In an exciting development in the biotechnology industry, Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, the creators of the ChatGPT AI chatbot, made waves with the announcement that he was investing an impressive amount of money into a life sciences startup. This startup aims to tackle the biological aging process in humans, and essentially beat death!
Retro Biosciences, a company that began with $180 million in initial funding, made it clear that their goal was to increase healthy human lifespan by ten years. Their ambition, spearheaded by biotechnology innovator Joe Betts-LaCroix, was met with enthusiasm from the wider biotechnology sector, but with a healthy dose of skepticism. However, upon the release of that a MIT report, it was revealed that the one investor backing Retro Biosciences was none other than ChatGPT mastermind, Sam Altman.
Aged just 37 and a tech start-up guru, Altman’s strong track record of success with Open AI, where he developed AI-driven programs and chatbots that exhibited almost human-like behavior, made his investment into a life-extension startup all the more reassuring. But this wasn’t his only daring financial move; he also invested heavily into fusion power startup Helion Energy, having committed $375 million to the cause.
Retro Biosciences’ three-part program to increase healthy lifespan revolves around cellular reprogramming, autophagy (cellular detoxification) and plasma-inspired therapeutics. If successful, the implications for the healthcare industry are profound; the door would be open for radical treatments for diseases like cancer and heart disease.
However, looking at Open AI’s ambition to pass the medical exams, Altman’s statement on hard startups feeling the test of time better than other types of startups overlooked shows that investment in these complicated projects involves some leve of risk-taking. But one thing is clear – when you have a revolutionary like Sam Altman backing the cause, there may be a real chance at beating death.
Though Altman’s project stands out in this space, there are other startups working on longevity. Longevity Vision Fund invests money into finding treatments for neuro-degenerative diseases, while Tempus works on gene editing, epigenetic programming and organ regeneration. Elysium Health offers biological age index and Valo Health is working on age-defying unicorns.
Retro Biosciences have certainly made a bold claim – but with money, time, dedication and of course, the wisdom and foresight of Sam Altman, it may be their reality in the future.
