The Longevity Industry Has Arrived
A decade ago, working on aging was considered career suicide in mainstream biology. Today, longevity biotech is one of the hottest sectors in life sciences, attracting billions in investment from tech billionaires, pharmaceutical giants, and sovereign wealth funds. The field has shifted from fringe to frontier science, and a new generation of companies is translating decades of academic research into therapies designed to slow, halt, or reverse human aging.
Here are the companies defining the longevity landscape in 2026.
Altos Labs
Focus: Epigenetic reprogramming and cellular rejuvenation Founded: 2022 | Funding: $3+ billion
Altos Labs launched with the largest initial funding round in biotech history and a roster of scientific talent that reads like an aging research hall of fame. The company's advisory board includes Shinya Yamanaka (Nobel Prize for iPSC discovery) and its research institutes span the US, UK, and Japan.
Altos is pursuing reprogramming-based medicines — therapies that use transcription factors to reverse the epigenetic age of cells and tissues without fully dedifferentiating them. Their approach is broad, investigating partial reprogramming across multiple organ systems and disease states. With deep pockets and long time horizons, Altos is positioned as the field's most ambitious bet on rejuvenation biology.
Calico (California Life Company)
Focus: Understanding the biology of aging Founded: 2013 | Backed by: Alphabet (Google)
Calico, Alphabet's secretive longevity moonshot, takes a deliberately long-term, basic-science approach. Rather than rushing to the clinic, Calico invests heavily in understanding why organisms age, using model systems from yeast to naked mole rats. Their partnership with AbbVie, initially valued at $1.5 billion, focuses on translating discoveries into drugs for age-related diseases.
Calico has published important work on the genetics of lifespan variation, mTOR signaling, and cellular stress responses. Critics have noted the company's slow pace of therapeutic development relative to its resources, but its defenders argue that foundational understanding is essential for durable breakthroughs. Calico maintains one of the world's largest cohorts of mice for aging studies.
Retro Biosciences
Focus: Partial reprogramming, autophagy, plasma-inspired therapies Founded: 2021 | Funding: $180 million (initial), led by Sam Altman
Backed by a $180 million personal investment from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Retro Biosciences is pursuing three parallel strategies to extend human healthspan by ten years: partial epigenetic reprogramming, autophagy enhancement, and plasma-inspired therapies. The company operates out of a converted warehouse in the San Francisco Bay Area and has built a reputation for speed and ambition.
Retro's reprogramming program focuses on identifying the optimal combination and dose of transcription factors for rejuvenating specific tissues. Their autophagy program aims to restore the cellular recycling machinery that declines with age. The plasma program investigates factors in young blood that can rejuvenate aged tissues — building on the parabiosis research that electrified the field in the 2010s.
NewLimit
Focus: Epigenetic reprogramming for specific cell types Founded: 2022 | Funding: $40+ million
Co-founded by Brian Armstrong (CEO of Coinbase) and Blake Byers, NewLimit is focused on developing epigenetic medicines that restore youthful function to specific cell types. Rather than whole-organism reprogramming, NewLimit takes a precision approach, identifying which epigenetic changes drive dysfunction in particular cells and developing targeted interventions.
The company uses high-throughput CRISPR screens combined with single-cell epigenomics to map the epigenetic landscape of aging in immune cells, liver cells, and other therapeutically relevant populations. Their near-term focus on the immune system could yield medicines that restore immune function in the elderly — a massive unmet need that became painfully apparent during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Turn Biotechnologies
Focus: mRNA-based epigenetic reprogramming Founded: 2018 | Funding: $60+ million
Turn Biotechnologies has developed ERA (Epigenetic Reprogramming of Aging), a platform that uses mRNA delivery of Yamanaka factors to rejuvenate aged cells. The mRNA approach offers a key safety advantage: unlike viral vectors that integrate into the genome, mRNA is transient and naturally degrades, giving precise control over the dose and duration of reprogramming factor expression.
Turn's initial programs target skin aging and osteoarthritis — conditions where local delivery is feasible and clinical endpoints are well-defined. Their dermatology program has shown the ability to rejuvenate aged human skin cells in vitro, restoring youthful gene expression patterns and functional characteristics. The company represents an important proof of concept for non-viral reprogramming delivery.
Unity Biotechnology
Focus: Senolytic medicines for age-related diseases Founded: 2011 | Publicly traded: UBX
Unity was the first company dedicated to developing senolytic therapies — drugs that selectively clear senescent "zombie" cells. After an initial setback with their knee osteoarthritis program (UBX0101), the company pivoted to ophthalmology, where local drug delivery avoids systemic side effects.
