Ben Lamm

Colossal Foundation Invests $500K to Restore America’s Largest Tortoise to the Southwest

by | Nov 13, 2025
The Bolson tortoise is North America's largest and rarest tortoise species. Its population has grown from 23 adults to over 800 individuals through captive breeding, with over 150 juveniles released since 2021 showing 80%+ survival rates.
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‘There’s So Much Energy in Our Space’: Innovators, Investors Invigorate Sold-Out 2025 Venture Dallas Conference
by | Nov 5, 2025
From North Texas founders including John Carmack and Ben Lamm to investors like John Redgrave of DTX Ventures and Draper’s Andy Tang, the summit's speakers tackled hot topics from humanoid robots and tech transfer to AI, VC trends and Y’all Street. A call was also heard for more risk-taking by DFW’s innovation ecosystem: ‘We’ve got to be bravery hunters.’
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Venture Dallas Hosts Startup of the Year Semi-Finalists at Petroleum Club
by | Oct 23, 2025
Top executives at Nasdaq and Susser Bank celebrated high-growth potential companies contributing to region’s rise in entrepreneurship and innovation
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AGI and De-Extinction: John Carmack and Ben Lamm Join Venture Dallas 2025 Lineup

by | Aug 26, 2025
Set for Oct. 30 at the George W. Bush Presidential Center, this year's Venture Dallas conference will assemble more than 500 entrepreneurs, investors, and business leaders for a day of transformative ideas and connections.
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Colossal Biosciences Names Australian De‑Extinction Scientist as Its Chief Biology Officer
by | Aug 20, 2025
Andrew Pask is known for his expertise in de-extinction science, developmental genetics, and conservation technologies. He leads the Thylacine Integrated Genomic Restoration Research Lab (TIGGR) at the University of Melbourne in Australia.
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The South Island giant moa towered over New Zealand's forests for millions of years before becoming extinct within a century of Polynesian settlement around 1400 CE. Colossal Biosciences plans to resurrect the 500-pound birds using ancient DNA extracted from cave deposits and artificial egg technology. [Source image: Colossal Biosciences]
Colossal Biosciences Takes On De‑Extinction of New Zealand’s 12‑Foot Moa After Dire Wolf Milestone
by | Jul 9, 2025
The Dallas decacorn is scaling its de-extinction pipeline with indigenous leadership, a New Zealand subsidiary, and economic models for species preservation, including ecotourism opportunities. Filmmaker Sir Peter Jackson helped connect the collaborators, Colossal CEO Ben Lamm says.
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TIME’s 2025 covers feature star power—with Ryan Reynolds of Maximum Effort and Waymo’s co-CEOs front and center. But the list also includes standout innovation coming straight out of Dallas.
Two Dallas Companies Land on TIME100 Most Influential—Alongside the World’s Biggest Brands
by | Jun 26, 2025
While TIME put Maximum Effort and Waymo on its 2025 worldwide covers, Dallas future-shaping companies are in the mix. Two are Dallas-based. Another Texas company—now a $2B brand—got its start here, too.
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Who Made This Year’s AI 75 List? Meet the North Texans Leading the Pack in Artificial Intelligence

by | Apr 30, 2025
Dallas Innovates, in partnership with the Dallas Regional Chamber, once again is recognizing the most innovative leaders in AI in Dallas-Fort Worth. From visionaries and mavericks to transformers and academics, AI 75's class of 2025 are the AI pacesetters you need to know now.
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Hear the Howl: Dallas De‑Extinction Company Colossal Biosciences Brings Back Dire Wolf Using Ancient DNA
by | Apr 7, 2025
“Game of Thrones” made them famous, but the prehistoric dire wolves were real—and, according to Colossal Biosciences, have now returned after 12,500 years in what it calls the world’s first successful de-extinction. The work goes beyond headlines: It could change how we save endangered species. Meet Romulus, Remus, and Khaleesi in a video—and hear dire wolf howls for the first time in more than 12 millennia.
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Meet the Colossal Woolly Mouse, Created by Dallas-Based ‘Decacorn’ Colossal Biosciences
by | Mar 4, 2025
Before Colossal Biosciences can "de-extinct" the woolly mammoth, some small steps are in order. They've now been taken by the Colossal Woolly Mouse—a gene-edited creation with "dramatically altered coat color, texture, and thickness reminiscent of the woolly mammoth’s core phenotypes."
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Dallas-Fort Worth Innovation Breakthroughs Mark 2025 Awards
D CEO and Dallas Innovates' Innovation Award winners are working to resurrect extinct species, launching autonomous trucks, reinventing military aircraft, and bringing AI into the physical world—and that's just the beginning. The 2025 awards showcase game-changing achievements—including Texas' first newly minted decacorn—across 17 categories of innovation. Here’s a look at the innovators leading the way.
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Colossal Foundation Donates $1.5M to Harvard-Based Institute to Advance Artificial Womb Tech for Wildlife Conservation

by | Jan 14, 2025
The funding will support groundbreaking research into artificial womb technologies with the goal of protecting endangered species and advancing wildlife conservation efforts, the foundation said.
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Colossal Launches The Colossal Foundation with $50M for ‘BioVault’ Biobanking, Genetic Rescues, and More
by | Oct 1, 2024
The North Texas-based foundation aims to fight the "extinction crisis" with initiatives including Colossal Biovault—"the world's largest distributed biobanking initiative"—and an array of new efforts to both preserve and "de-extinct" wildlife.
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The first-ever AI 75 — the most innovative people in artificial intelligence in Dallas-Fort Worth — is revealed on May 2 at Convergence AI.
Presenting the First-Ever AI 75: Meet the Most Innovative Leaders in Artificial Intelligence in Dallas-Fort Worth
by | May 2, 2024
Dallas Innovates, the Dallas Regional Chamber, and Dallas AI have teamed up to launch the inaugural AI 75 list. The 2024 program honors the most significant people in AI in DFW in seven categories—the visionaries, creators, and influencers you need to know.
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