Reed Jobs, 34, son of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, is exploring investment opportunities in UK cancer care startups through his venture capital firm Yosemite. Yosemite manages over $1 billion in assets and focuses on oncology startups developing gene therapies, cancer vaccines, radiopharmaceuticals, and AI-based treatments [1, 2].
Jobs attended a life sciences conference in London hosted by UK not-for-profit LifeArc in May 2026 to meet pharmaceutical partners, academics, and researchers as part of the firm’s efforts to expand internationally [1, 2]. "As a firm, we invest in companies internationally, and we would love to look at opportunities in the UK," he said [1].
Yosemite spun off from Emerson Collective, founded by Reed’s mother Laurene Powell Jobs, in 2023. It has invested in about 20 healthcare startups in both the US and UK, though the UK investments have not been publicly announced [1, 2]. The firm is backed by investors including Amgen, MIT, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and billionaire John Doerr [1, 2].
Reed Jobs’s motivation for focusing on cancer treatments comes from personal experience. His father died in 2011 at age 56 from pancreatic cancer, and a close friend has battled leukemia. "I saw my dad have cancer when I was a kid, and unfortunately that happens far too often. And that really motivated me to try to transform outcomes for other people out there," he said [1].
He emphasized the need for better early detection and treatment of cancer. "Today far too many cancers are either diagnosed incidentally, because there’s no good early biomarker, or only diagnosed once they are metastatic and extremely advanced. That is unacceptable," Jobs said, adding improved immunotherapy and biomarkers offer hope. "It’s one of the areas I think is going to have the most promise for patients in the next couple of decades," he said [2].
Earlier, Jobs worked as managing director of health for Emerson Collective and studied oncology and pre-med at Stanford University [1].
Yosemite continues to build its international portfolio this year, focusing on innovative cancer therapies with a goal to improve patient outcomes worldwide [1, 2].
