Colossal Biosciences reportedly in talks to raise capital at $20B–$30B valuation
According to an Axios report, de-extinction startup Colossal Biosciences is discussing a new funding round at a valuation between $20-30 billion, a significant jump from its previous $10.2 billion valuation. The company has started generating revenue over the past year.
Colossal Biosciences, the startup working to revive extinct species, is reportedly in talks to raise new capital at a valuation of $20 billion to $30 billion, Axios reported. About 16 months ago, the company was valued at $10.2 billion. It is unclear who is leading the new round or how much capital the five-year-old company is seeking. However, the report indicates that Colossal has started generating revenue over the last year.
Co-founder and CEO Ben Lamm told TechCrunch last year that the company sees three revenue streams. Colossal has offered its conservation technology to the U.S. government and the UAE, which recently invested $60 million in the company, according to Wired. The company has spun out three startups: Breaking (plastic breakdown), Form Bio (a computational biology platform that raised $30 million), and Astromech (an AI-driven predictive modeling company focused on biology, valued at $2 billion in March).
Operating out of a 55,000-square-foot headquarters in Dallas, Colossal keeps finding new applications for its core science. In late April, it added the bluebuck antelope as its sixth target species, while late last month, its nonprofit arm, the Colossal Foundation, partnered with the University of Tasmania to help protect Tasmanian devils from a contagious facial cancer.
Lamm said last year that the company also plans to spin off its artificial womb technology, which could have applications for human fertility treatment. In May, he told Rolling Stone that the technology is expected to be ready next year. If Colossal manages to reintroduce extinct animals like the woolly mammoth and dodo bird to their native habitats, it may eventually generate revenue through the sale of biodiversity credits, a market-based mechanism similar to carbon credits, according to Lamm.
The fundraising effort comes amid a boom in longevity tech, alternative energy, and other deep-tech sectors. Colossal did not respond to a request for comment.
