Discovering Bright Ideas

Our firm backed Thomas Edison’s light bulb and launched the first electric lighting company. A century later, Spencer Trask & Co. founded the laser light venture that powers today’s Internet. We continue to drive progress by discovering and backing big ideas.

From startup to $1 Billion Valuation

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We discover big ideas and transform them into world-changing companies.

Jobs Created

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Our ventures have created technologies that saved tens of thousands of lives and changed the world for millions.

Value Created

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Our innovators have delivered net worth and net-worthiness.

Lighting up the World

Edison’s invention of the incandescent light bulb – the very symbol of a bright idea – was supported by Mr. Spencer Trask, the president of the world’s first electricity company.

Lighting up the Internet

Gordon Gould, the inventor of the laser, and his firm joined David Huber and Spencer Trask & Co. to found the first company that deployed mass-capacity light amplification technology powering the Internet.

Leading the Immunotherapy Revolution

Our venture with Dr. Jonas Salk developed and tested an immune-based cell therapy that became the first FDA-approved cancer vaccine.

Harnessing Food as Medicine

With backing from Spencer Trask & Co., Stefany Shaheen co-founded the evidence-based nutrition coaching venture that developed a comprehensive Food-as-Medicine platform to improve outcomes and cost for chronic conditions.

Democratizing the Law

To democratize the law, our venture with Ed Walters merged with its overseas counterpart to form the first global legal database.

Protecting Supply Chains with AI

Following the merger with our AI platform, Jennifer Besciglie’s venture became the first real-time supply chain risk monitoring company and then reached unicorn status.

Saving Women's Lives

The first genome company — our venture with Dr. Walter Gilbert — discovered the BRCA1 gene associated with hereditary breast and ovarian cancer, helping to shift medicine from treating symptoms to predicting and preventing the root causes of disease.

Leading the Stem Cell Revolution

The stem cell discovery by Dr. Arnold Caplan became the first approved cell drug.

Building a More Inclusive Financial System

Beginning with our inclusive crowdfunding platform, Ryan Feit exchanged ownership with the creator of the first USDC, the global internet money system that has facilitated $10T in transactions.

Transforming Semiconductor Manufacturing with AI

Raj Raheja, Anantha Sethuraman and Spencer Trask & Co. pioneered the first AI company in semiconductor manufacturing by creating a “Virtual Factory” with 300 simulation modules. Integrated into Applied Materials’ AIx platform, this technology is revolutionizing chip production and advancing the Age of Artificial Intelligence.

Evidence-Based Revolution in Healthcare

The misuse, abuse, and overuse of health care was discovered by Jack Wennberg whose data and mission, with support from Spencer Trask & Co., transformed the U.S. healthcare system.