Our world is grinding to a halt because so many things are too big and too complex. The larger governments get, the more regulation: big business bloats and becomes more inefficient, innovation and progress are stymied and, for government workers – from doctors to local councillors – it gets harder and harder to be effective.
Basis exists to do something about this.
We are building where the state isn’t, investing in new services, markets and models that benefit individuals over institutions. We’re interested in doctor-owned hospitals, small schools that compete with factory-farm counterparts, and bin companies that don’t lie to you about recycling.
Our first investments lay the foundations of this new world. Aside from being completely obsessed with what they’re building, the founders all share something in common: they are making a big thing smaller, knowing it is small that does great things.
Cogna’s AI software factory delivers human-defined, AI-created custom software to the industries that really need it, tooling frontliners across utilities, energy, and infrastructure at a fraction of the typical time and cost. It’s productivity rebooted, person by person – across the entire economy.
Civic Marketplace puts smaller providers in front of local government, fixing a procurement process that has favoured larger and larger contractors and swelling the ‘deep state’. Suddenly, local businesses can tender their products and services in their towns and cities, and beyond.
Science Machine’s AI copilot analyses scientific data 100x faster than human counterparts. This means more of the drug discovery process can lie with a greater number of companies and biotechs, not just Big Pharma. Shaking out discovery means great competition: we can’t fix health without a strong drugs market. Tools like Science Machine will also allow more people to become scientists.
And we’ve also backed a machine shop startup, still in stealth, that is reinventing manufacturing and entrepreneurship – franchising a factory model. This innate decentralisation will make onshore manufacturing more robust, while moving the largest companies in the world to a one-stop shop for specialism. And for young people – and others! – becoming a twenty-first century industrialist is now an option.
These businesses are building for vast scale and success. And in that ambition, they will tear out bureaucracy, zombie companies, bullshit jobs and oligopolies. We are so proud to be working and standing alongside them.
And there’s more to come. If you like our way of thinking – and doing (and lord, do we need more doers!) – please get in touch. We’d love to hear from you and see how we can crack on together.
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