Colossal Biosciences
Colossal Biosciences is a privately held biotechnology company developing genetic-engineering and reproductive technologies for species restoration, conservation, and synthetic biology.
Last updated November 4, 2026
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Overview
Colossal Biosciences is a Dallas-based biotechnology company founded in 2021 by geneticist George Church and entrepreneur Ben Lamm. The company combines genome sequencing, CRISPR-based editing, induced pluripotent stem cells, cloning, reproductive biology, artificial-womb research, and computational biology in an effort to create living proxies for extinct animals and to support the conservation of endangered species. Its public profile has been built around proposed restoration projects involving the woolly mammoth, Tasmanian tiger, dodo, moa, bluebuck, and dire wolf. The intellectual background of the company predates its incorporation. Church discussed the possibility of using genomic information to engineer mammoth-like traits in Asian elephants in the late 2000s. His laboratory subsequently investigated mammoth DNA and used gene-editing methods to introduce selected mammoth-associated genes into elephant cells. These efforts helped establish the scientific and conceptual basis for Colossal, although the company does not claim that a recreated animal would be genetically identical to an extinct species. Instead, its work is generally framed as the creation of proxy animals carrying selected characteristics of extinct species. Colossal launched publicly in September 2021 with a $15 million seed financing round. Its initial mammoth program was presented as both a de-extinction project and a conservation-technology platform. The company has argued that tools developed for extinct-species research could also help endangered animals by improving genome resources, reproductive assistance, disease research, and genetic diversity management. In partnership with the Vertebrate Genomes Project, it supported high-quality sequencing of Asian and African elephant genomes. It has also worked on reproductive and cellular technologies relevant to elephants, marsupials, birds, and other threatened species. The company expanded its scientific agenda beyond mammoths. In 2022 it announced a partnership with the University of Melbourne to investigate the thylacine, or Tasmanian tiger, under the leadership of Andrew Pask. In 2023 it established an avian genomics group focused on the dodo and its closest living relative, the Nicobar pigeon. It has also described conservation-biobanking work through the Colossal Biovault, which is intended to preserve tissue and cell resources from imperiled species. Colossal has pursued a venture-building model in which research outputs can become independent commercial platforms. Form Bio, a computational biology software company, was spun out in 2022 with separate financing. Breaking, a synthetic-biology startup developed within Colossal, was announced in 2024 after work on a microbe capable of degrading certain plastics. These activities reflect the company’s stated view that de-extinction research can generate useful tools for broader biotechnology. The company raised substantial private capital, including a $60 million Series A in 2022, a $150 million Series B in 2023, and a reported $200 million Series C in 2025. It announced the Colossal Foundation in 2024 as a conservation-oriented initiative. In 2025, Colossal publicized genetically edited wolf pups that it called dire wolves. The announcement prompted strong scientific criticism because the animals were gray wolves modified at a limited number of genes rather than organisms containing reconstructed dire-wolf genomes. Colossal’s chief scientist later described the animals as gray wolves with 20 edits and acknowledged that an extinct organism cannot be recreated identically. Colossal remains privately held and its principal commercial model is not based on selling a conventional consumer product. Its positioning rests on high-profile biological research, conservation applications, intellectual property, software, partnerships, and potential licensing of genetic and reproductive technologies. The company’s claims and timelines, particularly concerning the birth of mammoth-like calves and the ecological release of proxy animals, remain subjects of scientific, ethical, regulatory, and conservation debate.
History
Colossal Biosciences emerged from George Church’s long-running interest in using genome engineering to study and potentially restore extinct organisms. Church discussed mammoth-like engineering in the late 2000s, and his research group later used CRISPR-related methods to investigate mammoth genes in Asian-elephant cells. Work reported during the 2010s focused on genes associated with traits such as insulation, hair, skull form, and cold-weather physiology. Entrepreneur Ben Lamm met Church in 2019 and subsequently helped turn the research concept into a company. Colossal launched publicly in September 2021 with a $15 million seed round. Its initial objective was to develop a mammoth-like elephant proxy while building technologies applicable to endangered-species conservation. The company presented de-extinction as a platform rather than a single animal project: genome reconstruction, gene editing, cellular reprogramming, assisted reproduction, artificial gestation, and disease research could, in its view, generate tools for protecting living species. It also began work related to elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus, a serious disease affecting young Asian elephants. An important early research relationship was formed with the Vertebrate Genomes Project. Colossal supported sequencing and assembly of elephant genomes, helping produce genomic references intended for open scientific use. The company also recruited specialists in genomics, paleontology, conservation, reproductive biology, and bioethics. Its advisory network included researchers such as Michael Hofreiter, Fritz Vollrath, R. Alta Charo, S. Matthew Liao, Carolyn Bertozzi, David Haussler, Helen Hobbs, and others. Colossal’s corporate structure expanded in 2022. It raised a reported $60 million Series A and spun out Form Bio, a software business focused on managing and analyzing complex biological datasets. This move reflected management’s stated belief that the company should operate partly like a software enterprise, with potential revenue from computational tools and intellectual property rather than relying only on the eventual creation of animals. The same year, the company announced a partnership with the University of Melbourne for thylacine research under Andrew Pask. A Tasmanian Thylacine Advisory Committee followed in 2023. In 2023, Colossal raised a reported $150 million Series B and announced an avian genomics group led by Beth Shapiro. The group’s work centered on the dodo and the use of the Nicobar pigeon as a living relative for genomic and reproductive research. Colossal also promoted the Colossal Biovault, an effort to preserve tissue and cell material from endangered species, including rhinoceroses, wolves, quolls, pigeons, elephants, vaquitas, and other threatened animals. In 2024, it announced the synthetic-biology company Breaking and reported progress in elephant and marsupial induced pluripotent stem cells, thylacine genome reconstruction, and artificial-uterus research. The company’s most controversial announcement came in 2025, when it unveiled three genetically modified wolf pups called Romulus, Remus, and Khaleesi and described them as dire wolves. Colossal said it had compared ancient dire-wolf genomes with gray-wolf genomes and edited selected genes linked to visible traits. Critics emphasized that no ancient dire-wolf DNA had been inserted and that the animals remained gray wolves with targeted edits. The IUCN Species Survival Commission’s Canid Specialist Group concluded that they did not qualify as dire wolves or conservation proxies under its guiding principles. Beth Shapiro later characterized the animals as gray wolves with 20 edits and explained that “dire wolf” was being used colloquially rather than as a strict taxonomic claim. Colossal has continued to pursue mammoth, thylacine, dodo, and other species projects while developing enabling technologies for conservation and biotechnology. Its announced financing has grown from seed funding to large private rounds, and its reported 2025 valuation placed it among the highest-valued private biotechnology companies in Texas. Its scientific ambition, public relations strategy, and claims about future reintroduction remain contested because proxy animals would not be genetically identical to extinct species and because ecological release would require extensive scientific, ethical, legal, and regulatory review.
