Will AI Drive a Longevity Tech Boom

TECH IN THE NEWS

FTC AI Crackdown - The Federal Trade Commission announced actions against five companies it said used AI in deceptive and unfair ways.

City Size Data Centers - OpenAI pitched the Biden admin on the need to build 5 gigawatt data centers, a power output equivalent to around 5 nuclear reactors.

A Sizable Chunk - OpenAI will remove non-profit control and give CEO Sam Altman equity worth ~$150b. Altman claims investors are pushing for it so that his interests align with those of the company.

PBOC Cuts - Chinese stocks and investor sentiment soared this week after Beijing unveiled its biggest stimulus package since the pandemic, and revealed plans to issue $284b of sovereign debt this year.

Tether Rivals - Trading brokerage Robinhood and digital banking app Revolut are among companies reportedly considering launching stablecoins.

COMPANIES TO WATCH

AI Films - Runway has earmarked $5M to fund up to 100 original films using its AI-generated video models in the production process.

Commercial Fusion Power - Washington startup Zap Energy raised $130M led by Soros Fund with BAM Elevate, Emerson Collective, and prior backers including Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Ventures, Chevron, DCVC, EIP, Lowercarbon, and Shell.

THE HOTTEST THING IN TECH
AI-Driven Longevity Tech Investment

In the US, at least one in six people is over the age of 65. Globally, the number of people aged 80+ will triple over the next 30 years, and centenarians are projected to 10x. Meanwhile, the pursuit of extended human lifespan is rapidly evolving from science fiction to a tangible investment opportunity. As the longevity sector experiences a surge in funding and technological advancements, AI is emerging as a key driver of innovation and growth. For investors and founders, this convergence presents an opportunity to capitalize on a potential market boom.

Reigniting The Longevity Investment Boom

AI and biotech breakthroughs may now be poised to fuel a new wave of capital to drive a resurgence in startups and established biotech firms exploring age-related therapies and interventions. This month, MD Anderson researchers identified a molecule that diminishes age-related inflammation and enhances brain and muscle function. This finding essentially reverses multiple hallmarks of aging. It is just one of a slew of breakthroughs heralding “a new clinical age of aging research.”

The years 2021 and ‘22 saw a dramatic rise in longevity sector investment, mirroring growth across the broader health and biotech sectors. The spike in deal valuation from 2023 to 2024 is over 2x the general trend for the period. Some analysts predict the longevity market will see a (CAGR) of 20-25% in VC funding over the next 5-10 years. The global longevity market size is projected to reach $600b to $1 trillion by 2030 with the US market expected to account for about 40-45% or $250-450 billion.

AI's Transformative Role in Longevity Tech

A report by SVB found that since 2022, seed and series A valuations for healthcare companies leveraging AI have outpaced those not utilizing it, with $7.2b of US VC dollars invested in AI healthcare companies. In 2024 it will attract a projected $11.1b. Key areas of impact for AI in the longevity sector to watch could include:

• Drug Discovery and Development - AI algorithms accelerating R&D and lowering costs is increasing both startup and big pharma interest in the space.

• Personalized Medicine - The rise of longevity clinics offering personalized data-based interventions and tailored treatments is a significant growth area.

• Early Detection and Prevention - AI-powered diagnostic tools capable of detecting age-related diseases early are becoming increasingly valuable.

• Lifestyle Optimization - AI wearable tech and health-tracking apps providing personalized recommendations are a growing market for consumer-tech.

Signs of a Longevity Resurgence

The space is now poised to see one of its most high-profile IPOs with the upcoming $150M+ debut of California’s BioAge Labs, which uses machine learning to develop therapeutics for obesity/metabolic diseases by targeting the biology of aging. It also closed year’s largest longevity-focused round, a $170M Series D led by Sofinnova.

Other “pure-play” longevity rounds this year included Alzheon (Alzheimer’s drugs), a $100M Series D, Aeovian (rare genetic and age-related disease drug discovery), a $50M round, and Rubedo (anti-aging drug discovery), a $40M Series A round. Other major biotech rounds from Cardurion, (cardio disease), Freenome, (early cancer detection), and eGenesis, (engineered organs) raised over $700M combined this year.

