Virtually everyone would love to live longer and healthier. Given the ubiquity of these aspirations, it is not surprising that longevity has a long history as a popular motive for startup investment.
However, the space is also not resistant to market dynamics. In recent quarters, investors appear to have withdrawn large amounts of funding for startups innovating in life extension. This comes after disappointing results from many of their biggest previous bets.
As we have seen in previous analyzes of long-term startup financing, deals proceed to be made, even outside cycles. To illustrate what sparked interest this time, we used Crunchbase data compiling a list of 14 longevity-oriented startups that have secured funding in 2025.
A few bull’s-eyes, more balanced transactions
The largest longevity-related funding round we could find this yr was $130 million – which is a substantial but not crazy sum at the peak. It went to New Limitstartup he co-founded Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong which touts its mission as “epigenetically reprogramming cells to younger states.”
The next largest rounds went to AI drug discovery firms, coinciding with a very busy yr for the space industry. This includes Insilico Medicinean artificial intelligence drug developer that lists aging-related diseases as one of its core areas of focus and has raised $110 million.
Nine-year-old Youth also raised a $76 million Series B-1 tranche this spring to develop a pipeline of artificial intelligence medicines that may extend healthy lifespans. It focuses on drugs that focus on the underlying mechanisms of aging to treat and prevent age-related diseases.
And when it involves prevention, The life of a fountainstartup that counts Piotr Diamandis AND Tony Robbins among its co-founders, it secured an $18 million Series B. Fountain sells memberships that it says provide access to AI-powered insights, personalized regenerative therapies and “proactive biological optimization” at every stage of life.
Action in the seed phase
Meanwhile, seed-stage firms have secured smaller rounds but also demonstrated ambitious visions.
Based in Toronto Gray matter neurosciencefor example, it plans to make use of focused ultrasound to treat age-related brain diseases. Launched last yr, the fund secured $14 million in its first round of funding in January.
Another intriguing latest addition is Seattle Circulate healthwhich offers therapeutic plasma exchange to patients wishing to increase their healthy lives. The startup got here out of hiding and announced in July that it had raised $12 million in seed funding led by Khosla ventures.
And while it is not a startup with longevity, Tomorrow Bio it actually has an intriguing business model. The Berlin-based startup provides cryopreservation for humans and pets.
Long-lived startups don’t at all times age well
Because the desire to live longer and healthier lives is so widespread, it is common to see longevity startups generate enthusiasm early on. Ironically, they do not at all times age well.
Several longevity-focused IPOs are evidence of this trend. It was probably the most up-to-date one BioAge Laboratoriesa startup focused on “harnessing the biology of human aging” to develop latest therapies for obesity and metabolic diseases. This went public Nasdaq just over a yr ago, and the stock is currently trading at lower than half of its initial IPO price.
One of the biggest disappointments was Unity Biotechnologylongevity-focused biotechnology that went public in 2018 after raising nearly $300 million in enterprise funding. Its stock is now worthless and the company is now not in business.
Among the early private unicorns, Human longevitythe diagnostics and longevity services provider, which Diamandis also co-founded, also underperformed expectations. According to reports, the San Diego-based company’s valuation dropped to $310 million from $1.6 billion in 2018. It is unclear what the current valuation level is.
Not only about returns
But for longevity founders, ROI is obviously not the only metric that matters. The biggest successes can be those who deepen our understanding of the aging process and contribute to reducing the effects of age-related diseases. Let’s hope they proceed to excel on these fronts, regardless of how the IPO market performs.