DALLAS– Colossal Biosciences, a breakthrough biosciences and genetic engineering company, announced an oversubscribed $60M Series A financing led by Thomas Tull and At One Ventures with participation from Untamed Planet, Animoca Brands, Breyer Capital, Animal Capital, Arch Ventures co-founder Robert Nelsen, Paris Hilton, Bold Capital, First Light Capital Group, Boost VC, Jazz Ventures, Builders VC, Green Sands Equity, Draper Associates, Charles Hoskinson, among others, bringing total funding to $75M.
“With this most recent financing, Colossal is positioned to realize long-researched breakthroughs that can support the restoration of healthy ecosystems. We will soon have the choice of moving from the role of blind destroyer of the world’s species toward being the thoughtful kin of all the life around us,” said Colossal investor Tom Chi, At One Ventures.
The company, which launched five months ago, is focused on developing radical new technologies to advance the fields of de-extinction, species preservation and human healthcare through genomics. At launch, Colossal announced it will pioneer the use of CRISPR/Cas along with other genome engineering technologies towards a practical working model of de-extinction initially focused on its long-term goals of successful restoration and rewilding of functional woolly mammoths to the tundra. Genetic engineering applications expand beyond animals and have the potential to advance human health, enhance food production, reduce environmental impact, and optimize animal health and welfare.
“We’re making the path to de-extinction and species preservation a reality by bringing the planet one step closer to reversing the downward trend of ecosystem degradation and the staggering loss of biodiversity through cutting edge genetic tools,” said Ben Lamm, Co-Founder and CEO of Colossal. “The technologies and solutions developed through our mammoth restoration project will not only return Arctic elephants to the tundra, but will target larger implications for conservation, science, and humanity.”
Through radical transparency and collaboration with nonprofits, conservation groups, governments, and the general public, Colossal aims to develop genetic toolkits and support DNA databases to aid in the restoration, diversification and rewilding of endangered species. This work and collaboration will also enable comprehensive population-based sequencing and computational analysis of elephants and mammoth genomes, genome editing, and viral disease resistance, as well as ex-vivo development. The reproductive technologies Colossal is developing will not only help advance the re-introduction of mammoth-elephant hybrids into the Arctic, but this innovation will have positive implications for all mammals and allow for a deeper understanding of evolutionary change in countless critical species. In addition to expanding the work on the resurrection of the woolly mammoth, this new round of funding will lead to expanded labs and hiring to support the development of breakthrough genetic editing tools, software, and wetware for use inhuman health and disease prevention.
“As the Covid-19 pandemic has demonstrated, scientific innovation – and funding to support it – has never been more important,” said Thomas Tull, lead investor in Colossal. “Led by visionary geneticist George Church, Colossal has some of the best minds focused on developing breakthrough tools that are poised to have a material impact on science and biotechnology, from the eradication of diseases to the development of new drugs, CRISPR DNA sequencing, and even solving challenges around reproduction. Companies like Colossal are imperative to our future and I am pleased to be able to continue to support their unique work.”
Colossal has also continued to add multiple world-renowned scientists to its Scientific Advisory Board including David Haussler, Ph.D, Alexander Titus, Ph.D, Erez Lieberman Aiden, Ph.D and Beth Shapiro, Ph.D, who will also act as one of Colossal’s paleogenomics leads.
