About Cryonics

Science-based overview

Cryonics: Scientific Rationale & Probabilities

A concise synthesis of two cornerstone perspectives: a scientists’ statement arguing that cryonics is plausible in principle, and a probability framework for thinking about whether it may work for individual patients.

References & Library (Further Reading)

These sources span from scientific analysis and archival histories to journalistic reports and ethical commentary. They offer a broad view of cryonics, longevity research and the cultural dialogue around death-defying science.

These sources include both independent analyses and verified journalism about cryonics and life-extension science. The San Francisco Chronicle features provide historical coverage of Suspended Life’s development, its leadership, and the broader ethical and scientific debate surrounding cryonic suspension.

Scientists’ Open Letter on Cryonics

Signatories encompass all disciplines relevant to cryonics, including Biology, Cryobiology, Neuroscience, Physical Science, Nanotechnology and Computing, Ethics and Theology.

The signatories, speaking for themselves, include leading scientists from institutes such as MIT, Harvard, NASA and Cambridge University to name a few.

To Whom It May Concern,

Cryonics is a legitimate science-based endeavor that seeks to preserve human beings, especially the human brain, by the best technology available. Future technologies for resuscitation can be envisioned that involve molecular repair by nanomedicine, highly advanced computation, detailed control of cell growth, and tissue regeneration.

With a view toward these developments, there is a credible possibility that cryonics performed under the best conditions achievable today* can preserve sufficient neurological information to permit eventual restoration of a person to full health.

The rights of people who choose cryonics are important, and should be respected.

Signatories (78 Scientists — click to expand)

Roman Bauer, Ph.D.
ETH, Zurich
Current association: University of Surrey [02/05/2024]

Gregory Benford, Ph.D.
(Physics, UC San Diego) Professor of Physics; University of California; Irvine, CA [3/24/04]

Alex Bokov, Ph.D.
(Physiology, University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio) [6/02/2014]

Alexander Bolonkin, Ph.D.
(Leningrad Politechnic University) Professor, Moscow Aviation Institute; Senior Research Associate NASA Dryden Flight Research Center; Lecturer, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, NJ [3/24/04]

Nick Bostrom, Ph.D.
Research Fellow; University of Oxford; Oxford, United Kingdom [3/25/04]

Åke Brännström, Ph.D.
Professor of Interdisciplinary Mathematics, Umeå University, Sweden [05/01/23]

Kevin Q. Brown, Ph.D.
(Computer Science, Carnegie-Mellon) Member of Technical Staff; Lucent Bell Laboratories (retired); Stanhope, NJ [3/23/04]

Professor Manfred Clynes, Ph.D.
Lombardi Cancer Center; Department of Oncology and Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Georgetown University; Washington, DC [3/28/04]

L. Stephen Coles, M.D., Ph.D.
(RPI, Columbia, Carnegie Mellon University) Director, Supercentenarian Research Foundation Inglewood, California [10/7/06]

Jose Luis Cordeiro, MBA, Ph.D.
The Millennium Project, Venezuelan Director; World Academy of Art and Science, Fellow [02/07/06]

Daniel Crevier, Ph.D.
(MIT) President, Ophthalmos Systems Inc., Longueuil, Qc, Canada; Professor of Electrical Engineering (ret.), McGill University & École de Technologie Supérieure, Montreal, Canada [4/7/05]

Antonei B. Csoka, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Pittsburgh Development Center, Magee-Womens Research Institute [9/14/05]

Aubrey D.N.J. de Grey, Ph.D.
Research Associate; University of Cambridge; Cambridge, United Kingdom [3/19/04]

Wesley M. Du Charme, Ph.D.
(Experimental Psychology, University of Michigan) Author of Becoming Immortal, Rathdrum, Idaho [11/23/05]

João Pedro de Magalhães, Ph.D.
University of Namur; Namur, Belgium [3/22/04]

Thomas Donaldson, Ph.D.
Editor, Periastron; Founder, Institute for Neural Cryobiology; Canberra, Australia [3/22/04]

