🍯 The OpenAI of Longevity

ChatGPT founder put $180m in this longevity company

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Ambrosia Path
February 19, 2024

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Here’s whats going on in the world of Longevity today:

  • National Academy of Medicine is offering $50k funding to seed longevity ideas 💸

  • Nikola Tesla survived 24 years more than he should have. Did he solve the secret of longevity? ⚡

  • Only 0.54% NIH funds study aging though it’s the underlying cause of ~80% of dollars spent on healthcare 👩‍⚕️

  • Despite Rapamycin extending life in mice, recent research shows limited effects in humans 🐭

  • Hyaluronic acid fillers found to reverse skin damage from the sun ☀️

  • Croatian longevity startup GlycanAge raised €3.9m for personalised preventative care 🇭🇷

The OpenAI of Longevity

In 2022 Retro Biosciences raised $180m to reverse aging.

The crazy part? The entire amount was put up by Sam Altman.

Sam Altman is the co-founder and CEO of OpenAI.

Before OpenAI created ChatGPT, Sam Altman took a huge bet investing all his money in two companies. One being Retro Biosciences.

The OpenAI of Longevity: The association with Sam Altman has caused people to bill Retro Biosciences as the OpenAI of Longevity.

What Retro Biosciences Does:

  • Their mission: Retro Biosciences wants to add 10 years to healthy human lifespan

  • Secrecy: Bloomberg has labelled it the Most Secretive Longevity Lab

  • Broad approach: The company experiments in five areas of longevity research. This includes cellular reprogramming, autophagy & plasma-inspired therapeutics.

  • Strategy: They aim to take things that have shown proof of concept in mice and applying them to humans.

  • No bureaucracy: CEO Betts-LaCroix has all the decision-making power. He often calls Sam Altman on weekends to pass on highlights.

2 years in. How close are they to extending lifespan?

Their CEO recently presented on two years at Retro.

Here’s the current status of their programs:

  • Reprogramming: trial in 2026

  • Plasma: trial in 2023 for discovery completed, trial in 2025 for efficacy

  • Autophagy: phase 0 trial in 2023

They aim to have longevity “therapeutics in patients by the end of the decade”.

Ambrosia Path take: To the everyday person, reversing aging seems like an impossible goal BUT so did ChatGPT not long ago.

Will Sam Altman strike gold again?

Longevity Meme of the Day - Priorities…

That’s it for longevity news today folks! Have a fantastic day!

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Disclaimer: This information does not constitute health advice or a recommendation and should not be considered as such.