Colossal Biosciences, the world’s first de-extinction company, announced today a $150 million Series B financing led by US Innovative Technology Fund, with participation from Breyer Capital, WestRiver Group, Bob Nelsen, Animal Capital, Victor Vescovo, In-Q-Tel, Animoca Brands, Peak 6, BOLD Capital, and Jazz Ventures, among others.
Colossal has raised $225 million in total funding since its inception in September 2021. Colossal will use this latest round of funding to advance genetic engineering and develop new revolutionary software, wetware, and hardware solutions with applications in extinction, conservation, and human healthcare.
Colossal has also announced the launch of its Avian Genomics Group as part of its Series B, which will pursue the extinction of the iconic Dodo, a bird species that was wiped out of its native ecosystem, Mauritius, in 1662 as a direct result of human settlement and ecosystem competition.
The world’s bird population has declined by more than 3 billion in the last 50 years, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. More than 400 bird species are now classified as extinct, extinct in the wild, or critically endangered by the IUCN Red List. Through genetic rescue techniques and its de-extinction toolkit, Colossal is on a mission to reverse these staggering statistics.
The Series B funding and the formation of the Avian Genomics Group come less than a year and a half after Colossal announced plans to reintroduce two critically endangered species: the Woolly Mammoth and the Tasmanian tiger. The funding comes on the heels of Colossal’s first technology spinout, Form Bio, a software platform that raised $30 million in a Series A round.