Christopher J. Dougherty, Ph.D.
Chief Scientist; Suspended Animation Inc; Boca Raton, FL [3/19/04]

K. Eric Drexler, Ph.D.
Chairman of Foresight Institute; Palo Alto, CA [3/19/04]

Suzan Dziennis, Ph.D.
Oregon Health and Science University; Senior Scientist at Advanced Neural Biosciences [04/26/23]

Robert A. Freitas Jr., J.D.
Author, Nanomedicine Vols. I & II; Research Fellow, Institute for Molecular Manufacturing, Palo Alto, CA [3/27/04]

Mark Galecki, Ph.D.
(Mathematics, Univ of Tennessee), M.S. (Computer Science, Rutgers Univ), Senior System Software Engineer, SBS Technologies [11/23/05]

D. B. Ghare, Ph.D.
Principal Research Scientist, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India [5/24/04]

Ben Goertzel, Ph.D.
(Mathematics, Temple) Chief Scientific Officer, Biomind LLC; Columbia, MD [3/19/04]

Peter Gouras, M.D.
Professor of Ophthalmology, Columbia University; New York City, NY [3/19/04]

Rodolfo G. Goya, Ph.D.
Senior Scientist, Institute for Biochemical Research (INIBIOLP), School of Medicine, National University of La Plata, Argentina [11/22/2015]

Amara L. Graps, Ph.D.
Researcher, Astrophysics; Adjunct Professor of Astronomy; Institute of Physics of the Interplanetary Space; American University of Rome (Italy) [3/22/04]

Raphael Haftka, Ph.D.
(UC San Diego) Distinguished Prof., University of Florida; Dept. of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, Gainesville, FL [3/22/04]

David A. Hall, M.D.
Dean of Education, World Health Medical School [11/23/05]

J. Storrs Hall, Ph.D.
Research Fellow, Institute for Molecular Manufacturing, Los Altos, CA; Fellow, Molecular Engineering Research Institute, Laporte, PA [3/26/04]

Robin Hanson, Ph.D.
(Social Science, Caltech) Assistant Professor of Economics; George Mason University; Fairfax, VA [3/19/04]

Steven B. Harris, M.D.
President and Director of Research; Critical Care Research, Inc; Rancho Cucamonga, CA [3/19/04]

Michael D. Hartl, Ph.D.
(Physics, Harvard & Caltech) Visitor in Theoretical Astrophysics; California Institute of Technology; Pasadena, CA [3/19/04]

Kenneth J. Hayworth, Ph.D.
(Neuroscience, University of Southern California) Research Fellow; Harvard University; Cambridge, MA [10/22/10]

Henri Tapani Heinonen, Ph.D.
University of Jyväskylä [04/25/23]

Henry R. Hirsch, Ph.D.
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1960) Professor Emeritus, University of Kentucky College of Medicine [11/29/05]

Tad Hogg, Ph.D.
(Physics, Caltech and Stanford) Research Staff, HP Labs, Palo Alto, CA [10/10/05]

James J. Hughes, Ph.D.
Public Policy Studies, Trinity College; Hartford, CT [3/25/04]

James R. Hughes, M.D., Ph.D.
ER Director, Meadows Regional Medical Center; Director of Medical R&D, Hilton Head Longevity Center, Savannah, GA [4/05/04]

Ravin Jain, M.D.
(Medicine, Baylor) Assistant Clinical Professor of Neurology, UCLA School of Medicine; Los Angeles, CA [3/31/04]

Subhash C. Kak, Ph.D.
Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA [3/24/04]

Emil F. Kendziorra, M.D.
University Medical Center Goettingen, Germany; Founder & CEO Tomorrow Bio & European Biostasis Foundation [4/25/23]

Professor Bart Kosko, Ph.D.
Electrical Engineering Department; University of Southern California [3/19/04]

Jaime Lagúnez, Ph.D.
NGS and Systems Biologist, INSP (National Institutes of Health of Mexico) and CONACYT (National Science and Technology Council) [11/21/2015]

