Compound is a thesis-driven, research-centric investment firm | What we're currently reading @compoundarxiv | Not called Compound VC
NYC
Joined June 2009
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Compound retweeted
Tragedy formed our modern clinical trial system. Opportunity has the potential to form the future of our clinical trial system.
With this piece, we @CompoundVC walk you through the case of thalidomide that was the lightning rod for adverse event reporting, investigation new drug applications, and efficacy trials before drug approval.
We also discuss impactful regulatory updates coming to clinical trials in the US which could lead to faster feedback loops.
In our field's ambition to eventually cure all disease, we must learn from the past to make a better future.
Compound retweeted
Pedigree is a measure of who got backed in the past. How do we bet on the future instead?
This is episode 6 of Confessions on Modern Philanthropy with Michael Dempsey (@mhdempsey).
Michael helped build the data and research team at CB Insights, invested in public and private markets, and now runs Compound, a research-centric firm that writes some of the first institutional checks in frontier technology. We asked him what led him to start funding people through small, no-equity grants.
Michael on pedigree: "We've done such a good job of backing people with pedigree being able to accumulate capital that actually you should intentionally rotate away from pedigree in certain times."
Some highlights:
05:12 Professional and creative soulmates: Matisse & Picasso
07:19 Belief as a form of patronage: being seen before you can see yourself
11:11 What tech underrates about lack of constraint
15:37 Why micro-grants?
19:50 The one question that filters 90% of grant applicants
24:47 The Thiel Fellowship, Goodhart's Law, and getting into YC and not going
25:55 Sacrifice as the signal
31:05 East Coast versus West Coast framings of giving
34:43 Effective altruism lacks romanticism
Full show notes: analogue.press/p/confessions…
Compound retweeted
Introducing Runway App Studio.
Build the creative app you wish existed, just by describing it. It generates images, video and audio with Runway’s models and your Brand Kits, ready for you or your whole team. No code required.
See examples in the thread below.
Compound retweeted
A data center submittal package normally two to three weeks to produce.
With CurieOS, it can take two to three days, with every calculation recorded so it can be checked by our engineers.
Watch Jaden Weaver walk through how it works in the video, then follow the link below to learn more about our AI operating system.
Compound retweeted
Goal was to see if IRL Dempsey is as thoughtful as he is online.
This was the widest ranging Empire podcast in awhile… @mhdempsey did not disappoint.
> will the labs eat everything
> will SaaS survive
> romanticizing tech
> how to hold cash
> venture
Compound retweeted
We often joke internally that Valius should actually be called The Cell Surface Company.
We’re ultra-enthusiastic about cell-surface targeting therapeutics, both now and the more powerful agents coming soon.
I think it will lead to much more tumor-agnostic oncology than previous generations of molecules did.
research.dimensioncap.com/p/…
The breakthroughs came from understanding HER2’s abundance, specificity and protein neighborhoods, alongside the biodistribution and internalization of drug candidates.
Over the last decade, tools for mapping cell surfaces and tracking molecules have become more powerful and more widely available.
In Dimension’s latest research article, “Six Nanometers Apart,” I explore how we can harness these emerging capabilities to repeat HER2’s success at scale and with much greater speed.
Compound retweeted
MINX will keep shipping. That sentence should not need repeating.
It does, because Veradermics ($MANE) sent Cease & Desists to our pharmacy partners and doctor network.
Why did Veradermics try to shut down MINX?
Their lead drug candidate, VDPHL01, is an extended release minoxidil tablet.
The company, Veradermics Incorporated, seems to view MINX as a competing product.
Find the full video on our YouTube channel to learn more about what makes MINX different.
MINX will keep shipping.
Compound retweeted
the hyperevm is dead long live the hyperevm
hypercore spot tomorrow
$PEAR, the flagship token behind Pear Protocol, is now live on HyperEVM.
Enjoy trading discounts on all Pear products, 70% buybacks & more by holding. Tomorrow you will also be able to trade $PEAR on HyperCore spot.
For now, trade it with our launch partner - @nestexchange. 🍐
Compound retweeted
Open Superintelligence Research Day
Friday, October 23
Berlin
luma.com/primeintellect-berl…
Compound retweeted
NEW POD with @CompoundVC Managing Partner @mhdempsey
We cover:
– Will the labs eat every startup?
– Which SaaS companies survive
– Why the public hates tech
– Bio's breakout decade
– If Crypto venture is dead
TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 Intro
01:29 How Do You Invest Without FOMO?
08:30 Is The AI Boom Built To Last?