In the AI-focused space, precision medicine company Tempus AI made its Nasdaq debut and now has a market cap of ~$8b with investors seeing high potential for it playing a role in life-extending breakthroughs. Another notable example, AI-powered biological reprogramming startup Altos Labs, has raised over $3b to date.

In addition, tech giants are entering the field. Google DeepMind’s "AlphaFold" AI model is helping scientists design drugs and target disease. Another Alphabet subsidiary, Calico Labs is using AI to understand the biology of aging and make interventions that enable people to live longer and healthier lives.

In the big-pharma space, companies are leveraging AI. Pfizer has significantly increased its AI and ML investment with several AI-focused biotech partnerships. Novartis expanded its multi-year partnership with Microsoft in 2023, focusing on AI applications in drug development and personalized medicine.

The Future of Longevity Tech

The 2022 downturn in longevity investment likely says more about the macro environment than about the industry. The sector is still emergent, its’ miniscule size relative to biotech and fintech (paired with AI and demographic trends) highlights extreme upside potential for longevity. While it is historically correlated to biotech and fintech, we can expect longevity to grow faster and be more resilient than both.

For tech investors and founders, success in the re-ignited longevity sector may come from identifying opportunities that leverage AI's strengths in data analysis, pattern recognition, and personalization. Partnerships with established biotech firms, investments in promising startups, or new AI-driven longevity tech solutions all offer great potential for both financial returns and social impact by playing a role in shaping the future of age-related medicine.

FOR INVESTORS
Open Deals

Request an intro to founders - invest@thetech.buzz

1. 🔥⏱️ Robotics for Agricultural Efficiency - Pittsburgh - Built & deployed robotic hardware for the largest U.S. tree nurseries, reducing costs and increasing efficiency by 50x. Hardware and AI data layer. Beginning to scale globally. Post-revenue, at capacity. (Seed+)
   

2. 🔥⏱️ Quant Trading Software Company - New Jersey - Large-scale automated day-trading algorithm designed for volatile U.S. equity markets. Profitable through extensive backtesting and live simulation. Seeking equity investment for software company.

3. Cricket for the Modern World - India - Physical and virtual ecosystem fostering cricket experiences for enthusiasts and upcoming pros. Data-driven, locally proven, globally scaling. (Seed)

🔥 — hot deal!
⏱️ — leaving soon.

FOR EMPLOYERS
Job Candidates

Request an intro to candidates - jobs@thetech.buzz.

1. Struck Capital Venture Associate, ex-West2East (Russell Wilson) Director of Special Projects, ex-Phoenix Holdings Investment Associate. Harvard BA. Vietnamese pro basketball player.

2. Lockheed Martin Software Engineer, ex-Rutgers Junior Full Stack Developer. Secret clearance. Expertise in C++, PHP, SQL. Rutgers BA in Computer Science.

TRENDING TOOLS AND BUZZY TECH
Tools

Meta - Orion holographic AR specs, Quest 3s, Ray-Ban update, Llama3.2 multimodal.

Intel - Xeon 6 processors and Gaudi 3 AI accelerators, 2x AI performance.

GitHub - Data residency for cloud customers to store code in the EU.

Ai2 - Molmo multimodal O-S small model is completely free to use.

Alibaba - 1. Qwen-Max 2.5 100+ O-S Cloud AI models. | 2. Nvidia AV collab.

Tech

Microsoft - Correction tool flags “hallucinations”, attempts to auto correct.

reCAPTCHAv2 - AI solves 100% of image-based CAPTCHA tests.

U. NSW - Soft Robotic heart simulator perfectly mimics real cardiac motion.

AstraZeneca - To acquire NYC biotech Immunai for $18M to improve cancer drugs.

Harvard - TxGNN model identifies drugs to repurpose to treat rare diseases.

'World-first' - Indoor vertical farm to produce 4M pounds of berries per year.

🚨TECH BUZZ ANNOUNCEMENT:

We’ve made some changes — Our Closed Deals, Companies to Watch, and Funding Buzz sections will now arrive every Monday AM wrapping up the week’s top deals.

Please get in touch with feedback on this change and any other suggestions as to what you would like us to feature more of.