James B. Lewis, Ph.D.
(Chemistry, Harvard) Senior Research Investigator (retired); Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceutical Research Institute; Seattle, WA [3/19/04]

Marc S. Lewis, Ph.D.
Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, University of Cincinnati; Associate Professor, University of Texas at Austin [6/12/05]

Nuno R. B. Martins, Ph.D.
Visiting Research Scholar, University of California, Berkeley, USA [04/25/23]

Andrew McKenzie, M.D., Ph.D.
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai [06/02/23]

Brad F. Mellon, STM, Ph.D.
Chair, Ethics Committee; Frederick Mennonite Community; Frederick, PA [3/25/04]

Ralph C. Merkle, Ph.D.
Distinguished Professor of Computing; Georgia Tech; VP, Technology Assessment, Foresight Institute [3/19/04]

Marvin Minsky, Ph.D.
(Mathematics, Harvard & Princeton) MIT Media Lab & MIT AI Lab; Toshiba Professor of Media Arts and Sciences [3/19/04]

John Warwick Montgomery, Ph.D.
(Chicago) D.Théol. (Strasbourg), LL.D. (Cardiff) Professor Emeritus of Law and Humanities, University of Luton, England [3/28/04]

Max More, Ph.D.
Chairman, Extropy Institute, Austin, TX [3/31/04]

Steve Omohundro, Ph.D.
(Physics, UC Berkeley) Professor, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign [6/08/04]

Mike O’Neal, Ph.D.
(Computer Science) Associate Professor & Program Chair, Louisiana Tech Univ., Ruston, LA [3/19/04]

Antti Peltonen, Ph.D.
Aalto University [04/26/23]

R. Michael Perry, Ph.D.
Computer Science; Alcor Life Extension Foundation [9/30/09]

Yuri Pichugin, Ph.D.
Former Senior Researcher, Institute for Problems of Cryobiology and Cryomedicine; Kharkov, Ukraine [3/19/04]

Peter H. Proctor, M.D., Ph.D.
Independent Physician & Pharmacologist; Houston, TX [5/02/04]

Martine Rothblatt, Ph.D., J.D., M.B.A.
Founder & CEO, United Therapeutics; launched Sirius & WorldSpace satellite companies [5/02/04]

Klaus H. Sames, M.D.
University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Institute of Anatomy II; Hamburg, Germany [3/25/04]

Anders Sandberg, Ph.D.
(Computational Neuroscience) Royal Institute of Technology & Stockholm University [3/19/04]

Irishikesh Santhosh, M.D.
University of Debrecen, Hungary; Tomorrow Bio, Berlin, Germany [04/27/23]

John Schloendorn, Ph.D.
Arizona State University [04/25/23]

Sergey V. Sheleg, M.D., Ph.D.
Senior Research Scientist, Alcor Life Extension Foundation; Scottsdale, AZ [8/11/05]

Stanley Shostak, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Biological Sciences; University of Pittsburgh; Pittsburgh, PA [3/19/04]

Rafal Smigrodzki, M.D., Ph.D.
Chief Clinical Officer, Gencia Company; Charlottesville, VA [3/19/04]

David S. Stodolsky, Ph.D.
(Univ. of Cal., Irvine) Senior Scientist, Institute for Social Informatics [11/24/05]

Gregory Stock, Ph.D.
Director, Program on Medicine, Technology, and Society, UCLA School of Public Health; Los Angeles, CA [3/24/04]

Charles Tandy, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Humanities; Director, Center for Interdisciplinary Philosophic Studies, Fooyin University (Kaohsiung, Taiwan) [5/25/05]

Peter Toma, Ph.D.
President, Cosmolingua, Inc.; Director, International Relations, Alcor Life Extension Foundation; residences in multiple countries [5/24/05]

Natasha Vita-More, Ph.D.
Professor, University of Advancing Technology, Tempe, Arizona, USA [11/22/2015]

Mark A. Voelker, Ph.D.
(Optical Sciences, U. Arizona) Director of Bioengineering, BioTime, Inc.; Berkeley, CA [3/19/04]

