Introduction
By Victor Hu
We are proud to introduce you to Lumos Capital Group, a new investment firm focused on the human capital sector globally. Our mission is to be the leading partner for ambitious entrepreneurs who are building transformational companies defining this expansive and critical sector.
Why human capital?
We think of human capital as all of the knowledge, talent, skills, values and judgment that we possess. Investing in the development of human capital, which includes education technology and knowledge services of all kinds, is really investing in everything that builds our capacity to learn, innovate and create value for one another; in other words, everything that helps to create and fulfill our human potential, in the workforce and society more broadly. These are the products and services that help people thrive.
Some Background.
Close to a dozen years ago, while working at Goldman Sachs, I noticed many changes happening in the knowledge, education and training sectors, a space that I have long been passionate about and followed closely. Technology was beginning to alter how we learn, in unprecedented ways, from content creation to learning modalities. This was happening all over the world. Many traditional businesses in the industry were struggling to adapt and value was migrating rapidly from one area to another, causing disruption and uncertainty but also a lot of opportunity. Company formation in these sectors began to accelerate.
As a result, I co-founded a group at GS to focus on the education technology and knowledge services sector globally. Our strategy was to build long-term relationships with the leading companies in the space, advising and financing them at critical, strategic inflection points and partnering closely with them as they grew in scale and influence. Over the years, we had the good fortune of working with most of the global leaders in the sector, as well as many dynamic, high growth technology-driven businesses that created new platforms to serve students, parents, teachers, administrators, employers and schools. These companies were based in every region of the world, from Beijing to Dubai to Landover, MD, and we were proud to partner with them and play a role in their enduring success.
Why Now?
Over the last few years, while the number and quality of companies serving the human capital sector have increased significantly, the global technology landscape has also seen dramatic innovation. Artificial intelligence, the new apex technology of the information age, is redefining every industry and challenging the productive capacity of human beings in the future. Today, wages for educated workers in our knowledge economy rise in proportion to their credentials and skills; however, the role of human beings in the future economy is increasingly precarious.
Against this socioeconomic and technological background, it has become increasingly clear that solving this human capital challenge – advancing not only our knowledge and skills as a global community but our capacity for innovation and creativity – is the defining issue of our era.
Fortunately, we see a new generation of entrepreneurs and companies rising to meet this challenge. Over the years, our investment team has seen firsthand more and more companies creating fantastic products and services that help both individual consumers (students, parents, teachers and administrators) and institutions (employers, school districts, universities) learn, work and teach in new and better ways. We were privileged to work closely with many of the "first generation" of breakthrough businesses in our prior roles. Our mission at Lumos Capital is to partner with the best of the next generation, applying our capital, network and industry experience, to help them grow and be successful at global scale.
Our focus is on growth stage private companies, typically Series B and beyond. Some of the themes we are actively exploring include the future of work, the creation of new learning graphs and networks, and the application of machine learning to human learning. We also are actively seeking out platforms that empower institutions or individual learners beyond the status quo and technologies that can make a dramatic impact on learning and career outcomes.