Why This Startup Is Bringing Back The Woolly Mammoth

A company trying to bring back the woolly mammoth just hit a $10.2 billion valuation. Its backers include Paris Hilton, Tom Brady, George R.R. Martin, and the producer of Jurassic World — and that's not even the strangest part. *Want to spot the real money-makers inside a business?* https://clickhubspot.com/6g4s Colossal Biosciences was founded in 2021 with $15 million and a goal of de-extincting the woolly mammoth by 2028. Since then it's raised $615 million — and attracted an investor list that reads less like a biotech cap table and more like a Hollywood after-party. But what those investors are really betting on has almost nothing to do with mammoths. The breakthroughs required to engineer a cold-adapted elephant have already produced unexpected spinoffs, including a potential key to how cancer cells self-destruct. Even In-Q-Tel, the CIA's independent venture arm, took notice. So how did a company trying to revive extinct animals become one of the most valuable startups in biotechnology? Our producer, Noelle, traces how a de-extinction startup became one of the most valuable biotech companies on earth — and why the investors who got there first were storytellers, not scientists. 0:00 Yes, de-extinction is a thing 0:45 Colossal Biosciences' $10.2B valuation 1:58 What makes de-extinction possible? 2:17 The father of synthetic biology 3:45 Where mammoths used to thrive 4:37 What bringing the mammoth back actually means 5:03 What kind of company is Colossal Biosciences, really? 6:47 “Not really a mammoth” and real value 7:35 The CIA is investing in de-extinction, too 8:06 Peto’s paradox and the potential of curing cancer 9:37 The broader implications of bringing back woolly mammoths Get the 5-minute newsletter keeping 2M+ innovators in the loop: https://thehustle.co/join-free-2