When startup Colossal Biosciences revealed last year that it was trying to “resurrect” the dire wolf from genetic material found in fossils, we argued that, despite the controversy surrounding the project, the company was building valuable technologies that justified its $10.2 billion valuation.
Now, some 16 months later, the startup is in talks to raise new funding at a valuation of $20 billion to $30 billion. Axios said.
It’s unclear who is leading the new round or how much capital the five-year-old company is looking to raise. However, we do know, according to the report, that Colossal has started generating revenue in the last year.
Colossal co-founder and CEO Ben Lamm told TechCrunch last year that the company sees three revenue streams for the business.
The company has offered its retention technology to the US government and the UAE, which recently invested $60 million at the company, according to Wired.
Colossal has created three startups, including Breaking, a company that helps break down plastics. Form Bio, a computational biology platform that secured $30 million in funding. and Astromech, an AI-driven predictive modeling company focused on biology and life sciences, valued at 2 billion dollars in March.
The company, which occupies an area of 55,000 sq.ft based in Dallascontinues to find new applications for its core science as well. In late April, he added the bluebuck antelope as its sixth targeted species, while late last month non-profit conservation arm the Colossal Foundation struck a University of Tasmania partnership to help protect Tasmanian devils from contagious facial cancer.
Lamm told TechCrunch last year that the company also plans to spin off its animal artificial womb technology, which could have applications in human fertility treatment. In May, he said Rolling Stone that technology is expected to be ready next year.
If the company succeeds in reintroducing extinct animals, including the mammoth and the dodo bird, to their native habitats, it can eventually generate revenue through the sale of biodiversity credits, a market-based mechanism similar to carbon credits, according to Lamm.
The new fundraising effort comes amid a boom in longevity technology, alternative energy and other deep-tech sectors.
Colossal did not respond to our request for comment.
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