Reed Jobs, son of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, has announced the launch of a new $200 million venture fund that will bolster research for new cancer treatments. The fund, called Yosemite, will focus on early-stage companies developing innovative cancer therapies.
The 31-year-old, who has a personal connection to cancer, said he was inspired to launch Yosemite after his father's death from pancreatic cancer in 2011. He said that, having seen the devastating impact that cancer can have on families firsthand, he wanted to create a solution that could help save many more such patients and their families.
When Jobs was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2004, and died at the age of 56 in 2011. Jobs underwent surgery and chemotherapy, but the cancer eventually spread to his liver. Reed was only 17 years old at the time, when he lost his father turned “best friend.”
In the years since Jobs' death, Reed has become more involved in the tech industry. He is a former product manager at Facebook and has also worked at Google. He is also the co-founder of a venture capital firm called Initialized Capital.
The launch of Yosemite comes at a time when there is a growing focus on cancer research. In recent years, there have been significant advances in the development of new cancer therapies, including immunotherapy and gene therapy. Yosemite's investment could help to accelerate the development of these new therapies and make them available to more patients.
