Reed Jobs Prefers Discussing Cancer Cures Over His Famous Last Name

Reed Jobs, son of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, is rapidly accelerating the mission of his oncology-focused venture firm, Yosemite, aiming to revolutionize cancer treatment through a blend of early-stage academic research, strategic investment, and deep integration of artificial intelligence. Three years after its inception, Yosemite has grown to a 17-person team and is actively raising its second fund, targeting $350 million, amidst a transformed biotech landscape. Jobs emphasizes that the firm's ambition to "make" new cures, rather than just find them, is moving faster than even he anticipated, largely fueled by AI's profound impact on drug discovery and clinical trial efficiency.

Yosemite's Accelerated Growth and AI Integration

When Jobs last discussed Yosemite at TechCrunch Disrupt three years prior, the firm was nascent, and the biotech sector was recovering from a post-pandemic slump. Today, the landscape is vibrant, marked by a surge in pharmaceutical acquisitions and a critical juncture where numerous blockbuster drugs are losing patent protection, opening vast new opportunities. Jobs highlights AI as a "huge part" of Yosemite's strategy, transforming it from a mere curiosity into a foundational tool for accelerating research.

AI's influence is particularly evident in overcoming long-standing challenges in drug development. Jobs points to its role in targeting previously "undruggable" proteins like KRAS, a major cancer-driving gene. AI has allowed scientists to identify cryptic pockets and novel ways to block mutations, leading to breakthroughs like Revolution Medicines doubling pancreatic cancer survival rates. Yosemite is also pursuing the "Achilles' heel" of cancer, the p53 tumor suppressor gene, with three different companies employing various AI-assisted strategies.

Beyond discovery, AI is poised to drastically cut costs and time in clinical trials, which represent the largest financial and temporal sink in drug development. By enabling "synthetic control arms" – computer-generated comparison groups from existing patient data – AI can halve patient recruitment needs and significantly expedite trials, a development the FDA is actively supporting.

Strategic Investments and Unique Operating Model

Yosemite's investment model is distinct: approximately one-third of its fund is dedicated to building companies from scratch, often collaborating with academic institutions like Yale, Berkeley, and Stanford. The remaining capital supports external companies aligned with their vision. Crucially, 2.5% of the fund's assets under management, plus $1 million annually from management fees, are allocated to a donor-advised fund, providing no-strings-attached philanthropic grants to de-risk early-stage academic ideas.

The firm's portfolio, now close to 25 companies, includes notable successes like Azalea, which evolved from a grant to Jennifer Doudna's lab and is now in clinical trials, and Quarry, co-founded with Craig Crews, exploring induced proximity therapeutics. Jobs also highlights Tune Therapeutics, a leader in epigenetic editing for Hepatitis B, and Histosonics, a device company utilizing histotripsy for non-invasive liver tumor destruction. While two companies have failed scientifically, Jobs notes this is an expected outcome for early-stage, high-risk ventures.

Navigating the Biotech Landscape and Future Outlook

Jobs observes a significant shift in biotech investor conservatism since 2023. Lower interest rates, combined with pharmaceutical companies sitting on record cash reserves and facing massive patent cliffs, have spurred an "acquisitive spree." This has led to major exits, such as Eli Lilly's $7 billion acquisition of Kelonia, signaling renewed confidence in the sector.

Despite these positive trends, Jobs remains concerned about proposed federal cuts to NIH funding. While bipartisan rejection has so far prevented drastic reductions, he advocates for an increase to $100 billion, noting that funding has shrunk relative to inflation over the past decade.

For aspiring founders, Jobs advises understanding pharma's shifting priorities and emphasizes Yosemite's open-door policy, reviewing grants and companies without bias for CVs or titles. He acknowledges the importance of storytelling in securing funding, often separating the academic founder from a professional CEO tasked with raising capital and communicating the company's vision.

Jobs expresses surprise at the rapid acceleration of progress in oncology, citing the emergence of trillion-dollar pharmaceutical companies driven by breakthroughs like GLP-1s, which are also showing potential protective effects against neurodegenerative disease and cancer. This has brought "undruggable" oncogenes like KRAS, Myc, beta-catenin, and p53 "within reach," marking a pivotal and empowering moment for cancer research. While personally interested in longevity, Jobs remains cautious, emphasizing the lack of a "grand unified theory of aging" and the individualized nature of the problem.

FAQ

Q: What is Yosemite's core mission and unique approach? A: Yosemite is an oncology-focused venture firm aiming to "make" new cures for cancer by building companies from early academic research. It uses a hybrid model of venture capital and philanthropy, providing no-strings-attached grants to de-risk nascent scientific ideas, alongside traditional investments.

Q: How is AI impacting cancer drug development and clinical trials at Yosemite? A: AI is accelerating drug discovery by performing grunt work incredibly fast, finding previously inaccessible drug targets like cryptic pockets on proteins such as KRAS, and identifying new ways to block them. In clinical trials, AI can create "synthetic control arms" from existing patient data, reducing the need for patient recruitment and significantly speeding up development timelines.

Q: What is Reed Jobs's view on the current biotech investment climate? A: Jobs believes the biotech investment climate has improved significantly since 2023. Lower interest rates, a wave of expiring drug patents, and pharma companies with substantial cash reserves have led to an increase in acquisitions and major exits, creating a more favorable environment for innovation.