AI + Synthetic Biology: The Most Transformative Technology in Human History | Ben Lamm (Colossal)
In a Nutshell
Colossal, led by Ben Lamm, leverages AI-driven synthetic biology to de-extinct species like woolly mammoths, Tasmanian tigers, dodos, and direwolves, while building an end-to-end platform for computational biology, gene editing, cloning, and artificial wombs to solve biodiversity crises and produce scalable biological solutions. Spinouts like Breaking target microplastics degradation and gene drives combat invasive species costing trillions, subsidizing a $10 trillion extinction preservation market and enabling applications in IVF, disease-resistant crops/animals, and human healthcare. This fusion of AI and synbio is poised to be humanity's most transformative technology, achieving breakthroughs like 90% multi-edit efficiency and massive DNA synthesis scaleouts.
These notes were generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies.
Idea of bringing back the woolly mammoth had been around for a long time. Ben Lamm initially planned to fund it as a side project but found it too interesting and became CEO. Colossal is a parent company spinning out a dozen companies with massive potential. First biological products company spun out was Breaking, focused on plastic degradation. Same system that can bring back a mammoth can make microbes that break chemical bonds of plastic.
AI is essential: without AI, none of their work would be possible. Every company should be or is an AI company. Colossal designs using AI and builds living products.
Our vision is now. That's a moonshot, ladies and gentlemen.
Elon Musk loves woolly mammoth and wants Jurassic Park. Number one request they get, followed by megalodons.
Ben Lamm met George Church, synthetic biologist, CRISPR gene editor, entrepreneur, Harvard Medical School professor. Asked Church: if he could work on one project forever with unlimited capital, what would it be? Church instantly said bringing back mammoths, building technologies for saving species and human healthcare.
Colossal went from zero to $10 billion valuation in 4 years, massively undervalued. Team: 260 scientists (200 in US, 60 in Australia), significant number of AI programmers. Synthetic biology is interesting, but they don't always lead with AI.
Colossal builds end-to-end pipeline across computational biology, cellular engineering, genetic engineering, cloning, somatic cell transfer, eventually artificial wombs. Started with de-extinction to solve hardest biology problems: genotype to phenotype relationships, ancestral shape reconstructions, comparative genomics. This builds a system model applicable to all biological products.
Breaking spins out to address microplastic issue: 5g of plastic in human brain (size of teaspoon or credit card), 90% absorbed through gut. Discovery from Vis Institute: not single enzyme but concert of microbes producing enzymes. Colossal edited microbes for variants targeting different plastics. Most plastic treatments make smaller microplastics, not solving problem. Their solution breaks chemical bonds using directed evolution, supercharged for broader plastics and faster rate per surface area. Potential: supplement to break down microplastics in gut before absorption. Plastics in food supply, reproductive tissues, blood-brain barrier—existential problem requiring myriad solutions.
Publicly announced species: woolly mammoth, Tasmanian tiger, dodo, moa. Created direwolves (more coming).
Images shown: woolly mammoth mice (cutest mice on planet), woolly mammoth, direwolves (Ramulus front, Remis back—named after George R.R. Martin references).
Zoom with George R.R. Martin (author of A Song of Ice and Fire, Game of Thrones): showed direwolf pups from 73,000-year-old skull, created in 18 months. Martin teared up, recognizing real direwolves (not mythical).
De-extinction subsidizes platform, helps countries preserve species (lucrative), educational impact. EY estimate: $1.7 trillion market—12.5% of global consumers buy something extinct yearly, net new dollars layered with education/STEM content.
Recent Dubai deals: announced world's first Biovault for animals (no plant equivalent like Svalbard). Built reference genomes for species due to lack of centralized bio-banking. Partnered with UAE: diverse fauna going extinct. Educated on biodiversity importance (ecosystems, animals, human applications, national pride). UAE committing hundreds of millions to high-traffic Biovault with educational content, plus nine-figure living lab initiative building in-country capabilities, sharing data globally.
Countries as customers for saving endangered species. Once artificial wombs succeed, productionize species.
Three mini-moonshots: artificial wombs for different animal clades. Vision: biobanking, synthetic biology, automation, robotic process automation, AI, computer vision to productionize species development. Addresses genetic bottlenecks, long gestation (e.g., northern white rhino: 2 females left, functionally extinct, low diversity, 18 related embryos). Engineer diversity synthetically/from lost specimens, productionize via artificial wombs—redirect funds from $25M/year maintenance.
Help species adapt at pace of environmental change; evolution needs to be directed.
Acquired world's top two cloning companies: Viagen (main), another. Only 18 species ever cloned, 15 by Viagen at 78% efficiency (vs. typical 2%). Viagen cloned endangered species like black-footed ferret. Supports consumer dog cloning (e.g., Tom Brady's dog; Brady investor), profitable business continues. Applies to productionizing critically endangered species cloning in-country; big government announcements coming.
