Billionaires in Silicon Valley have spent over $5 billion trying to extend human life using AI and science

Silicon Valley has a new obsession, and it’s not crypto, or Mars. It’s living forever. Or at least pushing the human lifespan past 100, maybe even 150 or 200.

Over the past 25 years, the ultrawealthy have dumped more than $5 billion into what they believe is the next frontier: longevity tech. They’re betting hard that AI, biotech, and cash can turn aging into just another bug in the code.

Big names like Peter Thiel, Sam Altman, Yuri Milner, and Marc Andreessen are at the center of this. The Wall Street Journal reviewed data from PitchBook, public company filings, and statements and found these guys aren’t playing small.

Peter alone has backed nearly a dozen longevity-focused firms. Some were funded through his venture capital firm, others through a nonprofit foundation he supports. The combined funding? Over $700 million.

Billionaires move their money into anti-aging drugs, AI, and cell tech

All that money isn’t going into one idea. It’s being scattered across startups that promise anything from cell rejuvenation to AI-driven drug discovery, and even health tracking wearables.

And these rounds are getting bigger. Average fundraising rounds for these companies have jumped more than 20% over the last 10 years, now sitting close to $43 million per deal.

NewLimit, founded by Coinbase’s Brian Armstrong, just pulled in $130 million in May. That round was backed by Peter and Vinod Khosla. Then there’s Altos, a giant in the space, which launched in 2022 and scored a $3 billion raise, more than any other company in the Journal’s list.

Their goal? Use technology to reprogram cells and make them young again.

Other companies are taking different angles. Insilico Medicine, which got backing from Peter Diamandis’s BOLD Capital, raised over $500 million to use artificial intelligence to find treatments for age-related diseases.

BioAge Labs, run by Kristen Fortney, pulled in $559 million, with support from Khosla Ventures and Andreessen’s a16z. Fortney met her first batch of investors through Stanford and a Bay Area salon of longevity fanatics hosted by Betts-LaCroix.

BioAge went public in 2024. Their first trial for an obesity drug was shut down later that year due to safety issues. They’ve since launched a second trial with a different compound. Fortney told the Journal, “A lot of people already make it past the age of 100 and they’re healthy. So why can’t that be achievable for all of us?”

personal grief, biotech promises, and the hope of hacking aging

For a lot of these billionaires, this isn’t about returns. It’s personal. Naveen Jain, for instance, lost his father to pancreatic cancer. That’s why he started Viome Life Sciences, which has raised $230 million to date.

Viome sells health tests you can use at home and then gives you custom supplement and nutrition advice. Jain threw $30 million of his own cash into the company. Other backers include Marc Benioff and Khosla Ventures. “I want to make aging optional,” Jain told the Journal.

Stéphane Bancel, Moderna’s CEO, got into the space after trying out a fasting-style diet built by longevity scientist Valter Longo. He later helped Longo raise $47 million for his company L-Nutra, which now sells fasting nutrition plans.

Khosla’s firm has become one of the most active players in the entire longevity market. His investments cover multiple strategies, each focused on different pieces of the aging puzzle. On a podcast interview with Superteam, a crypto group, Khosla said, “At 70, someone should feel like a 40-year-old.”

But what even counts as a longevity company? No one fully agrees. The Journal broke it down into three areas. First, companies trying to reprogram cells or reverse aging, think Altos, Retro Biosciences, Juvenescence, and more than 80 others. Together, they’ve pulled in about $5 billion, and Retro is now chasing another $1 billion.

Second, there are the biotech firms hunting for drugs to treat age-related diseases. Nearly 60 companies fall into this category, including BioAge. They’ve also attracted close to $5 billion.

Third, there’s the “right-now” market—products and services you can use today. These include wearables, vitamins, and cosmetics. This category alone has pulled in $2.6 billion from investors who want a piece of the growing health optimization trend.

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