Lux Capital lands $1.5B for its largest fund ever

Core Insights - Lux Capital has closed a $1.5 billion ninth fund, marking the largest fund in the firm's history [1] - Despite a decline in new VC funds raised in the U.S. to a 10-year low in 2025, limited partners continue to invest in Lux Capital [1] Investment Focus - The firm has a history of investing in defense technologies, which have become highly sought after due to recent geopolitical shifts [2] - Lux was an early investor in Anduril, valued at $30.5 billion, and Applied Intuition, valued at $15 billion, both of which have secured significant contracts with the Pentagon [2] AI Investments - Lux has made early investments in AI startups prior to the industry's rapid growth following the launch of ChatGPT [3] - Notable early-stage AI investments include Hugging Face, Runway AI, and MosaicML, the latter of which was acquired by Databricks for $1.3 billion in 2023 [3] Exits and Performance - The firm has achieved significant exits from investments, including Recursion Pharmaceuticals, which went public in 2021, and Auris Health, sold to Johnson & Johnson for up to $6 billion in 2019 [4] - The latest fundraising effort has increased Lux's total assets under management to $7 billion [4]