Platform uses AI and synthetic biology for desired phenotype: specific genes, enhancer sequences (e.g., longer snout/teeth for tusks). Could create Pikachu (SXSW panel derailed to Pokémon discussion).
Spin-outs: disease-resistant/drought-resistant plants and animals. Focus on chytrid (leading extinction driver in frogs/amphibians; solvable via genetic engineering for resistance).
Corals fascinating. Commonalities in vaccines/resistance from livestock to endangered species. Ripples: prevent non-biodiverse world where change outpaces nature.
I believe [synthetic biology, especially paired with AI], will be the most transformative technology we as humanity ever has.
Market as big as AI (multi-trillion). Synthetic biology: hundreds of billions today, under-tracked (e.g., swine/bird flu outbreaks).
Direwolf feedback: wolves kill cattle? Modern cattle raising repels them. Smarter breeding reduces issues.
Educate on GMOs: saved lives, taken none. Past anti-GMO fears (e.g., GMO corn changing human genome). Analogies: seat belts once seen as admitting cars dangerous.
Australian government on Tasmanian tiger reintroduction: legally GMOs (amalgamation of 53 tigers over 300 years). Educated to avoid anti-GMO narrative blocking re-wilding.
Chain drives is a 40% technology problem, 60% marketing problem. The invasive species problem is global, costing about $5.4 trillion currently measured, likely much larger. As global commerce increases, invasive species become more prevalent. Examples include cane toads, cats, and invasive carp in Australia; screw-worm in the US, declared a national emergency in Texas, moving up from Honduras and Mexico, threatening to decimate cattle and bison industries.
Combating invasive species: Vaccines for animals face USDA regulations and anti-GMO sentiment. Alternative: Genetically modified screw-worms released so next generation is all male, leading to population die-out over time. In New Zealand, Australia, and parts of Africa, people kill invasive animals like cats and possums because they decimate local populations of small marsupials in Australia or birds in New Zealand— an animal welfare and social nightmare, as people care more about cats than screw-worms.
Engineered gene drives with biocontrol allow animals and insects to live normal lives, then humane population decrease. Gene drives released in Africa for mosquitoes caused freak-out and were stopped because mosquitoes are part of the food web; invasive species are not.
Colossal is working with governments and international governments on this. Two years ago, gene drives seemed unviable after mosquito trials, but now it's a $5 trillion problem. They have an interesting model and proprietary technologies making it safer than ever dispersed in the wild, with rollback capability.
US economic impact over $500 billion a year domestically. Current spends are unclear, but methods are archaic: poisons that poison the environment, killing/trapping/poisoning larger animals—non-humane, like archaic cancer treatments.
Huge opportunity: Dozens of invasive species to target, costing dozens of billions, with little focus. 99% of synthetic biology experts focus on human healthcare, but same technologies apply to larger economic opportunities and greater help.
Focused on healthier embryos, reinventing IVF, advanced gene editing—spinouts from their engine.
Artificial wombs don't work yet; three projects. Breaking down problems from first principles: IVF is archaic, emotional; embryos graded on morphological scale. For mammoth-based artificial wombs, need to innovate in nine categories (four core), including keeping embryos healthier longer.
Current IVF uses day 2/3/5 morphological grading; data shows some embryos that look poor early become healthiest if cultured longer (seen in mice and non-model species). Humans decide on most important life choice with archaic system, bad imaging, one moment in time.
Built hydrogel and microfluidics device making embryos healthier, taking them further than anyone in mice and non-model species. Easier in humans (not done). Slightly different grading scale more efficient and accurate in model/non-model species—transformative for IVF.
Field moving fast. No other company close to their production pipeline.
Two/three years ago, victory laps on a couple edits at 40% efficiency (most at 15%). Now: Hundreds of edits at 90% efficiency, all over genome, precise enough for human healthcare (will spin out/license). Myopically focused on biodiversity/de-extinction.
No one near them. DNA synthesis: Surpassed largest delivery by 5x, will be 20x by year-end. Superior due to product/systems model leveraging AI, vs. one-off solutions for human healthcare.
Understand genotype-to-phenotype expression all over genome—different challenges. Hope their models apply broadly to synthetic biology.
Stay focused: Extinction/species preservation is $10 trillion opportunity, hardest biology problems. Opportunists/capitalists, but spin out discoveries (e.g., plastics) with dedicated teams, right capital/attention. Build interconnect agreements sharing editing efficiencies. Ecosystem approach without spreading thin—focus on platform, biodiversity/de-extinction; seed spinouts with internal scientific teams.
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