NeoGenesis Capital has launched as a venture capital firm focused on programmable biology at the intersection of superintelligence and synthetic biology and has announced the initial close of its first fund.
The firm was founded by Peter H. Diamandis, M.D., and Yianni Psaltis, Ph.D. NeoGenesis plans to invest in Colossal Biosciences as well as companies developed on or incubated from Colossal’s technology platform, targeting applications across longevity, fertility, agriculture, environmental remediation, pandemic prevention, and AI-native genetic design.
NeoGenesis’ investment thesis centers on the idea that advances in artificial intelligence and synthetic biology are making biological systems increasingly programmable. The firm intends to back businesses applying those capabilities to commercial opportunities across human health, food production, conservation, and environmental technologies.
Colossal Biosciences, founded by Ben Lamm and Harvard geneticist George Church, Ph.D., has developed a programmable biology platform combining genomic analysis, AI-driven modeling, multiplex gene editing, organism development, and biological scaling. The company is best known for its de-extinction initiatives and has demonstrated elements of its technology through projects involving the dire wolf and woolly mouse, as well as a large biobank of endangered-species DNA.
NeoGenesis expects potential companies emerging from the platform to pursue areas including drought- and disease-resistant crops, pathogen monitoring, enzymes capable of breaking down microplastics, artificial womb technologies for conservation applications, and other programmable biology products.
The firm has also appointed Oliver Trevena as Head Of Culture. Trevena is an entrepreneur, investor, actor, and producer who has invested in and helped develop more than 30 brands and co-founded beverage company Caliwater. He will focus on NeoGenesis’ cultural identity and strategic relationships.
Diamandis is Founder And Executive Chairman Of XPRIZE and was an early investor in Colossal. Psaltis serves as Managing Partner of NeoGenesis and holds a doctorate in cancer biology from Georgetown University. The size of NeoGenesis’ first fund and the amount raised at the initial closing were not disclosed.
KEY QUOTES:
“In 2021 I wrote one of the first checks into Colossal because of the brilliance of Professor George Church and Ben Lamm and their extraordinary vision. What they built along the way matters more than any one species. Biology has become programmable, and the companies built on that platform will define the next few decades, in human health, in food, in the environment. This is the most exciting frontier I have seen in my career. The mammoth was a starting point, what comes next will be world-changing.”
Dr. Peter H. Diamandis, Co-Founder of NeoGenesis Capital
“Biology is the next programmable substrate, and Colossal built the operating system. NeoGenesis is going deep on one platform and financing the companies it gestates. The next decade is about what gets built on it, and who it helps.”
Dr. Yianni Psaltis, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of NeoGenesis Capital
“I’ve always been passionate about connecting extraordinary people and being part of something that can positively change the world. I’m excited to join Peter, Yianni and the NeoGenesis team in bringing groundbreaking innovation and influential minds together to help shape a better future.”
Oliver Trevena, Head Of Culture at NeoGenesis Capital
