De-Extinction as a Platform Business with Colossal Biosciences

Ben Lamm is CEO and Co-founder of Colossal Biosciences, the world’s first de-extinction company. Colossal has raised more than $400 million at a valuation north of $10 billion to bring back extinct species using synthetic biology and genetic engineering. Just this year, the company unveiled the first dire wolves born in 12,000 years, created woolly mice with mammoth-like fur, and remains on track to see woolly mammoth calves by 2028.

This conversation explores Colossal’s end-to-end platform approach, from ancient DNA recovery to multiplex genome editing, and why Ben sees de-extinction not just as science fiction come true but as a venture-scale business that spins out companies, partners with governments, and raises profound ethical questions. We cover polarizing public reactions, the conservation potential of rewilding keystone species, and how synthetic biology and AI are accelerating breakthroughs once thought impossible.

Episode recorded on Aug 20, 2025 (Published on Sept 23, 2025)

In this episode, we cover: 

• [04:14] An overview of Colossal
• [05:47] The company’s dire wolf pups debut
• [10:51] Reasons behind de-extinction
• [11:49] Mammoth vs. thylacine vs. dodo challenges
• [18:40] How Ben co-founded a bioscience company
• [20:56] George Church and Colossal’s origin story
• [22:40] The “why” behind bringing back the mammoth
• [27:42] Colossal’s biodiversity credit carbon model
• [28:43] Trade-offs between rewilding existing species vs extinct
• [31:35] Colossal’s multifaceted business model
• [33:58] The company’s plastic-eating enzyme spinout
• [37:57] Colossal’s unique speed of R&D
• [40:38] The Colossal Foundation
• [42:29] Ben’s pov on our moral obligation to transparency

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*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant