Colossal biological sciencean anti-extinction startup looking for ways to bring back the dodo and woolly mammoth raised $200 million in Series C funding at a valuation of $10.2 billion.
The recent money injection got here from TWG Global, the holding company it jointly heads Mark Walter AND Thomas Tull.
The Dallas-based startup, founded in 2021, plans to make use of the money to further develop genetic engineering technologies, in addition to develop software and hardware solutions for anti-extinction, conservation and human health care applications.
The company said that bringing back extinct animals could allow for a higher understanding of evolutionary changes in other species, and that applications of genetic engineering would also help increase food production and reduce environmental impact.
Colossal claimed to have generated “ancient genomes” of some extinct thylacine tigers.
“Our recent successes in building the technologies needed for a comprehensive anti-extinction toolkit have been met with enthusiasm from the investment community,” said Colossal CEO and co-founder Ben Lamm in a statement. “This funding will expand our team, support the development of new technologies, expand our list of species to prevent extinction, and at the same time allow us to continue to achieve our mission to make extinction a thing of the past.”
A yr ago
Just in January, Colossal Biosciences raised $150 million in Series B funding to further work on an extinction prevention platform that would bring back the dodo and the woolly mammoth. Tull’s led the round American Fund for Innovative Technologiesand included participation from Breyer’s capital, WestRiver Group, Animal capital, In-Q-Tel, Animocy Brands, Summit 6, Brave capital, Partners of the jazz enterprise and others.
Since launching in September 2021, Colossal has raised $435 million for the company.