Their lead candidate, UBX1325 (foselutoclax), a BCL-xL inhibitor delivered by intravitreal injection, has shown promising results in clinical trials for diabetic macular edema and age-related macular degeneration. Unity's journey from proof-of-concept to clinical setback to successful pivot is a case study in the challenges and persistence required to bring longevity science to patients.
Insilico Medicine
Focus: AI-driven drug discovery for aging and age-related diseases Founded: 2014 | Funding: $400+ million
Insilico Medicine combines artificial intelligence with deep expertise in aging biology to discover and develop drugs for age-related diseases. Their AI platform, Pharma.AI, integrates target identification, molecule generation, and clinical trial prediction. The company made history by advancing an AI-discovered molecule (ISM001-055, targeting idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis) into Phase 2 clinical trials.
Insilico has also developed aging clocks based on various data types — transcriptomic, proteomic, and photographic — that can estimate biological age and identify potential anti-aging interventions. Their dual focus on aging biology and AI-powered drug discovery positions them at the intersection of two transformative trends.
Juvenescence
Focus: Longevity therapeutics portfolio Founded: 2017 | Funding: $300+ million
Juvenescence takes a portfolio approach to longevity, investing in and developing multiple therapeutic modalities including small molecules, cell therapies, and gene therapies. The company operates as both a drug developer and an investor in the longevity ecosystem.
Key programs include work on senolytics, NAD+ biology, and stem cell therapies. Juvenescence has also been active in developing consumer longevity products, including supplements designed to support cellular health. Their diversified strategy reflects a pragmatic view that multiple approaches will be needed to address the complexity of aging.
Life Biosciences
Focus: Multi-hallmark approach to aging Founded: 2017 | Funding: $100+ million
Life Biosciences was founded with the thesis that addressing aging requires tackling multiple hallmarks simultaneously. The company initially created a network of subsidiary companies, each focused on a different hallmark of aging — epigenetic reprogramming, senescent cells, mitochondrial dysfunction, and others.
The company has since consolidated its programs and focuses on developing therapies that target the most druggable hallmarks, with an emphasis on age-related diseases of the eye, liver, and immune system. Their approach represents the growing recognition that aging is not a single disease but a convergence of multiple biological processes.
Loyal (for Dogs)
Focus: Extending the healthspan and lifespan of dogs Founded: 2019 | Funding: $125+ million
Loyal stands out in the longevity landscape by targeting man's best friend. Founded by Celine Halioua, the company is developing drugs to extend the healthy lifespan of companion dogs — an approach that is both scientifically strategic and emotionally compelling. Dogs age similarly to humans, develop many of the same age-related diseases, and live in our homes, making them ideal for studying aging interventions in a real-world setting.
Loyal's lead program, LOY-001, targets large-breed dogs that have significantly shorter lifespans than small breeds, partly due to elevated IGF-1 levels. In a landmark regulatory decision, the FDA agreed in principle that lifespan extension in dogs could support drug approval — a first for any species. If approved, LOY-001 would be the first drug ever approved specifically to extend lifespan.
The Bigger Picture
The longevity biotech industry in 2026 is diverse, well-funded, and increasingly clinical. Companies are pursuing epigenetic reprogramming, senescent cell clearance, AI-driven drug discovery, gene therapy, and metabolic interventions. The first longevity-focused drugs are in late-stage clinical trials, and regulatory agencies are beginning to grapple with how to evaluate therapies aimed at aging itself.
The next few years will be decisive. Positive clinical results from any of these companies could transform aging from an inevitable decline into a treatable condition — and open a market that, by some estimates, could eventually become the largest in all of medicine.
Sources & Further Reading
- Altos Labs — $3B funded, cellular rejuvenation. Early human safety testing began August 2025.
- Colossal Biosciences — $200M Series C (Jan 2025), $10.2B valuation. Dire wolf pups born April 2025.
- Life Biosciences — FDA IND cleared for ER-100 (partial reprogramming), Phase 1 trial 2026.
- Calico Life Sciences — AbbVie partnership extended through 2030, 3 programs in clinical trials.
- Retro Biosciences — $180M from Sam Altman, partial reprogramming + autophagy.
- De Grey, A. LEV Foundation December 2025 Update — RMR Study 1 completed, RMR Study 2 planned for mid-2026.
Last updated: March 2026. Company data verified against SEC filings, press releases, and official websites.
