Alexis Ji joined Illumina Ventures as a partner when it was founded in 2016, bringing her 12 years of experience in research and venture investment in the genomics and pharmaceutical industries and having been in the venture capital (VC) business since 2012.
Prior to Illumina Ventures, Ji was a principal at WuXi Apptec Corporate Venture Fund and then WuXi Healthcare Ventures, a US-China cross-border life science venture capital firm.
Before joining WuXi, Ji was a venture investment consultant at Arch Venture Partners for two years while pursuing her MBA at Chicago Booth School of Business.
Illumina Ventures invests in early-stage companies targeting new applications of genomics and enabling precision medicine, including life science tools, clinical diagnostics and therapeutic platforms.
Illumina Ventures was launched in the summer of 2016 with an initial $100m investment from Illumina. In October last year, Illumina Ventures then closed its first fund at $230m with limited partners including Illumina, a US-based genomics services provider, and other global corporate, institutional, sovereign and individual investors.
It is a model Ji said has its advantages. “CVCs traditionally invest in areas directly related to the parent company’s core business.
“I believe CVCs could be bolder in embracing innovations that not only bring synergies to their business but also expand their business beyond their core competencies in order to stay ahead in the fast-changing industry.
“To do so, enhancing collaborations with institutional VCs can be a good way to share risks while getting exposure to the best innovations in the industry.”
Since inception, Illumina Ventures has invested in eight companies, including Kallyope, Encoded Genomics, Twist Bioscience, Serimmune, Biota, DNA Script, Genome Medical and NanoCellect.
And Ji said: “I got to know the Illumina folks and Nick through the Twist deal. Illumina joined Arch in Twist’s seed and series A. When I was at WuXi, I had various interactions with Nick [Naclerio, founding partner of Illumina Ventures] about Twist and another deal, which Nick introduced to me and WuXi ended up investing.”
She said: “I participated in investing in Twist Bioscience in the seed and series A round in 2013 while at Arch, joined series B investment after I moved to WuXi Ventures, and continued the investment at Illumina Ventures [by which time the company had raised more than $200m].
“Twist Bioscience is a high-throughput DNA synthesis service company with a superb team and strong execution. In just a few short years, the company has become an industry leader in producing unprecedented volume of low-cost genes and DNAs. Twist is well on its way to revolutionising the synthetic biology industry.”
This is the sort of impact most scientists dream of. Ji started her career as a senior scientist at Merck in early drug discovery, at Roche in virology translational research and clinical trial development, and at Life Technologies in molecular diagnostics and next-generation sequencing, having completed a PhD in molecular genetics from Washington University in St Louis.
She said: “I started my career on the R&D side, as a senior scientist in biotech companies, but I was always interested in the business side. After years of training in genomics and working in the biopharmaceutical industry, I was equipped with a solid science foundation and broad exposure to multiple industrial sectors including genomics, drug discovery and development, and molecular diagnostics.
“As making life science investments requires a good understanding of science, business and industry, so it was a natural migration for me to leverage my past science and industry experience to move into the venture investment field after getting my MBA from University of Chicago.
“What attracted me the most to VC are two main factors: the opportunity to be surrounded, inspired and motivated by the smartest visionaries and entrepreneurs in this ever-changing industry, and the distinct privilege of seeing the most amazing science and technology breakthroughs and having an early look at how the industry is developing and advancing. The VC job is extremely fulfilling.
“Illumina Ventures is not really a corporate VC. It is an independently managed venture fund but has a strategic partnership with Illumina, the world leading genomics solutions provider.
“What’s attractive here is that I enjoy the independence of the fund that enables us to invest in cutting-edge, high-risk-and-high-reward, early-stage startups, while still benefiting from the strategic partnership with Illumina.”
As to challenges, Ji said: “In the unprecedented era of genomics revolution and precision medicine, where science and technology advance rapidly, sequencing cost keeps dropping, new technologies and approaches are introduced on a daily basis, I talk to so many inspiring people and promising companies.
“My biggest challenge is to stay ahead of this fast-moving industry and navigate the emerging technologies so I can formulate a thesis to pick who the winners will be and make fast investments to capture the big waves.
“My main ambition is to make great investments in companies that not only bring great returns to our investors but also transform human health and have significant impact on society. I aspire to help make our firm the go-to global VC for raising capital in genomics and precision medicine.
“I hope that one day, as I look back at my career and life, I will be able to answer the question of what impact my work has made on society and what I have done to help people.”
This impact can already be felt. Ji said: “As an immigrant from China, I have been helping to nurture entrepreneurship in the Chinese community in the San Francisco Bay area. As the chairperson of the entrepreneur club of the 3,000-member Chinese American Biopharmaceutical Society, I strive to bring in resources to Chinese entrepreneurs and help build bridges for entrepreneurs and investors between the US and China.
“Education and poverty are two social topics that I care about a lot. The need to improve conditions of education in impoverished areas, both overseas and in the US, is universally important. Over the years, I have volunteered at the Overseas China Education Foundation to help underprivileged children in rural areas of China to receive education.
“I believe these efforts could encourage diversity and inclusion across gender, ethnic and socio-economic lines in our society.”
But perhaps the best insight into her impact comes from Nick Naclerio, founding partner of Illumina Ventures. He said: “Alexis has a deep passion for venture investment. She has a unique and powerful combination of rich scientific experience, broad knowledge of the industry, and strong drive and high energy. We are fortunate to have Alexis on the Illumina Ventures team.”