The father of ChatGPT invests $180 million to extend human life by ten years

ChatGPT’s victory has focused the world’s attention on generative AI, and OpenAI’s CEO is also paying attention to another research that may have a profound impact on mankind:

Let human life be extended by ten years!

That’s exactly what a company called Retro Biosciences is pursuing.

The startup, headquartered in a warehouse near San Francisco, has labs that are just shipping containers fixed to a concrete floor.

But the company said it has received $180 million in funding to complete this bold mission, and in The secretive startup is coy about where the funding will come from.

Recently, "MIT Technology Review" unveiled this generous investor: Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI!

Investors concerned about the future of mankind

From Y Combinator to OpenAI, Altman has been active in A major player on the Silicon Valley scene. Currently, he spends almost all his time on OpenAI, and its ChatGPT has attracted countless topics and attention since its launch at the end of last year.

Although Altman spends all his time on AI, he can also spend money on other fields!

In 2021, he revealed to CNBC that he almost emptied his bank account to invest in two companies. One of the investments of more than $375 million was given to the nuclear fusion energy startup Helion Energy, and the other was $180 million given to Retro.

This also reflects Altman’s ambitious goal: to develop energy and extend life. This, together with artificial intelligence, will have a very important positive impact on human life.

Although nuclear fusion and life extension seem to be unreliable projects, the artificial intelligence that can generate rich content like ChatGPT, doesn’t it sound like a fantasy?

Altman believes in his own judgment and said with confidence: "I have been an early technology investor in the greatest bull market in history."

The facts are indeed as ALtman said. He is indeed a successful angel investor. His investment projects include Airbnb, Reddit, Cruise, etc. and more than 100 projects.

Engaging in such hard technology research often requires higher costs, but Altman believes that these are worth it. It’s worth investing more money for a larger goal.

He viewed Retro's career as a grand project with "the power to stir people's blood," as he once quoted.

Regarding Retro’s future investment plans, Altman said it will continue to “scale up and see what happens.” In fact, this is also the development path of OpenAI. Since 2015, it has adopted a machine learning program called Transformer, spent a lot of money and gradually expanded its scale, creating today's ChatGPT.

What is the origin of the company that received $180 million in investment?

So what does this Retro company do?

Company CEO Joe Betts-LaCroix said that Retro hopes to extend human life by discovering the mechanism of human body rejuvenation.

How did this idea come about?

Scientists have long conducted experiments where young and old mice were sutured together to share their blood systems, which restored some of the vitality of the old mice.

In 2020, researchers discovered that they could replace the plasma of old mice with saline and albumin to achieve a similar Effect. In other words, the cause of aging lies in old blood. Just by diluting it, it is possible to realize the long-cherished wish of delaying aging.

## Altman was very concerned about this and immediately contacted Betts-Lacroix, hoping to fund the other party to conduct this research.

At that time, Betts-Lacroix had other plans. He had just completed a failed venture investment and planned to devote himself to the popular field of cell re-editing (rejuvenating cells through genetic engineering). .

But Altman convinced him, and Betts-Lacroix decided to build a company around the biology of aging, and he himself had all the decision-making power. "We don't have a bureaucracy, I am the bureaucracy."

Betts-Lacroix also communicates with Altman about the experiment, but Altman's involvement with the company remains confidential. , to prevent its famous name from distracting attention.

However, this worry may be unnecessary. In the biological and pharmaceutical fields, Altman's reputation is not prominent, and the academic community pays more attention to scientific research results. Irina Conboy of the University of California, Berkeley, said, "100 million is just a number, not a breakthrough."

Instead of discussing Altman's participation and $180 million investment, it is better to focus on What exactly can Retro do?

Can mankind’s dream of reversing aging come true?

Although the research conducted by Retro holds the possibility of realizing the dream of reversing aging, the public is full of concerns about its effects. What if this technology is only available to wealthy people like Altman? ?

In 2016, Altman's mentor Peter Thiel was ridiculed as a "vampire looking for young victims" after he expressed interest in obtaining an age-reducing blood transfusion.

HBO's show "Silicon Valley" also has an episode called "Bloody Boy", which shows a person in the technology industry Image of a CEO connecting a blood vessel to a handsome young “transfusion assistant”.

And Betts-Lacroix emphasized that Retro does not want to provide very expensive treatments. What they are pursuing is a method of delaying aging that can benefit millions of people and have the widest impact. .

One of Retro's current projects is testing technology to rejuvenate T cells, which are part of the immune system and play an important role in fighting infections and fending off cancer.

But it is not the only company conducting such research. Altos Laboratories, which has received $3 billion in investment, and NewLimit Biotech founded by billionaire Brian Armstrong also have similar ideas. .

However, he is not very worried about losing out in the competition. He believes that most biotechnology companies "move too slowly and run poorly", and Retro will combine great science and big companies. Combining resources and entrepreneurial spirit to get things done and grow steadily like OpenAI.

Optimists believe that humans will become immortal within the next decade, while pessimists believe that humans will live forever Will not be extended.

Although companies like Retro are working hard to achieve this goal, and with the full support of Altman bosses, it is still unclear whether the dream of reversing aging can be realized, so let us continue to look forward to it.

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