Spencer Trask & Co.

Spencer Trask & Co. was founded by Spencer Trask and George Foster Peabody as an investment firm. The company is headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut, and funds ventures in genomics, healthcare, mobile technology and communications.

History

Spencer Trask & Co. was established in 1881 by Spencer Trask, evolving from his earlier ventures, including Trask & Stone, a brokerage house founded in 1868.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the firm played a key role in financing Thomas Edison in the development of the light bulb and the electric power systems. Trask was president of the New York Edison Company, the world's first electric power company, for nearly 15 years, now known as Consolidated Edison. Spencer Trask was one of the first companies to be supplied with electric lamps.
Spencer Trask & Co. also provided financing Guglielmo Marconi and Marconi Wireless, whose work in radio technology laid the groundwork for today's wireless communications.
Mr. Spencer Trask purchased 100% of The New York Times and hired Adolph S. Ochs as publisher. Trask remained the major stockholder as Ochs rejuvenated the newspaper and made it profitable.
Spencer Trask & Co. was the first investor in Ciena Corporation, which made significant advancements in fiber optic communications technology. Ciena first commercialized dense wavelength division multiplexing technology. This became a core component of modern fiber-optic communications, telecommunications infrastructure and the Internet.
The firm provided the first funding to Myriad Genetics, a genomics diagnostics company known for sequencing the breast cancer gene, BRCA1. This work contributed to advances in genomic medicine.
In addition, Spencer Trask & Co. invested in Health Dialog to commercialize partner Jack Wennberg's work in evidence-based medicine and informed patient-based decision-making. Health Dialog's support and research provided the analytical foundation for the Affordable Care Act.
In August 2024, Spencer Trask launched Signal12 Inc., a clinical-stage ocular health company.