9oX — Frontier Science as Scalable Systems

Breakthroughs at the frontier of science are being discovered, validated, and scaled faster than ever before, unlocking trillion-dollar markets across biology, materials, robotics, space, and energy.

AI is not just accelerating discovery. It is rewriting the economics of turning science into systems.

We invest across AI-driven science platforms, space technologies, advanced robotics, programmable materials, and next-generation energy—always at the earliest stage, before the company exists.

AI + Biology Drug Discovery Synthetic Biology Advanced Materials Space Tech Robotics Energy Photonics Autonomous Labs

— The Frontier We Watch

Science becoming systems, right now.

AI + Biology

Boltz-2

MIT CSAIL · 2025

Open-source AI that predicts protein structure and binding affinity in 20 seconds on a single GPU—matching physics-based methods that take hours.

Drug programs completed in 18 months vs. the 42-month industry average.

Synthetic Biology

CRISPR-GPT

Stanford · Princeton · 2025

An LLM agent that automates the full CRISPR gene-editing workflow. An untrained undergraduate achieved 90%+ editing efficiency on their first attempt.

Democratizes gene editing across knockout, base-editing, and epigenetic modification.

Materials Science

Metabot

Princeton · Nature · 2025

A motorless, gearless metamaterial that transforms, moves, and follows electromagnetic commands like a robot. Fabricated at 100-micron scale.

Potential in-body drug delivery, soft robotics, and aerospace energy absorption.

AI + Drug Discovery

AI Narrow-Spectrum Antibiotics

MIT Collins Lab · 2025

Generative AI designs antibiotics targeting specific drug-resistant bacteria. Lead compounds clear MRSA and multi-drug-resistant gonorrhea.

15 AI-designed antibiotic candidates now entering pre-clinical development.

Space + Robotics

Autonomous ISS Navigation

Stanford CAESAR · NASA · 2025

First ML-guided autonomous robot navigation aboard the International Space Station, achieving 50–60% faster path planning on NASA’s Astrobee robot.

Now extending to Moon and Mars mission autonomy.

Autonomous Labs

A-Lab / FORUM-AI

UC Berkeley · Lawrence Berkeley Lab · 2025

Fully autonomous robotic labs where AI proposes new materials, robots synthesize and test them, sampling just 1% of the design space. 50–100x throughput.

Berkeley is building the first full-stack agentic AI system for materials science.

Photonics

Bilayer Metasurfaces

Harvard SEAS · Nature Comms · 2025

First practical bilayer flat optics that independently manipulate light from both sides at 80% efficiency. Compatible with semiconductor fab.

Next-gen AR displays, LiDAR, and quantum optics on a chip.

Energy

Electrochemical Carbon Capture

MIT Voskian Lab · 2025

Electrochemical method captures CO₂ at any concentration using charged carbon electrodes. Works at ambient temperature and pressure, consuming a fraction of the energy of thermal approaches.

Industrial decarbonization at 1/10th the energy cost. No spinout yet—pure lab-stage research.

Bioengineering

Programmable Living Materials

MIT Zhao Lab · Nature Materials · 2025

Hydrogel-based living materials with embedded engineered bacteria that sense and respond to their environment. Self-healing, shape-morphing structures fabricated at centimeter scale.

Adaptive medical implants, environmental sensors, and bio-architecture. No spinout—active lab research.

01 / 09

— How We Invest

A Network-Driven Engine for Discovery

University Network

Deep relationships with students, postdocs, and professors at top research universities. We engage before the company exists.

Founder & Operator Network

Curated repeat founders and domain experts who support portfolio companies with validation, go-to-market strategy, and hiring.

Corporate Research Lab Network

Close relationships with researchers at leading labs—a major source of spinouts and real-time signal on where frontiers are moving.

— Why We Win

We engage before fundraising begins.

We work with researchers before the company exists. By the time capital is needed, trust and alignment already exist.

Deep technical credibility.

Founder-led by scientists. We evaluate risk, ambition, and feasibility at a level most funds cannot.

Information advantage through networks.

Our university network surfaces ideas years before demo day.

We shape the company, not just the round.

We help founders define platform narrative, identify first customers, and build credibility.

— Fund I

Designed for Pattern Discovery & Capital Efficiency

$20M Fund Size

~40 Target Investments

$300K Average Check

40% Follow-On Reserves

Stage Focus

Pre-Seed to Series A. Get in early, double down on winners. Target ownership: 5–10% at entry.

Operational Model

Lean team, AI-powered diligence. Lower overhead, faster decisions, more capital to founders.

Deployment Years 1–3

First Exits Years 4–5

Realized Returns Years 6–10

LP Parameters

Target Fund Size$20M

Investment StagePre-Seed to Seed

Target Portfolio~40 companies

Fund Life10 years

Minimum Commitment$250K

Management Fee2%

Carried Interest20%

We invest where AI turns science into systems and systems into enduring companies.

Get in Touch

Be at the finish linewhen the race starts.