Over the past decade at Lux, we’ve broadened our scope and diversified talents as we’ve expanded our team. We have a wide range of personal experiences, beliefs, perspectives and professional backgrounds — but we remain “One Lux”, connected by the common thread of enhancing the human experience through extraordinary technology and science.
Today we’re pleased to announce the addition of another dynamic member to our investment team, Deena Shakir. We pride ourselves at Lux that our team can meaningfully contribute to every facet of a start-up’s needs and Deena’s inimitable background only deepens this capability — especially with key value-creating partnerships. Her career has evolved from aspiring anthropologist, to journalist, diplomat, aid worker, technologist, and venture capitalist.
A daughter of Muslim immigrants from Iraq, Deena was born and raised in Silicon Valley with her three brothers. Aware of the opportunities and privilege her parents’ adopted country afforded her family, she developed a work ethic and hustle that drove her to be financially independent from the age of 18, funding her degrees at Harvard and Georgetown through a variety of merit scholarships and side hustles. Through her tenacious drive to make an impact, Deena chose roles that put her on an unorthodox path compared to her peers but a purpose-driven one — bringing people together and building partnerships through diplomacy and public service; first in the U.S. Department of State under Secretary Clinton and then in a role helping to launch President Obama’s first Global Entrepreneurship Summit in 2010. In the private sector she fostered strategic partnerships for early stage products in health care, research, machine intelligence and search at Google, led social impact investments at Google.org and supported a portfolio of over 300 companies with their business development and growth opportunities at GV, where she became a Kauffman Fellow in 2018.
Deena’s understanding of the potential of science to enhance the human experience and the need to balance technological breakthroughs with a thoughtful and ethical approach fits perfectly at Lux. Our name, “Lux,” is Latin for light. As in: We strive to shine a light on the unknown, the unseen and the misunderstood. It is in those dark places where you make the most meaningful discoveries. It’s also where we want to shine a spotlight on the technology and technologists that are creating a future that increases human potential and reduces human suffering.
Deena’s passion for working with the world’s most audacious founders taking on the most challenging problems, combined with her interdisciplinary professional background, will make her an invaluable member of the Lux team. Together with our portfolio companies we will continue to push the boundaries of what is scientifically possible and usher in the future.
If you are a rebel inventor and want to work with a team of outliers and rebels who believe the potential of a transformative venture before others even understand, drop us a line at future@lux.vc. We would love to hear your vision for the future.
