Annie Lamont: $14B Managed, 70+ Exits, 15 IPOs, 7x Midas Investor

Molly O'Shea (0:00)

You've managed $14 billion across your career, 40 plus years of investing across health care, fintech technology, 70 plus successful exits, 15 IPOs, number one health care investor on the Forbes Midas list seven times.

Annie Lamont (0:11)

We've been looking at AI for the last decade and have not seen it produce more developable products, therapeutics. Everything's changed the last two years. With Devoted, you now have AI enter the picture. Over the last year, they've tripled the size of their company, have their operating ratio, dramatically increase their EBITDA. In my over 30 years of investing, there's nothing been as interesting as this or seminal in terms of just realigning the entire economy.

Molly O'Shea (0:41)

When do you think these legacy institutions will actually take a hit?

Annie Lamont, First Lady of Connecticut, and Founder and Managing Partner of Oak HC, FT. Thank you for joining us at Sourcery.

Annie Lamont (1:05)

I'm so happy to be with you.

Molly O'Shea (1:07)

We're here at the New York Stock Exchange. I just want to start off by your background, by the numbers, because you are a legend, as they would call it. You're an icon and a legend. You've managed 14 billion across your career, 40 plus years of investing across healthcare fintech technology, 70 plus successful exits, 15 IPOs, number one healthcare investor on the Forbes Midas list. I think we've said seven times.

And we'll talk about the portfolio and everything, but notable investments include Athena Health, Devoted Health, One Medical, CareBridge, Cotivity Health, VillageMD, Main Street, Komodo, Chai, and a handful of others. But to start, again, it's great to have you on. The last time I saw you was in Napa, which was an amazing event. So could you explain what was going on there?

Annie Lamont (2:03)

So we invited all of our CEOs, and then we had a group of industry individuals and advisors and panels, but it was mostly just to create connectivity amongst our portfolio, talk about strategy, and just have a blast.

Molly O'Shea (2:20)

So I want to talk about Oak today. So you're notably known as the healthcare and fintech fund, and that's definitely changed over time with the proliferation of AI. But what has that tension been like for you and the evolution of the firm?

Annie Lamont (2:37)

I think no fundamental attention, because we have invested over time in horizontal platforms that apply to healthcare and fintech, and fintech is the movement of money. It can apply to anything and everything.

We have invested in supply chain in the past, we've invested in risk and cyber and fraud.

And I think as you think about the new AI world, and you look at horizontal platforms, what's interesting is that between our fintech and healthcare practice, it's really 50% of the economy. So we know intimately a lot of the enterprises and customers these companies are selling to. And it's very hard, for example, particularly in healthcare, to sell into healthcare companies, understand the buying motion, what they're interested in, who the people are. And we know all of that. So, and it's the smallest large market you've ever seen in that it's 100 providers that matter, they're 10 large payers. And having that depth of time, experience, relationships, is incredibly helpful to a lot of companies that are selling horizontal solutions, that often need to be, I mean, what's the advantage of AI? That you can create a horizontal product that actually works in a deep way with workflows or specifically in a particular industry.

Molly O'Shea (4:08)

So what are you seeing in the market today?

Annie Lamont (4:13)

What are we not seeing? I think, so what are we seeing now? I would say what is interesting and changed for us, I mean, starting with healthcare, I guess that's about 70 percent of what we do.

Life sciences is something that I started my career in, in biotech, with the early days, with Genzyme and Cephalanol, Chromies, and Lexion. So we deeply understand that we've done pharma services for a very long time. We've been looking at AI for the last decade and had not seen it produce more developable products and therapeutics. And everything's changed the last two years. So we're incredibly excited with Chai Discovery Investment last year, which is now creating amazing models and products oriented towards drug design and discovery.

And we are intentionally going into that space, and we're going to be deeper and deeper in it. We're going to be adding partners in San Francisco, building out our San Francisco office further. Because of so much of AI, whether it's life sciences or any other industry that software AI is being developed for, is happening in San Francisco.