Venture Investing in Science (Columbia Business School Publishing)

Over the past decade, software companies have increasingly monopolized the flow of venture capital, starving support for scientific research and its transformative discoveries. New medicines, cheaper and faster personal computers, and other life-changing developments all stem from investment in science. In the past, these funds led to steam engines, light bulbs, microprocessors, 3D printers, and even the Internet. In Venture Investing in Science , the venture capitalist Douglas W. Jamison and the investment author Stephen R. Waite directly link financial support to revolutionary advancements in physics, computers, chemistry, and biology and make a passionate case for continued investing in science to meet the global challenges of our time. Clean air and water, cures for intractable diseases, greener public transportation, cheaper and faster communication technologies—these are some of the rich opportunities awaiting venture capital investment today. Jamison and Waite focus on how early-stage companies specializing in commercializing transformative technologies based on deep science have been shunned by venture capitalists, and how the development of such companies have been hampered by structural changes in capital markets and government regulation over the past decade. The authors argue that reinvigorating science-based technological innovation is crucial to reactivating the economic dynamism that lifts living standards and fuels prosperity over time. Over the past decade, software companies have increasingly monopolized the flow of venture capital, starving support for scientific research and its transformative discoveries. New medicines, cheaper and faster personal computers, and other life-changing developments all stem from deep investment in science. In the past, these funds have led to steam engines, light bulbs, microprocessors, 3D printers, and even the Internet. In Venture Investing in Science, the venture capitalist Douglas W. Jamison and the investment author Stephen R. Waite directly link financial support to revolutionary advancements in physics, computers, chemistry, and biology and make a passionate case for continued investing to meet the global challenges of our time. Clean air and water, cures for intractable diseases, greener public transportation, cheaper and faster communication technologies--these are the rich opportunities awaiting venture capital investment today. Jamison and Waite focus on how early-stage companies specializing in quantum computing, graphene chips, and precision medicine struggle for funding, proposing a plan to bring the small IPO back to market to energize deep scientific investment. Commercializing science-based innovation also reactivates the economic dynamism that once defined American dominance in science and technology research. These partnerships have the potential to create legacies, not to mention lift millions out of poverty and secure the public good Contents Foreword Preface Acknowledgments Introduction 1. Deep Science Disruption 2. The U.S. Deep Science Innovation Ecosystem 3. Deep Science and the Evolution of American Venture Capital 4. Diversity Breakdown in Venture Investing 5. Fostering Diversity in Venture Investing 6. Deep Science Venture Investing 7. Our Choice Ahead Appendix 1: The Case of D-Wave Systems Appendix 2: The Case of Nantero Notes Index How venture capital spurs scientific discovery, and what we miss when we don’t invest.