In a startling twist on the usual arc of extinction, a startup called Colossal Biosciences believes it’s on track to reintroduce vanished megafauna into our modern ecosystems—starting with the woolly mammoth. This audacious ambition just got a major boost: the company secured $200 million in new funding, pushing its valuation to a lofty \$10.2 billion. The investment reflects a growing enthusiasm for so-called “de-extinction” and the genetic technologies behind it.
Led by co-founder and CEO Ben Lamm, Colossal aims to edit genes from ancient mammoths—painstakingly reconstructed from preserved samples—into living elephant cells, effectively crafting a hybrid embryo bristling with mammoth-like traits. The long-term plan is to insert these cells into an Asian elephant or an artificial womb, with the hope that a woolly mammoth calf will eventually be born. Lamm says Colossal is also working to revive other departed species: the Tasmanian tiger (or thylacine) and the iconic dodo bird.
Why invest so heavily in something that sounds straight out of a Hollywood screenplay? The company is betting that its research, particularly in gene editing and artificial womb design, will spin off blockbuster medical applications and commercial tech. Colossal has already formed spinoff ventures that focus on everything from tackling plastic pollution to refining computational biology tools—early indications that the firm sees a market far beyond resurrected giants.
Still, skeptics question how a revived mammoth might fit into the modern world. Climate change has drastically reshaped the Arctic ecosystems where mammoths once roamed, raising doubts about whether these revived creatures could thrive without unintended ecological side effects. University of Arizona paleontologist Karl Flessa, for one, argues that prevention of ongoing extinctions may be more effective for biodiversity than reviving lost species.
Despite these concerns, Colossal presses on. It expects that governments might eventually seek its help in saving endangered wildlife, or even exploring the return of locally prized but extinct animals. And if these lab-generated creatures do take up residence in a carefully managed habitat, Colossal believes it could monetize their presence via biodiversity credits, an emerging market for businesses that want to offset their environmental footprints.
Colossal’s timeline remains ambitious—2028 for the first living mammoth, all going well—but the science underpinning de-extinction continues to mature at a rapid pace. Should the woolly mammoth indeed trudge across the tundra again, it could signal a new era for genetic engineering—and perhaps a new debate over how much humans can, or should, alter the blueprint of life on Earth.
FAQs
- What is Colossal Biosciences’ main goal?
The startup wants to use advanced gene-editing techniques to resurrect extinct animals like the woolly mammoth. - How is CRISPR involved in bringing back the woolly mammoth?
CRISPR enables precise edits of elephant cells, incorporating mammoth DNA sequences to recreate key traits. - Why are skeptics questioning the mammoth’s reintroduction?
Many worry about the ecological implications, including whether modern habitats can sustain large, resurrected creatures. - What are biodiversity credits, and how do they fit into Colossal’s plan?
Biodiversity credits work like carbon credits, potentially allowing companies to financially support habitat restoration or species reintroduction. - When might the first woolly mammoth walk the Earth again?
Colossal Biosciences estimates by 2028, though success depends on breakthroughs in genetics and artificial womb research.
