The ocean covers approximately 70% of the earth’s surface. It regulates the climate, supports more than 80% of the planet’s biodiversity, and powers international commerce. In many ways, it is the lifeblood of the global economy.
For centuries, oceans have provided civilizations with natural resources and defenses. Today, they sit at the center of a modern geopolitical and supply chain Gordian knot. And yet, despite their strategic importance, the subsea domain remains largely unmapped and unobserved.
This is exactly the kind of market Cerberus likes to explore – areas of deep significance. As a firm, Cerberus looks to identify non-obvious market segments with untapped potential. In the case of the ocean, Cerberus saw its importance as a natural resource and looked further to underlying infrastructure the ocean could support. From fiber optic cables that transmit nearly all the world’s data to undersea sensors that monitor activity and enable decision-making, over the past several years, Cerberus has invested in the subsea capabilities that quietly power the world.
At Cerberus Ventures – one of Cerberus’ newer platforms – we apply this same lens. We explore overlooked yet existential challenges: limited access to affordable healthcare, the fragility of our aging energy grid, and vulnerabilities in the semiconductor or quantum supply chains, to name a few. We frame these issues within their broader markets through a methodological process grounded in analysis. By systematically unpacking the systems and infrastructure behind each domain, we ultimately zero in on where value accrues. We call this an “architectural approach”.
Take quantum computing as an example. Quantum represents a step change in computing progress for certain high-value workloads. It can efficiently simulate molecular processes, accelerating the timeline for drug discovery and development. It has the potential to unlock exponential speedup in factorization, enabling quantum computers to break encryption. Quantum has the potential to impact nearly all industries. With our growing conviction in the path to industrialized quantum computing, we set out to map the components underpinning the technology’s growth. That exploration led us to the cooling systems – dilution refrigerators – that underpin many approaches to quantum computing. We then unpacked what was necessary for scaled quantum deployments, which led us to quantum networking and specifically, quantum interconnects. Both became spaces where we backed companies building critical capabilities for a quantum future.
The final, and arguably most critical, pieces to our architectural approach center on the people we partner with and the significance of their products. Our orientation is towards mission-driven founders who are laying the foundation for critical industries of the future, whether maritime, quantum or other essential industries. We look to partner with individuals who are striving to transform industries and societies for the better.
In sum, our architectural approach, the founding teams we partner with, and our understanding of a product’s societal significance, form the lens through which Cerberus Ventures invests.
Be Significant. Shape the Future.
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