Roy L. Walford, M.D.
Professor Emeritus of Pathology, UCLA School of Medicine; Los Angeles, CA [3/19/04]

Mark Walker, Ph.D.
Research Associate, Philosophy; Trinity College; University of Toronto (Canada) [3/19/04]

Michael D. West, Ph.D.
President, Chairman & CEO; Advanced Cell Technology, Inc.; Worcester, MA [3/19/04]

Ronald F. White, Ph.D.
Professor of Philosophy; College of Mount St. Joseph; Cincinnati, OH [3/19/04]

James Wilsdon, Ph.D.
(Oxford University) Head of Strategy, Demos (independent think tank); London, England [5/04/04]

Brian Wowk, Ph.D.
Senior Scientist, 21st Century Medicine, Inc.; Rancho Cucamonga, CA [3/19/04]

Journal Articles Supporting Cryonics (click to expand)

First paper showing recovery of brain electrical activity after freezing to -20°C.
Suda I, Kito K, Adachi C, in: Nature (1966, vol. 212), “Viability of long term frozen cat brain in vitro“, pg. 268–270.

First paper to propose cryonics by neuropreservation:
Martin G, in: Perspectives in Biology and Medicine (1971, vol. 14), “Brief proposal on immortality: an interim solution”, pg. 339.

First paper showing recovery of a mammalian organ after cooling to -196°C and subsequent transplantation:
Hamilton R, Holst HI, Lehr HB, in: Journal of Surgical Research (1973, vol. 14), “Successful preservation of canine small intestine by freezing“, pg. 527–531.

First paper showing partial recovery of brain electrical activity after 7 years of frozen storage:
Suda I, Kito K, Adachi C, in: Brain Research (1974, vol. 70), “Bioelectric discharges of isolated cat brain after revival from years of frozen storage“, pg. 527–531.

First paper suggesting that nanotechnology could reverse freezing injury:
Drexler K.E., in: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (1981, vol. 78), “Molecular engineering: An approach to the development of general capabilities for molecular manipulation“, pg. 5275–5278.

First paper showing that large organs can be cryopreserved without structural damage from ice:
Fahy G.M., MacFarlane D.R., Angell C.A., Meryman H.T., in: Cryobiology (1984, vol. 21), “Vitrification as an approach to cryopreservation“, pg. 407–426.

First paper showing that large mammals can be recovered after three hours of total circulatory arrest (“clinical death”) at +3°C (37°F):
Haneda K., Thomas R., Sands M.P., Breazeale D.G., Dillard D.H., in: Cryobiology (1986, vol. 23), “Whole body protection during three hours of total circulatory arrest: an experimental study“, pg. 483–494.

First detailed discussion of nanotechnology to reverse human cryopreservation:
Merkle R.C., in: Medical Hypotheses (1992, vol. 39), “The technical feasibility of cryonics“, pg. 6–16.

First successful application of vitrification to a relatively large tissue of medical interest:
Song Y.C., Khirabadi B.S., Lightfoot F., Brockbank K.G., Taylor M.J., in: Nature Biotechnology (2000, vol. 18), “Vitreous cryopreservation maintains the function of vascular grafts“, pg. 296–299.

First report of consistent survival of transplanted kidneys after cooling to and rewarming from -45°C:
Fahy G.M., Wowk B., Wu J., Phan J., Rasch C., Chang A., Zendejas E., in: Cryobiology (2004, vol. 48), “Cryopreservation of organs by vitrification: perspectives and recent advances“, pg. 157–178.

First paper showing ice-free vitrification of whole brains and reversibility of prolonged warm ischemic injury:
Lemler J., Harris S.B., Platt C., Huffman T., in: Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences (2004, vol. 1019), “The Arrest of Biological Time as a Bridge to Engineered Negligible Senescence“, pg. 559–563.

First discussion of cryonics in a major medical journal:
Whetstine L., Streat S., Darwin M., Crippen D., in: Critical Care (2005, vol. 9), “Pro/con ethics debate: When is dead really dead?“, pg. 538–542.

