO and Mack Kolarich the CPO of Different, an organization that helps institutions and family offices discover, analyze, diligence, and select venture capital funds.

• They recently completed a remarkable DeepTech Investing Report based on more than 150 interviews with VCs, LPs and other stakeholders.

Prior to Different, Leslie and Mack had diverse experiences including founding and investing in tech companies, and running investment workshops around the world.

This podcast is hosted by Benjamin Joffe, Partner at SOSV, a global early stage fund focused on deep tech. SOSV runs multiple accelerator programs including HAX (intelligent hardware) and IndieBio (life sciences).

Episode Overview

In a recent podcast with Joe Rogan, Elon Musk said:

This seems especially true in deep tech.

In this episode, we discuss:

• How scientific entrepreneurs are under-capitalized relative to the market and relative to their own potential.

References Mentioned

• Different and their DeepTech Investing Report

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• Podcast: Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Spotify, etc.

Sota Nagano is a Partner at Abies Ventures, a $40m early stage deep tech fund based in Tokyo backed by Taizo Son, a billionare active tech investor, and younger brother of Masa, creator of the famous Vision Fund.

• Abies Ventures invests in Japan and abroad in industrial tech,

Prior to Abies, Sota studied in the US and Italy, worked on Wall Street. He then co-founded an automotive engineering startup named GLM, which Financial Times called Japan’s Tesla, and which he took public for $1.5B in 2017.

This podcast is hosted by Benjamin Joffe, Partner at SOSV, a global early stage fund focused on deep tech with over $700m under management.

• SOSV runs multiple accelerator programs, including HAX (intelligent hardware) and IndieBio (life sciences).

Episode Overview

In this episode, we discuss:

•  Sota’s journey to deep tech investment,

References Mentioned

• Mistletoe: Taizo Son’s global investment vehicle for the startup ecosystem.

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Seth Bannon is the Founding Partner of Fifty Years, a $50m early stage deep tech fund.

• Seth is a long-time advocate and campaigner, who turned to technology and investment to solve the world’s biggest problems around sustainability, food, and the digital divide.

This podcast is hosted by Benjamin Joffe, Partner at SOSV, a global early stage fund focused on deep tech. SOSV runs multiple accelerator programs including HAX (intelligent hardware) and IndieBio (life sciences). SOSV and Fifty Years have co-invested in several companies mentioned in this podcast such as Memphis Meats (clean meat pioneer, raised $181m), Geltor (synthetic human collagen) and Catalog DNA.

Episode Overview

In this episode, Seth talks about:

• What prompted him to create a fund focused on the world’s biggest problems, and how its name relates to Winston Churchill’s prophetic 1931 essay titled Fifty Years Hence.

References Mentioned

• Fifty Years Hence, a 1931 essay by Winston Churchill

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Kelly Chen is a Partner at DCVC — a US-based venture fund founded in 2011 that raised $725 million in November 2019 to invest mostly in deep tech.

Kelly is a China-born New Yorker now based in SF, who graduated from Columbia Engineering and Wharton with a focus on finance algorithms and manufacturing operations. She worked as a fixed income trader who started angel investing actively and eventually dived into venture capital. 

DCVC has invested in Agtech, Advanced manufacturing, biology and even space tech. Kelly focuses on the transformation of manufacturing, logistics and apply chain with automation and AI.

This podcast is hosted by Benjamin Joffe, Partner at SOSV, a global early stage fund focused on deep tech. SOSV runs multiple accelerator programs including HAX (intelligent hardware) and IndieBio (life sciences).

Episode Overview

In this episode, Kelly talks about:

• The opportunities offered by major demographic and labor shifts, with examples examples in the textile industry (SmarTex,  also a SOSV/HAX investment) and senior care.

References Mentioned

• Blue River Technology: ‘see and spray’ agtech robotics for weeding, acquired by John Deere for $305m

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Manish Singhal is the founding partner of pi Ventures, a $30 million early stage deep tech fund based in Bangalore. Before founding Pi Ventures in 2016 as one of the very first AI-focused funds, he has worked for over 2 decades in R&D, product and general management roles in global companies creating video technologies and consumer electronics, including Motorola and Sling Media.

This podcast is hosted by Benjamin Joffe, Partner at SOSV, a global early stage fund focused on deep tech. SOSV runs multiple accelerator programs including HAX (intelligent hardware) and IndieBio (life sciences).

In this episode, Manish talks about:

• The growing local deep tech scene

Resources & Companies Mentioned:

• Manish's article on the Indian Deep Tech startup ecosystem (Medium)

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John Ho is a Partner at Anzu Partners, a US-based $190 million venture capital and private equity fund focused on breakthrough industrial technologies. John is a Computer Science and Electrical Engineering PhD from MIT, and long-time Bostonian, who worked in industry and management consulting.

This podcast is hosted by Benjamin Joffe, Partner at SOSV, a global early stage fund focused on deep tech. SOSV runs multiple accelerator programs including HAX (intelligent hardware) and IndieBio (life sciences).

In this episode, John talks about:

• The reasons for their focus on industrial tech,

He also dives into how Anzu supports its portfolio toward value creation milestones and capital efficiency to provide both runway and optionality.

Finally, he shares his thoughts on how the coronavirus epidemic is affecting deep tech, with examples from their portfolio such as .

To know more about Anzu Partners, check out their website, twitter and the coverage of the closing of their latest fund in January 2020 (Techcrunch).

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Matt Clifford is the co-founder and CEO of Entrepreneur First. EF helps create deep tech startups by attracting exceptional talent, and having them go through a unique program to create teams, identify real problems, and fund the most promising ones. SOSV has funded several EF graduates (and likely more to come).

This podcast is hosted by Benjamin Joffe, Partner at SOSV, a global early stage fund focused on deep tech. SOSV runs multiple accelerator programs including HAX (intelligent hardware) and IndieBio (life sciences).

In this episode, you will learn about:

1. The Origins of Entrepreneur First

• The Role of Talent Networks

2. Why Invest In Deep Tech

• Why Deep Tech Impact Today’s World

3. The Lean Startup Way To Create Teams And Invest

• Community-Driven Due Diligence

4. What’s Next for EF

Other Resources:

• Matt's newsletter 'Thoughts in Between'

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