Four years after its inception, NewLimit's quest to extend healthy human lifespan through cellular reprogramming has attracted substantial financial backing. The biotech startup, co-founded by Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, has secured $130 million in Series B funding led by Kleiner Perkins, building on their $40 million Series A from two years prior.
The investment roster includes newcomers Nat Friedman, Daniel Gross, and Khosla Ventures joining returning supporters like Founders Fund, Dimension Capital, Elad Gil, Garry Tan, and Patrick Collison. This diverse group of tech luminaries has rallied behind NewLimit's ambitious mission to genetically reprogram cells to combat aging.
Co-founder and stem cell professor Jacob Kimmel revealed that the company has already developed three prototype medicines showing promise in liver cell rejuvenation. Their laboratory experiments demonstrate that these treatments can restore aging cells' capacity to process fat and alcohol effectively. The team measures success by comparing how treated older cells respond to substances relative to naturally younger cells, with reprogrammed aged cells exhibiting behavior patterns more characteristic of youth.
Despite these encouraging results, human trials remain several years away. Meanwhile, NewLimit continues refining its approach through an AI-powered drug discovery system they call “lab in a loop.” This methodology allows the team to simulate countless experimental scenarios, identify the most promising candidates, and then verify them through actual laboratory testing. The resulting data subsequently improves the AI model's predictive capabilities.
NewLimit operates in an increasingly competitive longevity sector alongside ventures like Retro Biosciences, reportedly raising a $1 billion Series A after securing $180 million from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman two years ago, and Altos Labs, which launched with $3 billion in backing from investors including Jeff Bezos in 2022.
Written by Alius Noreika