Dallas’ Colossal Biosciences Becomes Texas’ First Decacorn, Securing $10.2B Valuation With Series C Funding

Best known for its moonshot mission to revive the woolly mammoth, Colossal Biosciences has secured $200 million in Series C funding led by TWG Global. The world's first de-extinction company, founded in 2021 by entrepreneur Ben Lamm and renowned Harvard geneticist George Church, Colossal Biosciences is working to restore Earth's lost biodiversity, "making science fiction into science fact."

"The core of Colossal is a trillion-dollar opportunity," Lamm told Dallas Innovates, aiming to deliver wins for both conservationists and investor boardrooms. 

Dallas-based Colossal Biosciences is making history—again.

The world’s first de-extinction company, founded in 2021 by entrepreneur Ben Lamm and renowned Harvard geneticist George Church, has become Texas’ first “decacorn”—startup speak for a private company valued at more than $10 billion—after securing $200 million in new funding.

The biotech with a bold mission to bring back the woolly mammoth and other extinct species joins an elite group of about 75 private companies worldwide with this designation.

But for Colossal CEO and co-founder Ben Lamm, the milestone is just the beginning. A serial entrepreneur driven by impact, Lamm sees a future where revolutionary science and technology can reshape entire ecosystems.

“The core of Colossal is a trillion-dollar opportunity,” he told Dallas Innovates, aiming to deliver wins for both conservationists and investor boardrooms.

The Series C funding round, led by TWG Global with participation from other prominent backers, pushes its valuation to $10.2 billion and its total funding to $435 million since launch.

Lamm says the company’s recent successes in “creating the technologies necessary for our end-to-end de-extinction toolkit” were met with enthusiasm by the investor community. “TWG Global and our other partners have been bullish in their desire to help us scale as quickly and efficiently as possible,” he said.

In a statement, Mark Walter, CEO of TWG Global, said his firm was drawn to Colossal’s position at “the intersection of AI, computational biology and genetic engineering.”  The firm, a diversified holding company with investments spanning technology, financial services, and sports media, sees potential beyond de-extinction.

“Colossal has assembled a world-class team that has already driven, in a short period of time, significant technology innovations and impact in advancing conservation,” Walter added. In just under four years, Colossal has established a global scientific operation employing more than 170 scientists across facilities in Dallas, Boston, and Melbourne, Australia.

The new funding will expand the Colossal team, advance new technologies, and grow its de-extinction species list—all while driving its mission to make extinction a thing of the past, Lamm says.

Colossal Biosciences co-founders Ben Lamm and George Church. [Photo: Colossal Biosciences]

A new biotech frontier

“Colossal is a revolutionary genetics company making science fiction into science fact,” said co-founder George Church, a Professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical School who also holds positions at MIT and Harvard.

“We are creating the technology to build de-extinction science and scale conservation biology, particularly for endangered and at-risk species,” he said. “I could not be more appreciative of the investor support for this important mission.”

It’s a moonshot, for sure, but one grounded in meticulous science.

Colossal’s flagship projects to revive the woolly mammoth, thylacine (Tasmanian tiger), and dodo capture the public imagination. But these efforts, Lamm says, are driving innovations with far-reaching implications. The genetic engineering and computational breakthroughs developed for de-extinction are already advancing biodiversity conservation, endangered species preservation, and more.

Lamm highlights significant progress in genome editing, stem cell generation, and embryology. Among its achievements, the company has generated the first de novo assembled mammoth genome and engineered elephant stem cells—breakthroughs already aiding endangered species like elephants. Colossal has also hatched its first chimeric chicks as part of the dodo revival program.

Colossal Foundation Executive Director Matt James (center) with Colossal’s head of animal husbandry, Steve Metzler, and Wendy Kiso, Colossal’s principal scientist for assisted reproduction. [Photo: Colossal Biosciences}

Conservation impact

 

Beyond its headline-grabbing de-extinction work, Colossal has expanded its conservation efforts through The Colossal Foundation, a 501(c)(3) established in October 2024 that now supports 48 conservation partners worldwide.

The stakes couldn’t be higher. According to Colossal, the world is losing 27,000 species a year, far exceeding the natural extinction rate. The cascading effects of biodiversity loss—water scarcity, food insecurity, ecosystem collapse—pose existential threats to humanity.

Colossal’s technology aims to combat these crises. Its work on the woolly mammoth, for instance, involves genetic adaptations that could rewild the tundra, slowing permafrost thaw and mitigating climate change. Meanwhile, the dodo project is creating avian genetic tools to benefit endangered bird species.

Beth Shapiro, Colossal’s chief science officer, emphasized the company’s advances in de-extinction and what’s next. “While the path to de-extinction is complex, each step forward brings us closer to understanding how we might responsibly reintroduce traits from lost species,” she said.

“The technological advances we’re seeing in genetic engineering and synthetic biology are rapidly transforming our understanding of what’s possible in species restoration,” said Shapiro. “The real promise lies not just in the technology, but also in how we might apply these tools to protect and restore endangered species and ecosystems.” 

Beth Shapiro, Colossal’s chief science officer and an ancient DNA expert, left, with CEO Ben Lamm in the lab. [Photo: Colossal Biosciences]

The road ahead

Building Colossal’s vision is no small feat. “It takes a village to raise a child,” Lamm said. “And it takes an international consortium to bring back species and save species.” With its team of scientists, over 95 scientific advisors, and more than 40 postdoctoral researchers across 17 global labs, Colossal is orchestrating what he describes as an unprecedented collaborative effort.

The vision has drawn backing from strategic investors including TWG Global, USIT, Animal Capital, and Breyer Capital, as well as private supporters like filmmakers Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh and biotech heavyweights such as Tim Draper and TWG Global’s Mark Walter. “We’ve been fortunate to partner with people who think in 25- to 50-year horizons,” Lamm said, emphasizing the patience and foresight required to address systemic challenges like biodiversity loss.

This collaboration, Lamm believes, is fueled by the urgency of the problem Colossal aims to solve. “Outside of climate change and becoming an interplanetary species, there’s probably not a lot of existential threats as important as the loss of biodiversity,” he said.

For Lamm, the valuation of $10.2 billion—the milestone that makes Colossal Texas’ first decacorn—is secondary to the impact. “The funding is an empowerment to the scientists around the movement,” he explained. “It’s humbling that every single press release we do has multiple world firsts, many of which people said we’d never achieve.”

Beyond de-extinction, he sees the company’s ripple effects driving advances in areas like human health and agriculture.

Colossal CSO Beth Shapiro and CEO Ben Lamm with a stuffed dodo. [Photo: Colossal Biosciences]

Looking ahead, Colossal’s goals include breakthroughs like achieving live births of de-extinct species, furthering artificial womb development, and expanding efforts in rewilding. “Success isn’t just creating five dodos,” Lamm told us. “It’s hundreds of dodos with genetic diversity, thriving back in Mauritius and neighboring islands.”

Ultimately, Colossal aims to inspire and enable transformative change—not only in conservation but in how the world approaches its greatest challenges. “If we can create economic value, make a positive impact, and inspire the next generation,” Lamm said, “then we’re doing something right.”

Founded and headquartered in Dallas, where Lamm moved from Austin in 2016, Colossal has expanded into a global operation. “We’re doing this in Texas, which is awesome,” he said. “It shows the world that you can build really valuable companies here.”


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