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Ben Lamm
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Ben Lamm | |
|---|---|
 Lamm in 2017 | |
| Born | Benjamin Edward Lamm December 4, 1981 Austin, Texas, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Baylor University |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur |
| Known for | Founding: |
Ben Lamm is an American billionaire entrepreneur. He is best known for partnering with George Church on the idea for de-extinction and founding a venture capital-backed startup known as Colossal to support Church's work in the development of genetic engineering and reproductive technology.[1] As of 2026, his net worth is $3.9 billion.[2][3][4]
Career
Lamm founded his first company when he was a senior at Baylor University.[5]
He later sold ventures such as Simply Interactive, an e-learning software company (acquired by Agile in 2010); Chaotic Moon Studios, a mobile app company (acquired by Accenture in 2015); Team Chaos, a digital gaming company (acquired by Zynga in 2016); Conversable, a SaaS conversational bot technology (acquired by LivePerson in 2018); and Hypergiant Industries, a machine-learning artificial intelligence (acquired by Trive Capital in 2023),[6] for undisclosed sums upon each company's acquisition.[7][8][9]
At its launch in 2021, Lamm stated that Colossal would "bring back the woolly mammoth" within the next decade.[10][11][12] Lamm secured investments from public figures such as Paris Hilton, Thomas Tull, Tom Brady, Peter Jackson, Chris Hemsworth, and Victor Vescovo and has raised more than $615 million as of March 2026 for a $10.32 billion valuation.[13][14] He used $15 million in seed funding to apply genetic technology such as "clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats" (CRISPR) for Colossal's work on conservation biology.[15][16]
During the 2022 South by Southwest festival, Lamm was on a panel moderated by Richard Garriott that made the case for de-extinction.[17]
In late 2022, Lamm co-founded Form Bio, a software company spun out of Colossal Biosciences. The company aims to develop software to improve the working efficiency of scientists. Form Bio was funded through a $30 million investment deal involving Thomas Tull.[18]
Lamm launched Breaking, a plastic degradation and synthetic biology startup, in April 2024. Gestated at Colossal, Breaking discovered X-32, a microbe that is capable of breaking down various plastics in as little as 22 months while leaving behind carbon dioxide, water and biomass.[19]
He launched The Colossal Foundation, a 501(c)(3) that utilizes Colossal Biosciences-developed technology for conservative efforts globally, in October 2024. The Colossal BioVault is one of its key focuses.[20][21] As of December 2025, the foundation has raised $100 million in total funding.[22][23][24][25]
In April 2025, Lamm led his company's de-extinction work to "revive" the dire wolf. Romulus, Remus, and Khaleesi were announced publicly,[26][27] and he appeared on The Joe Rogan Experience that same month to discuss the dire wolf.[28]
Lamm was recognized on the 2025 Time 100 Next list.[29]
His AI startup, Astromech, closed a $10.5 million funding round in 2026 while operating in stealth mode. The company is building a forecasting engine for biological outcomes and has a $2 billion valuation.[30]
Board and advisory work
Lamm is on the board of directors for the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.[31] He is a fellow and on the board of trustees for The Explorers Club.[32] In June 2026, Lamm joined the UAP Science Advisory Council, a newly formed board that includes experts in physical sciences as well as psychology and biology.[33]
References
- ↑ Heid, Jason. "How One Texas Entrepreneur Aims to Transform the World With Artificial Intelligence". Texas Monthly.
- ↑ Ben Lamm
- ↑ Amy Feldman (February 20, 2025). "Meet The Billionaire CEO Trying To Resurrect The Woolly Mammoth". Forbes.
- ↑ Michelle McGahan (February 13, 2024). "The Explorers Club: Where Celebrities, Billionaires and Astronauts Rub Shoulders with History". Newsweek.
- ↑ Abril, Danielle (27 February 2018). "Ben Lamm Has An Unconventional Approach to Business, And It Somehow Works". D Magazine.
- ↑ Aria Alamalhodaei (August 22, 2023). "AI company Hypergiant Industries snapped up by PE firm Trive Capital". Tech Crunch.
