NewLimit, a promising longevity pharma startup co-founded by Brian Armstrong, the CEO of leading crypto exchange Coinbase, has successfully raised $40 million in a Series A funding round.
The company, dedicated to extending the human lifespan, announced the funding on Tuesday, with prominent investors such as Dimension, Founders Fund, Kleiner Perkins, Eric Schmidt, Elad Gil, Garry Tan, and Fred Ehrsam participating in the round.
NewLimit had previously raised $110 million in 2021 from co-founders Blake Byers and Brian Armstrong. This initial funding, committed over the company’s lifetime, remains ongoing and not yet fully utilized.
The recent $40 million infusion is also structured to be accessed gradually rather than provided in a single disbursement. The valuation of the company has not been disclosed at this stage.
The NewLimit founding team comprises four accomplished individuals. Blake Byers, a former partner at Google Ventures with a Ph.D. in bioengineering from Stanford, and Brian Armstrong, known for his leadership at Coinbase, serve as co-founders.
The team also includes Greg Johnson, who previously spearheaded the development of novel machine learning methods at the Allen Institute for Cell Science, and Jacob Kimmel, a former Principal Investigator and Computational Fellow at Calico, where he led a research laboratory focused on epigenetic reprogramming.
Armstrong clarified his role within NewLimit, stating that he is primarily an investor and a board member. He emphasized that Greg Johnson and Jacob Kimmel are the driving forces operating the business daily.
The overarching mission of NewLimit is to combat aging by researching epigenetic drivers and developing therapies that regenerate tissues, catering to specific patient populations.
With a long-term perspective, the company aims to slow, halt, or even reverse the aging process through epigenetic reprogramming, which focuses on restoring the regenerative potential individuals possess during their younger years.
The company’s core focus is developing therapies reprograming cell age without altering the cell type. To achieve this, NewLimit is constructing screening technologies that enable the testing of various reprogramming strategies. By assessing their ability to make old cells appear younger, the company aims to rejuvenate the functionality of aging cells.
NewLimit envisions a future where the human health span can be significantly extended. The team aspires to provide individuals with a life free from pain, maintaining the mobility and cognitive abilities typically associated with individuals in their thirties. They draw inspiration from scientific evidence demonstrating the potential for creating new cells from older hosts, citing instances where old animal skin cells have been transformed into newborn animals capable of leading normal lives.
In addition to its primary focus on aging, NewLimit believes that its therapies could effectively treat or prevent diseases associated with aging. These include conditions such as fibrosis, infectious diseases, and neurodegenerative disorders.
As NewLimit secures significant funding and continues to push the boundaries of longevity research, the company remains in the early stages of development. With a strong and dedicated founding team, the startup is well-positioned to revolutionize human health and potentially reshape the concept of aging.