First demonstration of preserved neural networks via vitrification:
Pichugin Y., Fahy G.M., Morin R., in: Cryobiology (2006, vol. 52), “Cryopreservation of rat hippocampal slices by vitrification“, pg. 228–240.

Rigorous demonstration of memory retention after cooling to +10°C (59°F):
Alam H.B., Bowyer M.W., Koustova E., Gushchin V., Anderson D., Stanton K., Kreishman P., Cryer C.M., Hancock T., Rhee P., in: Surgery (2002, vol. 132), “Learning and memory is preserved after induced asanguineous hyperkalemic hypothermic arrest in a swine model of traumatic exsanguination“, pg. 278–288.

Review of scientific justifications of cryonics:
Best B.P., in: Rejuvenation Research (2008, vol. 11), “Scientific justification of cryonics practice”, pg. 493–503.

First successful vitrification, transplantation, and long-term survival of a vital mammalian organ:
Fahy G.M., Wowk B., Pagotan R., Chang A., Phan J., Thomson B., Phan L., in: Organogenesis (2009, vol. 5), “Physical and biological aspects of renal vitrification”, pg. 167–175.

First demonstration of memory retention in a cryopreserved and revived animal:
Vita-More N., Barranco D., in: Rejuvenation Research (2015, vol. 18), “Persistence of Long-Term Memory in Vitrified and Revived Caenorhabditis elegans“, pg. 458–463.

First demonstration of whole brain vitrification with perfect preservation of neural connectivity (“connectome”):
McIntyre R.M., Fahy G.M., in: Cryobiology (2015, vol. 71), “Aldehyde-stabilized cryopreservation“, pg. 448–458.

Comprehensive paper about persistence of fine brain structure after prolonged ischemia:
de Wolf A., Phaedra C., Perry R.M., Maire M., in: Rejuvenation Research (2020, vol. 23(3)), “Ultrastructural Characterization of Prolonged Normothermic and Cold Cerebral Ischemia in the Adult Rat”, pg. 193–206.

*As of September 2020, Biostasis.com notes that an ideal human cryopreservation process for future revival would follow the Medical Biostasis protocol.

Note: Signing of this letter does not imply endorsement of any particular cryonics organisation or its practices. Opinions on how much cerebral ischemic injury and preservation injury may be reversible in the future vary widely among signatories.

Contact: contact@biostasis.com

The Billionaires Fueling the Quest for Longer Life

Investors including Peter Thiel and Sam Altman are making big bets on where longevity science is headed.

How much would you invest in the possibility of living to 150 or beyond — or having 20 extra healthy years? For the ultrawealthy, it’s more than $5 billion over the past 2½ decades, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of longevity investment deals in PitchBook, public company statements, and regulatory filings.

Silicon Valley giants Peter Thiel, Sam Altman, Yuri Milner, and Marc Andreessen are among the boldface names behind the influx of money in the longevity industry. Their investments have helped push what was once an academic niche into the cultural mainstream.

Total capital (approx.)
$12.5B+
Cellular rejuvenation
$5.1B
Age-related diseases
$4.9B

Who’s Betting Big

  • Peter Thiel — Backed ~a dozen longevity ventures; co-backer of NewLimit.
  • Sam Altman — Invested $180M in Retro Biosciences.
  • Yuri Milner — Backer of Altos Labs (cellular rejuvenation).
  • Marc Andreessen — Via a16z, invested in BioAge Labs.
  • Brian Armstrong — Co-founded NewLimit (cell age reversal).
  • Joe Lonsdale — 8VC investor; backed Altos Labs.
  • Eric Schmidt — Among billionaire investors in NewLimit round.
  • Vinod Khosla — Portfolio spans multiple longevity startups (>$1B raised collectively).
  • Marc Benioff — Investor in Viome Life Sciences.
  • Peter Diamandis — Investor and ecosystem builder (XPRIZE Healthspan, $101M purse).

