Venture Investing in Science

by Douglas Jamison, Stephen Waite

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780231175722
Publisher:	Columbia University Press
Publication date:	06/06/2017
Series:	Columbia Business School Publishing
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.00(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Douglas W. Jamison is the chairman and CEO of HALE.life, a privately held precision health and medicine operating company in which Harris & Harris Group is an investor. Previously he was chairman and CEO of Harris & Harris Group, a publicly traded company that makes early-stage venture capital investments in science-based companies.


Stephen R. Waite works as a strategic advisor and investment manager. He is the author of Quantum Investing (2003) and coauthor of Boomernomics (1998).

Table of Contents

Foreword, by Mark Anderson
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

What People are Saying About This

George Gilder

Jamison and Waite have written the crucial economic book of the year, addressing the crisis of venture capital in an era without 'deep science'-based innovations and IPOs, and with leviathans buying up their own shares and the shares of their rivals while stinting on the hard science behind all truly transformative progress.

Andrew J. Malik

This book makes a compelling case that attention needs to be refocused on science-based businesses and a more robust capital market for early-stage companies to increase U.S. economic dynamism.

Mihail C. Roco

Due to the shifting venture investing landscape and changes in the regulatory environment, deep science R&D — after billions in government investment — is not being commercialized to its full potential. Society needs a balanced approach. Otherwise the economy and quality of life are at risk. This book is a call for change.

Andrew W. Lo

This fascinating book should be required reading for all entrepreneurs and investors interested in science- and technology-based startups.

Editorial Reviews

Due to the shifting venture investing landscape and changes in the regulatory environment, deep science R&D—after billions in government investment—is not being commercialized to its full potential. Society needs a balanced approach. Otherwise the economy and quality of life are at risk. This book is a call for change.

Mihail C. Roco

This fascinating book should be required reading for all entrepreneurs and investors interested in science- and technology-based startups.

Andrew W. Lo

Until reading this book I had not encountered such a cohesive and well-researched account of the current state of deep science commercialization. Every member of society should understand what permits successful technology commercialization to occur and how they might play a part in its success. A great work.

Braun Kiess

Jamison and Waite have written the crucial economic book of the year, addressing the crisis of venture capital in an era without ‘deep science’-based innovations and IPOs, and with leviathans buying up their own shares and the shares of their rivals while stinting on the hard science behind all truly transformative progress.

George Gilder

This work is an excellent history of biotechnology financing and lays out a clear case for concern....The book concludes with an excellent financing case study.

Choice

Venture Investing in Science makes a compelling case that attention needs to be refocused on science-based businesses and a more robust capital market for early-stage companies to increase U.S. economic dynamism.

Andrew J. Malik

Jamison and Waite have been at ground zero of science venture investing for nearly two decades. Economic success in the United States will likely depend on how well the forces they identify are understood, harnessed, and harvested.

Keith Crandell