- ↑ De Luce, Ivan (10 June 2019). "This 37-year-old serial entrepreneur's new startup is using AI to explore space — and mix cocktails". Business Insider.
- ↑ Clifford, Catherine (6 December 2020). "This 39-year-old tech exec has built 5 companies, but there's a price to his ambition". CNBC.
- ↑ Angell, Melissa (January 24, 2022). "Why Creating a Company to Resurrect the Woolly Mammoth Makes Perfect Sense for Ben Lamm". Inc.
- ↑ Zimmer, Carl (September 13, 2021). "A New Company With a Wild Mission: Bring Back the Woolly Mammoth". New York Times.
- ↑ Carlson, Kara (9 March 2022). "Austin entrepreneur's startup lands $60 million as it tries to bring back the woolly mammoth". Austin American-Statesman.
- ↑ Alexandra Tremayne-Pengelly (15 January 2025). "This $10B Texas Startup Wants to Bring Back Extinct Animals Through Gene-Editing".
- ↑ Isabella Ware (October 3, 2024). "'Lord of the Rings' Director Piles $10 Million Into Dodo De-Extinction Startup". Bloomberg.
- ↑ "Startup Working to Bring Back Dodo Bird Raises $120 Million".
- ↑ Wolf, Marin (13 September 2021). "Dallas entrepreneur Ben Lamm embarks on a new adventure: bringing back the woolly mammoth". The Dallas Morning News.
- ↑ Brown, Mike (March 3, 2020). "Ben Lamm and Hypergiant Want to Bring Space Back to the Future". Inverse.
- ↑ Murphy, J. Kim (18 January 2022). "SXSW Reveals Additions to Line-Up of Featured Speakers for 2022 Festival". Variety.
- ↑ Elias, Paul (September 27, 2022). ""De-Extinction" Company Colossal Launches Form Bio to Maximize Tech". Biospace.
- ↑ "Greentech Company Breaking Launches From Colossal Biosciences". Built in Boston. April 17, 2024.
- ↑ Lance Murray (October 1, 2024). "Colossal Launches The Colossal Foundation with $50M for 'BioVault' Biobanking, Genetic Rescues, and More". Dallas Innovates.
- ↑ Rachael Funnell (October 1, 2024). "Colossal Biosciences Launches $50 Million Foundation To Halt Extinction Crisis". IFL Science.
- ↑ Sarah McBride (January 15, 2025). "Woolly Mammoth, Dodo Get Another Shot as Startup Raises $200 Million". Bloomberg.
- ↑ Sasha Richie (January 15, 2025). "Colossal Biosciences scores new funding, valuing 'de-extinction' company at $10B". Dallas Morning News.
- ↑ Dean Takahashi (January 15, 2024). "Colossal raises $200M to "de-extinct" the woolly mammoth, thylacine and dodo". Venture Beat.
- ↑ Swanger, Ben (17 December 2025). "Colossal's Conservation Nonprofit Raises $50 Million". D Magazine.
- ↑ Kluger, Jeffrey (7 April 2025). "The Return of the Dire Wolf". TIME.
- ↑ Tully, Brighid. "This Startup Just Brought Back Real-Life Dire Wolves". Complex.
- ↑ "Joe Rogan's Strong Reaction as Animal Returns After Being Extinct for 10,000 Years". Men's Journal. 7 April 2025.
- ↑ "The World's Most Influential Rising Stars".
- ↑ Swanger, Ben (31 March 2026). "Astromech, the New AI Startup from Ben Lamm of Colossal Biosciences - D CEO Magazine". D Magazine.
- ↑ "Board of Directors | NFWF". www.nfwf.org.
- ↑ Mike Snedegar (October 2, 2024). "Colossal Is The Real Life Blockbuster of 'Jurassic Park' and 'Indiana Jones' With Celebs Like Tom Brady Behind It". Newsweek.
- ↑ Vincent, Brandi (17 June 2026). "New science advisory council forms to help US government 'resolve the UAP mystery'". DefenseScoop.