12:32 Will AI Labs Eat Every Startup?
17:19 Ads (Fidelity Crypto)
17:52 Which Software Companies Survive AI?
24:35 Why Is Tech Losing Public Trust?
33:56 Ads (Fidelity Crypto)
34:35 Gambling, Inequality, And Financial Nihilism
40:03 Has Tech Lost Its Soul?
43:54 How Compound Finds Its Next Bets
55:36 Can AI Transform Biotech?
01:03:39 Why Still Invest In Crypto?
01:08:04 Which Crypto Companies Could Go Public?
Compound retweeted
I have often said that humanoids make the most sense in areas in which you are looking at the cost of human life, not just of human labor.
In our conversations it became clear that @SandorFelber and I aligned very much on protecting humans across some of the most dangerous conditions in the world.
We're excited and privileged @compoundvc to partner with the Minerva team.
Compound retweeted
Meet Roger, the humanoid purpose-built to protect human life in the most dangerous jobs across energy and public safety.
The experts stay safe and in control. Roger goes in.
No full autonomy needed.
Roger takes the risk. They get the job done.
Idea to walking in 5 months.
Compound retweeted
When AI models control robots, decisions have physical consequences and instruction following carries much higher stakes. A robot can complete the task while still violating the rules along the way.
Our latest post explores learning high-level behavior from verbal feedback.
Compound retweeted
There are pivotal times in the company building journey where you must light a fire.
Sometimes that means burning a bridge so there's no going back.
Other times it means burning down what you've built and starting over.
We have found @compoundvc that sometimes founders need to hear that it is okay to do so in either scenario. A slight nudge, word of support, or gesture that allows them to do what they know they need to do even if it feels scary.
We made these lighters for our founders to make that gesture and support more explicit, no matter where the flames take us.
Compound retweeted
last week, @CompoundVC, hosted the biggest data factory event ever.
@benchling hosted their amazing space and talked about the future of bio with AI Scientists
@scale_AI spoke about recent SOTA benchmarking judgement built around data sales
@FabioZB_I talked about the Polyphron tissue foundry
@contra showcased their work on creativity training
@TryBrickroad and @Freeman_Lewin are some of the most sophisticated data sellers
@QuickrBio wow'd us with their better, faster, cheaper platform
Dynamical Systems for materials science data factories and Ambitious for their healthy bill of materials.
So much happening here.
TY @shantenuagarwal for organizing and @nlarusstone for speaking!
Compound retweeted
Looking forward to visiting Italy next week to unveil our autonomous Fiat 500e and Maserati Grecale with Stellantis 🇮🇹
Inspiring to see the Wayve AI Driver generalise to these new vehicles on the beautiful streets of Italy. Join us for a test ride!
We’re excited to give people the chance to experience the latest integration of the Wayve AI Driver in the STLA AutoDrive platform.
Building on the Jeep Grand Cherokee development vehicle showcased at @Stellantis' Investor Day in May, our engineering teams have now extended the same core AI driving foundation across two new vehicle platforms and brands - the iconic all-electric @fiat 500e city car and the luxury SUV @Maserati_HQ Grecale, enabling hands-free supervised driving (L2++) that makes mobility safer, simpler and more intuitive.
This is another demonstration of the adaptability of our AI Driver, driving zero-shot on the streets of Turin - a city it had never experienced before. 🇮🇹
Read more: media.stellantis.com/em-en/c…
Compound retweeted
Announcing our first open-weights world-action model, Praxis-1. It turns out that, unsurprisingly, you can get predictably better robotics policy performance by scaling third-person video. It’s been fun to see the different tasks the model can solve zero-shot around our office.
We’re already working with Noble Machines, Standard Bots, and Ultra, to deploy Praxis-1 on their embodiments, and are excited to get it to the hands of more partners soon.
Introducing Praxis-1, an open-weight World Action Model that turns our video pre-training expertise into real world control for robots.
Robot demonstration data is limited. But video data is infinite. Praxis-1 extends our bet that the best policy models will learn from video, and use that scale to bring embodied intelligence to every industry.
Praxis-1 is built on our large-scale video pre-training and real-time infrastructure, and acts as a policy model for robotics developers and researchers that works across any embodiment or environment, no matter how complex.
We are actively testing with early partners including Noble Machines, Standard Bots and Ultra, and will be releasing the weights publicly in the coming months.
Learn more and request early access at runway.com/Praxis-1
Compound retweeted
Heading to SF next week to speak at @CompoundVC's Research Day.
Reach out for coffee if you want sarcastic takes on data markets.
