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‘Anti-Woke’ 1789 Capital Bets on Drug Startup BlinkRx

Paris, France, November 13th, 2020 : Clinic Chemist stocks and cold storage.Paris, France, le 13 Novembre 2020 : Clinique Ambroise Pare (Nathan Laine/Bloomberg)

(Bloomberg) -- Omeed Malik’s 1789 Capital, which counts Donald Trump Jr. as its latest hire, led a funding round for BlinkRx, a startup that aims to provide low-cost prescription medication to consumers, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Palm Beach, Florida-based 1789, which seeks to invest in conservative-leaning companies, is leading the $140 million round, which values BlinkRx at roughly $2 billion, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential information. Fidelity Investments, Joe Lonsdale’s 8VC, the late Paul Allen’s Cercano Management and Sweetwater Private Equity also invested in the company as part of the round, the people said. 

Representatives for 1789, BlinkRx and Cercano declined to comment. Representatives for Fidelity, 8VC and Sweetwater didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. 

BlinkRx, previously known as Blink Health, is led by co-founders Geoffrey Chaiken and Matthew Chaiken. The digital pharmacy service has sought to make prescriptions both accessible and affordable.

Led by Malik, a donor to President-elect Donald Trump, 1789 Capital has eschewed environmental, social and governance, or ESG, investing principles amid a conservative backlash to “woke” financing strategies. It instead abides by its own acronym: EIG, or entrepreneurship, innovation and growth. 

The firm’s mandate includes backing companies that disrupt industries that 1789 believes to be weighed down by bureaucracy, like health-care and education, one of the people said.

In addition to BlinkRx, 1789 has invested in publishing platform Substack, rocket-engine maker Firehawk and Tucker Carlson’s media company. 

(Updates with details of its investing strategy in sixth paragraph.)

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