Notable Companies and Figures

  • Altos Labs — Raised $3B to rejuvenate cells (largest single raise cited).
  • BioAge Labs — Raised $559M; public in 2024; running new obesity-drug trials.
  • Insilico Medicine — AI drug discovery; raised $500M+.
  • Retro Biosciences — Altman’s $180M bet; seeking to raise more.
  • NewLimit — Co-founded by Armstrong; raised $200M+ from nine+ billionaires.
  • Viome Life Sciences — At-home health testing; raised $230M+.
  • L-Nutra — Fasting-mimicking nutrition; $47M round led by Stéphane Bancel.
  • Unity Biotechnology — Raised $355M; delisted and planning dissolution (June 2025).

Longevity Personalities

  • Peter Attia, M.D. — Physician/author; co-founded high-end clinic Biograph.
  • David Sinclair, Ph.D. — Harvard professor; pioneer in age-reversal research.
  • Bryan Johnson — Entrepreneur known for extensive self-experiments.
  • Peter Diamandis — Founder of XPRIZE Healthspan ($101M prize for aging solutions).

Summary derived from Wall Street Journal (6 Sept 2025): over $12.5B raised across ~200 startups and nonprofits over the past 2½ decades, signalling growing mainstream attention to longevity science.

Investors including Peter Thiel and Sam Altman are making big bets on where longevity science is headed. How much would you invest in the possibility of living to 150 or beyond? Or having 20 extra healthy years? For the ultrawealthy, it’s more than $5 billion over the past 2½ decades, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of longevity investment deals in PitchBook, public company statements and regulatory filings. Silicon Valley giants Peter Thiel, Sam Altman, Yuri Milner and Marc Andreessen are among the boldface names behind the influx of money in the longevity industry. Thiel’s quest for longer life spans nearly a dozen companies—some of which were funded by his venture firm and others by a nonprofit foundation he backed—that raised more than $700 million, according to the Journal’s analysis. They and other wealthy investors have helped push what was once something of an academic backwater into the cultural mainstream. Many companies ultimately fail, but the ultrawealthy and other enthusiasts are following the money and the science to decide where to invest and what to take. These companies are part of a constellation of more than 200 startups and nonprofits involving nearly 1,000 investors. Together they raised more than $12.5 billion in the past 2½ decades from not only the ultrawealthy but also social-media influencers, celebrity scientists and actors chasing a breakthrough, according to the Journal’s analysis. Thiel’s mentee, OpenAI CEO Altman, placed a big bet–$180 million–on Retro Biosciences, which aims to develop drugs to rejuvenate and reprogram aging cells. Retro CEO Joe Betts-LaCroix previously worked for Halcyon Molecular, a former biotech funded by Thiel’s Founders Fund. Thiel’s fund also backed NewLimit, co-founded in 2021 by Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong. NewLimit, with a focus on reversing cell aging, raised more than $200 million from ultrawealthy investors including at least nine billionaires or their funds such as Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale, ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt and Sun Microsystems co-founder Vinod Khosla. Peter Diamandis, a Silicon Valley entrepreneur and longevity enthusiast, also invested in NewLimit. Lonsdale’s firm, 8VC, backed cellular rejuvenation startup Altos Labs, which drew support from Robert Nelsen’s Arch Venture Partners and tech investor Milner. Not all longevity bets pay off. Unity Biotechnology raised $355 million since 2013 to develop medicines targeting cells linked to aging, according to company filings. The company was recently delisted from the Nasdaq and announced plans in June to dissolve. Khosla’s firm invested in several longevity startups, which collectively raised more than $1 billion, the Journal’s analysis shows. Khosla Ventures and venture capitalist Andreessen’s fund invested in BioAge Labs. Salesforce co-founder Marc Benioff and Khosla’s fund invested in Viome Life Sciences. BOLD Capital Partners, a venture fund co-founded by Diamandis, also invested in Viome. Longevity startups are increasingly backed by celebrities and other well-connected people. Function Health, which focuses on lab tests and lifestyle suggestions, attracted investments from Kevin Hart, Matt Damon and Dr. Casey Means, President Trump’s pick for surgeon general. How much money Money has been pouring in from some of the wealthiest investors, fueled by these personal connections and