Colossal Leadership team from left: Peter Phillips – Chief Business Officer, Andrew Busey – Chief Product, Officer, Sarah Grant – Chief of Staff, Ben Lamm – Co-Founder/CEO, George Church, PHd – Co-Founder, Eriona Hysolli – Head of Biological Sciences, Kent Wakeford – Chief Operating Officer, & Brian Beard – Chief Legal Officer. Photo by John Davidson Photography
Colossal Biosciences, a company co-founded by Preston Hollow neighbor Ben Lamm, has raised $60 million in funding.
The company is focused on using biosciences and genetic engineering to restore the woolly mammoth and re-introduce it in the Arctic tundra.
With the $60 million in Series A funding, total funding for Colossal is now at $75 million. The company secured $15 million in seed funding when it launched last year. Investors in the Series A funding include Animoca Brands and Paris Hilton. Thomas Tull and At One Ventures are the lead investors.
“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,” Lamm says in a press release. “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.”
The funding will also go toward expanded labs and hiring to facilitate the development of genetic-editing tools, software and wetware that can be used in human health and disease prevention. Genetic engineering applications have the potential to enhance food production, limit environmental impact and optimize animal health.
The Advocate featured Ben Lamm and Colossal in an earlier issue, and for that story, he told us the goal is to have the first cohort of calves within the next four to six years.
