Startup Raises $200 Million To 'De-Extinct' the Woolly Mammoth, Thylacine and Dodo

An anonymous reader quotes a report from VentureBeat: Colossal BioSciences has raised $200 million in a new round of funding to bring back extinct species like the woolly mammoth. Dallas- and Boston-based Colossal is making strides in the scientific breakthroughs toward 'de-extinction,' or bringing back extinct species like the woolly mammoth, thylacine and the dodo. Since launching in September 2021, Colossal has raised $435 million in total funding. This latest round of capital places the company at a $10.2 billion valuation. Colossal will leverage this latest infusion of capital to continue to advance its genetic engineering technologies while pioneering new revolutionary software, wetware and hardware solutions, which have applications beyond de-extinction including species preservation and human healthcare.

'Our recent successes in creating the technologies necessary for our end-to-end de-extinction toolkit have been met with enthusiasm by the investor community. TWG Global and our other partners have been bullish in their desire to help us scale as quickly and efficiently as possible,' said CEO Colossal Ben Lamm, in a statement. 'This funding will grow our team, support new technology development, expand our de-extinction species list, while continuing to allow us to carry forth our mission to make extinction a thing of the past.' Here's a summary of the startup's progress on its efforts to bring back the woolly mammoth, thylacine and the dodo:

Woolly Mammoth De-extinction Progress
- Generated chromosome-scale reference genomes for elephants and the first de novo assembled mammoth genome
- Acquired and aligned 60+ ancient mammoth genomes and 30+ genomes of extant elephant species, improving mammoth-specific variant accuracy
- Derived pluripotent stem cells for Asian elephants, advancing reproductive technologies essential for de-extinction

Thylacine De-extinction Progress
- Created a 99.9% complete ancient genome for the thylacine using long-read and RNA sequencing
- Assembled telomere-to-telomere genomes of dasyurid species to understand evolutionary relationships and support conservation of marsupials
- Progress in genomics and reproductive technologies positions Colossal ahead of schedule on critical de-extinction steps

Dodo De-extinction Progress
- Completed high-coverage genomes for the dodo, its relatives, and the critically endangered manumea
- Developed tools for avian genome engineering, including techniques for craniofacial gene-editing and primordial germ cell cultivation
- Significant advances in avian-specific genetic techniques are driving progress toward dodo restoration and bird conservation

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