Colossal Biosciences

Breaking, a ‘Plastic Degradation’ Startup, Emerges from Stealth with $10.5M After Gestating at Colossal

by | Apr 17, 2024
Breaking is developing X-32, a breakthrough microbial discovery that destroys multiple types of plastic by breaking down hydrocarbon chains across different chemical structures quickly. The startup's goal is for X-32 to help address the global plastics crisis.
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Colossal Biosciences Adds Renowned Ancient DNA Expert as Chief Science Officer
by | Mar 19, 2024
Dallas-based Colossal said that in her new role, MacArthur Award winner Beth Shapiro will oversee continued expansion of the company's de-extinction and conservation science teams. The company previously announced plans to "de-extinct" the woolly mammoth, the Tasmanian tiger, and the dodo bird.
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D CEO and Dallas Innovates revealed the winners of the 2024 Innovation Awards at an event on January 24, 2023 held at On the Levee in the Design District.
Meet the Winners:
D CEO, Dallas Innovates Honor Top Innovators at 2024 Awards
At the annual Innovation Awards event, Dallas Innovates and D CEO revealed the winners in 17 categories and recognized all 74 North Texas finalists.
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Colossal Partners with Mauritian Wildlife Foundation To ‘Rewild’ the Dodo, as Another Bird Gets a ‘Genetic Rescue’

by | Nov 27, 2023
“The dodo is the symbol of man-caused extinction,” Dallas-based Colossal Co-Founder and CEO Ben Lamm said last January. “It’s only fitting that Colossal works to reverse that.” The newly announced partnership with the MWF could help advance Colossal's efforts by restoring the dodo's natural habitat.
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Here Be Dragons: Colossal Partners with Zoos Victoria To Save Reptile Once Thought Extinct
by | Oct 25, 2023
OK, it may not be as big—or as fire-breathing—as the dragons that swooped over Westeros on "Game of Thrones." But Australia's Victorian Grassland Earless Dragon is every bit as magical for simply hanging in there, decades after many thought it was extinct. Now Texas-based Colossal Biosciences is partnering to help preserve it—and sequence its genome.
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Edge of Extinction: Pioneering Texas Biotech Colossal and BioRescue Race to Save the Northern White Rhino Species
With only two known living female northern white rhinos left, Colossal Biosciences and BioRescue have joined forces to fend off a looming extinction of the species. At the cutting edge of science, they're harnessing genetic technologies to rewrite the rhino's fate.
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Meet the North Texas Cos. on the 2023 TIME100 Most Influential List
by | Jun 21, 2023
Featuring "a diverse group of businesses helping chart an essential path forward," the TIME100 Most Influential Companies list features five companies that are either headquartered in North Texas or have a strong presence here. See who they are—and what they're doing to disrupt the status quo and innovate for the future.
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Texas-Based Colossal Achieves Unicorn Status With $150M Series B Raise, Plans To ‘De-Extinct’ the Dodo Bird

by | Jan 31, 2023
Colossal says its efforts could help boost "the U.S. high-tech advantage." Its gene editing technologies "will make waves across sectors—in agriculture with new biofuels and preserving biodiversity, as well as in human health through improved gene therapy and vaccine development," the company said.
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SMU Is Bringing Its ‘Innovative Biotech Research’ to Pegasus Park
by | Oct 24, 2022
The Biotech+ Hub at Pegasus Park in Dallas has been attracting more and more life science startups and university teams. Now a whole herd of Mustangs are about to stampede there. The SMU Institute for Computational Biosciences at Pegasus Park will have space at the 23-acre development. SMU researchers from a variety of disciplines will be focusing on bio-scientific discoveries, leveraging advanced computational algorithms and technologies.

"We're excited to give SMU faculty this new opportunity to pursue world-changing research for good and to do so in close proximity to a broad range of academic, medical, corporate, and non-profit collaborators," says SMU Provost Elizabeth Loboa. "We're excited to give SMU faculty this new opportunity to pursue world-changing research for good and to do so in close proximity to a broad range of academic, medical, corporate, and non-profit collaborators," says SMU Provost Elizabeth Loboa.
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acquired
Follow the Money: Medical Device Firm Orthofix Merges to Form Nearly $700M Revenue Business, Stealthy Men’s Health Startup Looks to Raise $2M, Dallas SPAC Targets $200M IPO, and More
by | Oct 17, 2022
In this week’s North Texas deal flow, you’ll also find news about Mavenir’s $155M raise, Pinnacle Realty Advisors raising $5M for ‘brokerage-as-a-service’ platform, Exela Technologies taking its European business unit public, American Airlines’ hydrogen fuel distribution investment, and more.
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Mammoth Interest: The CIA Invests in Dallas-Based Colossal Biosciences
by | Oct 11, 2022
The Central Intelligence Agency has invested in Colossal through its nonprofit VC investment arm, In-Q-Tel, reports The Intercept. Named in honor of Q—the tech genius from the James Bond novels and movies—the VC firm was founded in 1999 to keep U.S. intelligence agencies on the cutting edge of "innovative and impactful technologies coming out of Silicon Valley and beyond." So why Colossal? "Strategically, it’s less about the mammoths and more about the capability," In-Q-Tel says.
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Dallas-Based Colossal Is ‘De-Extincting’ the Tasmanian Tiger

by | Aug 16, 2022
Colossal is already working to "de-extinct" the woolly mammoth via a mammoth-elephant hybrid project. Now the Tasmanian tiger—which went extinct nearly 100 years ago due to human hunting—is the second species Colossal is seeking to bring back. "We’re thrilled to be collaborating with Andrew Pask and the University of Melbourne to restore this amazing animal to Earth," said Ben Lamm, Colossal's co-founder and CEO.
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See Inside: BioLabs Coworking Lab Opens at Pegasus Park for North Texas Life Science Startups
Dallas' status as a growing biotech center got a lift with the official opening of BioLabs, a new coworking space at the Biotech+ Hub at Pegasus Park. The 37,000-square-foot facility offers shared wet labs and office space for up to 35 life science startups.

BioLabs' goal: to serve as the epicenter for life science innovation in North Texas, and to empower biotech trailblazers pursing their next breakthrough.
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Mammoth Project: Dallas’ Colossal Raises $60M to Advance Genetic Engineering and ‘De-Extinction’ Technologies
Colossal launched last September with a plan to "de-extinct" the woolly mammoth by using CRISPR genetic engineering to create a mammoth-elephant hybrid. With a total raise of $75 million to date, the startup aims to have its first set of mammoth-elephant hybrid calves "in 4 to 6 years," co-founder and CEO Ben Lamm told us. But Colossal's goals extend much further—with the potential "to advance human health, enhance food production, reduce environmental impact, and optimize animal health and welfare."
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Dallas’ Ben Lamm and Harvard’s Dr. George Church Plan to ‘De-Extinct’ the Woolly Mammoth With Their Colossal New Startup
by | Sep 13, 2021
It's not "Jurassic Park," but it's almost as amazing. Hypergiant founder Ben Lamm is launching a new biosciences and genetics startup—Colossal—with $15 million in private funding. The goal: Use genomics to "de-extinct" the woolly mammoth and re-wild it on the Arctic tundra. Lamm's co-founder, Harvard geneticist Dr. George Church, says this "grand vision" could lead to big opportunities in conservation, biodiversity, carbon sequestration, and more.
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