Lexi Ventures

Genetic Engineering Capital. We back the engineers writing the code of life.

Seed funding for US startups across DNA, RNA, Cells, and 'Omics. 🧬

[Lexi Ventures @LexiVentures]

Computer engineering is humanity's most amazing technology, but genetic engineering is humanity's most powerful technology.

[Lexi Ventures @LexiVentures]

DNA literally stores digital information.

[Lexi Ventures @LexiVentures]

Lexi Ventures June Newsletter:
* Summer reading list
* A virus that cures cancer
* More validation from pharma
* In vivo / ex vivo
* Fable 5 fears biotech
* Don't take our word for it
* More pizza
https://t.co/PUOFPPX58j

[Lexi Ventures @LexiVentures]

Lexi Ventures May Newsletter:
* Craig Venter
* Mammoth RNA
* Drugs design by the SoC playbook
* A gene therapy delivery breakthrough
https://t.co/y027JdHZyU

[Lexi Ventures @LexiVentures]

Lexi Ventures April Newsletter:
* A sickle cell cure for African babies
* TippingPoint Biosciences
* SpaceX Bio?
https://t.co/AASjYOZffX

[Lexi Ventures @LexiVentures]

@OpenAI just launched GPT-Rosalind, a life-sci reasoning model. So powerful (buggy?), only 4 partners can use it yet: @Amgen, @moderna_tx, @AllenInstitute, @thermofisher. Founders in DNA, RNA, -omics, synbio can expect a shorter hypothesis-to-product loop.

[Lexi Ventures @LexiVentures]

Since 1990 chips are designed by code and manufactured by machines. It's starting in bio. @awscloud launched Amazon Bio Discovery: foundation models, experiment agent, integrations with @TwistBioscience, @Ginkgo for automation. No pipetting.

[Lexi Ventures @LexiVentures]

$155M mostly non-dilutive, royalty-backed from Oberland Capital. No equity dilution. Runway to 2029. Seven AAV gene therapy programs for inherited blindness riding on the back of an eye drop. 3/3 🧵

[Lexi Ventures @LexiVentures]

Gene therapy has a financing problem. Programs face a "valley of death" before approval. Later-round dilution disincentivizes early investors. Opus Genetics just showed an alternative. 1/3 🧵

[Lexi Ventures @LexiVentures]

It works because Opus (w/ licensor partner Viatris) has a near-term commercial anchor: phentolamine eye drops for presbyopia — 128M Americans affected, Phase 3 met primary endpoint, FDA PDUFA October 2026. Future product revenue = collateral for the royalty loan. 2/3 🧵

[Lexi Ventures @LexiVentures]

@databricks released AiChemy: a multi-agent AI that connects a pharma company's internal data to OpenTargets, PubMed, and PubChem for target ID, compound evaluation, and evidence synthesis.
Every answer is traceable to source data. That matters for science and for regulators.

[Jonah Probell @probell]

SCIENCE vs SOCIAL SCIENCE

Should parents be allowed to fix debilitating genetic diseases in embryos pre-birth?

@CathyTie of @OriginGenomics to debate Deputy Dean of Harvard Law.

The 2026 Scopes Monkey Trial.

April 23 | 6 PM ET | Free livestream
https://t.co/U3hYIxfM1O

[Lexi Ventures @LexiVentures]

CRISPR cuts DNA. Prime editing rewrites it. Much less risk.

March 26: @PrimeMedicine published the first human prime editing results in NEJM. Two patients. Both restored function. Zero safety concerns.

The next generation of gene editing just entered the clinic.

[Lexi Ventures @LexiVentures]

Another approach to sickle cell by @editasmed. In a @ClevelandClinic study, 27 of 28 sickle cell patients achieved a functional cure from a single CRISPR edit No donor. No ongoing therapy.

Investors: the template is proven. Watch for more blood disorder startups.

[Lexi Ventures @LexiVentures]

The EU's New Genomic Techniques vote is May 18. A yes vote opens 450 million consumers to fewer kill-all pesticides, lower food costs, less dependence on petrochemical fertilizers, less deforestation, more nutrition. Watch this date.

[Lexi Ventures @LexiVentures]

Every child in the trial survived.

The @US_FDA just approved Kresladi, @RocketPharma's one-time gene therapy for LAD-I, a rare immune disorder that killed most children before age 2.

9 patients. 100% survival. Up to 45 months of follow-up.

Genetic engineering saves lives.

[Lexi Ventures @LexiVentures]

@Anthropic paid $400M in stock for Coefficient Bio (<10 people, 8 months old, $0 revenue).

38,513% paper IRR for Dimension VC.

Anthropic wants do to bio research what they are doing to coding.

[Lexi Ventures @LexiVentures]

Like venture? Like liquidity?

Q1 2026 biopharma: ~$50B in M&A and IPOs.

Hottest targets: CAR-T, RNA platforms, complement biology.

Lilly paid $2.4B for Orna's in vivo CAR-T platform.
Gilead paid $8B for Arcellx's CAR-T.

VC returns are coming from science.

[Lexi Ventures @LexiVentures]

Last year, CRISPR Therapeutics' CTX310 just cut LDL cholesterol 49% and triglycerides 55% with a single injection. One dose. Sustained at 60 days. Phase 1 data published in NEJM by @ClevelandClinic.
https://t.co/IE0AhEkAMj

[Lexi Ventures @LexiVentures]

Casgevy for sickle cell was the 1st approved CRISPR medicine. Amazing trial results.

But, the delivery didn't scale. It needs chemo, bone marrow transplants, many months, and $2.2M. Two years later, only 60 patients treated.

Next-gen, one-time, in vivo editors will change that.