Longevity Startups Have a Conundrum: Can They Sell Longevity Drugs?

In many ways, these are the best of times for Silicon Valley’s buzziest crop of longevity startups and their pursuit of drugs that can reverse aging.

NewLimit, a cell reprogramming company co-founded in 2022 by Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, announced earlier this month that it had raised another $435 million and plans to start testing a drug in humans next year. In all, it has collected over $630 million in funding.

Retro Biosciences, a startup launched in 2022 with $180 million from OpenAI’s Sam Altman, announced last month it too has raised more money and now has a $1.8 billion valuation. Retro, which is trying to restore cells and their activities that decline with aging, started testing its first drug in people last year.

Life Biosciences, a cell reprogramming company founded in 2017 whose investors include Joe Lonsdale’s 8VC, raised $80 million earlier this year, enough to complete the early phase of a clinical trial for its first drug. The company said this week it has dosed its first patient.

And yet despite these milestones, when I asked the CEOs of these companies if they are running trials for longevity drugs, each of them responded: Not yet.