passions. Armstrong’s fundraising for NewLimit includes a $130 million round in May. Among the company’s investors are the funds of fellow billionaires Khosla and Thiel. Altos, launched in 2022, raised $3 billion—the most of any company identified by the Journal—to develop technology to rejuvenate cells. Artificial-intelligence drug discovery company Insilico Medicine, which is backed by Diamandis’s BOLD Capital, raised more than $500 million to treat multiple age-related diseases. Another company, BioAge Labs, which is developing drugs to treat diseases of aging, raised $559 million, which includes investments from Khosla Ventures and Andreessen’s a16z fund. BioAge’s chief executive, Kristen Fortney, met investors interested in her research at a Stanford lab and through her involvement in a salon for longevity enthusiasts run by Betts-LaCroix. BioAge went public in 2024, raising the funds to develop an obesity drug and other programs. A trial of an obesity drug halted later that year over safety concerns. BioAge launched a new trial of a different obesity drug this year. “A lot of people already make it past the age of 100 and they’re healthy. So why can’t that be achievable for all of us?” Fortney said. That concept has taken hold and is helping drive investors, with the average fundraising round for longevity companies growing by more than 20% in the past decade to nearly $43 million this year, by the Journal’s calculations. Why they invest Many of the ultrawealthy individuals flooding the longevity space are motivated by highly personal reasons. Naveen Jain says his father’s death from pancreatic cancer led him to found Viome Life Sciences, which has raised over $230 million. Viome sells at-home health tests and analyzes the data to make personalized nutrition and supplement recommendations. Jain, a billionaire, invested $30 million of his own money in Viome. Benioff and Khosla Ventures are also investors. “I want to make aging optional,” Jain says. Stéphane Bancel, CEO of Moderna, tried a diet designed to mimic the effects of fasting developed by longevity scientist Valter Longo. Bancel later led a $47 million funding round for Longo’s company L-Nutra, which develops fasting nutrition programs. “I want to be able to have the biggest impact,” says Bancel. Khosla through his firm is one of the most prolific longevity investors identified by the Journal, with each of the investments focused on different aspects of aging. “At 70, someone should feel like a 40-year-old,” he said during an interview with the Superteam Podcast, a group of cryptocurrency enthusiasts. The science attracting big money There is no consensus on what makes something a longevity company. The Journal identified three key areas the ultrawealthy are focused on, by companies’ publicly reported missions: Efforts to reverse or change aging, develop treatments for age-related diseases, or sell products or services claiming to improve health and extend lifespan. The quest for ways to “reprogram” and rejuvenate cells is one of the biggest generating buzz in Silicon Valley circles. The idea of returning people to a more youthful state is propelling Altos, Retro, Juvenescence and more than 80 other companies to raise some $5 billion. Retro says it is trying to raise another $1 billion. Companies seeking treatments for diseases linked to aging include BioAge Labs. Nearly 60 biotechs in this space have raised nearly $5 billion. For those interested in antiaging strategies that can be tried right now, big money is pouring into companies selling health trackers, supplements and cosmetics, raising some $2.6 billion. Longevity personalities Prominent personalities have helped build longevity’s cachet among wealthy investors and the public, founding companies and building demand. Peter Attia: Author of a bestselling longevity book and host of a popular podcast, Attia co-founded the high-end clinic Biograph with Silicon Valley entrepreneur John Hering. David Sinclair: A popular lecturer on the longevity circuit, the Harvard professor’s genetics lab is a frequent stop for wealthy individuals interested in learning about and sometimes funding age-reversal research. Bryan Johnson: His Silicon Valley-fueled fortune and willingness to spend $1 million a year on self-experiments attempting to slow down his aging led to a Netflix documentary and public attention. Peter Diamandis: The entrepreneur and investor tapped billionaires and other wealthy individuals as donors for the XPrize Foundation he founded and its XPrize Healthspan, a prize competition with a $101 million purse to develop ways to reverse aspects of aging.