- 2025
Dire-wolf project announced
[1]Colossal announced three genetically edited wolf pups described publicly as dire wolves, triggering debate over species identity and conservation value.
- 2024
Thylacine genome and reproductive advances reported
[1]The company reported a highly complete thylacine genome, marsupial stem-cell work, and progress toward artificial gestation.
- 2023
Series B and avian genomics expansion
[1]Colossal announced a reported $150 million Series B and created an avian genomics group devoted partly to dodo research.
- 2022
Series A financing and Form Bio spinout
[1]The company announced a reported $60 million Series A and created Form Bio as a separate computational biology business.
- 2022
Thylacine project announced
[1]Colossal began a research partnership with the University of Melbourne focused on thylacine genomics and reproductive biology.
- 2021
Company launches
[1]Colossal Biosciences was launched with a reported $15 million seed round and a stated mission spanning de-extinction and conservation biotechnology.
- 2021
Elephant genomics partnership begins
[1]Colossal partnered with the Vertebrate Genomes Project to support elephant genome sequencing and preservation.
- 2012
CRISPR research strengthens the technical premise
[1]Church was part of research associated with CRISPR-Cas9, a technology later central to Colossal’s genetic-engineering approach.
- 2008
Church publicly discusses mammoth engineering
[1]George Church described the possibility of using the woolly mammoth genome and Asian elephants to investigate mammoth-like biological traits.
Products and positioning
A high-profile conservation-biotechnology company that applies advanced genetic engineering, reproductive biology, and computational tools to species restoration and biodiversity preservation.
De-extinction and conservation biotechnology · 2021
Woolly mammoth restoration program
Colossal’s flagship research program seeks to engineer Asian-elephant cells with selected woolly-mammoth-associated traits and ultimately produce a cold-adapted elephant proxy. The work involves comparative genomics, CRISPR and related editing tools, induced pluripotent stem cells, cloning concepts, and artificial-womb research. The company has stated an ambition to produce mammoth-like calves and eventually establish them in Arctic environments, although no such reintroduction has occurred.
Marsupial genomics and reproductive biotechnology · 2022
Thylacine restoration program
Developed with the University of Melbourne, this program reconstructs thylacine genomic information and investigates marsupial stem cells, embryos, and assisted reproduction. Colossal has proposed creating a thylacine proxy and studying whether it could eventually be returned to suitable Australian habitat, subject to scientific and regulatory review.
Avian conservation genomics · 2023
Dodo and avian genomics program
The avian genomics group studies the extinct dodo and its relationship to the living Nicobar pigeon. The proposed approach involves reconstructing relevant genomic information and using primordial germ-cell research to investigate whether dodo-associated traits could be developed in a living relative.
Conservation biobanking
Colossal Biovault
The Biovault is intended to preserve tissue samples and cell lines from endangered animals so that genomic and reproductive resources remain available for future conservation work. Reported target species include rhinoceroses, red wolves, quolls, pigeons, elephants, vaquitas, and other highly imperiled animals.
Gene editing and cloning research · 2025
Genetically edited wolf project
In 2025, Colossal announced three wolf pups produced through cloning and targeted genetic editing. The company called them dire wolves because of their selected physical traits, while later statements acknowledged that they were gray wolves carrying a limited number of edits rather than genetically identical resurrected dire wolves.
Controversies
2025
Dispute over the claimed dire wolves
Colossal’s presentation of genetically edited gray-wolf pups as dire wolves was challenged by independent scientists and the IUCN Species Survival Commission’s Canid Specialist Group. Critics said the animals were not dire wolves or valid conservation proxies and would not restore the extinct species’ ecological function. Colossal later clarified that the animals were gray wolves with 20 edits and that the term was being used colloquially.
Marketing campaigns
- 2023Colossal 100 conservation biobanking initiative
Global
Colossal publicized an effort to preserve biological material from highly imperiled species through its Biovault and a proposed list of priority species.
Outcome. The company reported initial collection targets, although the complete priority list was not publicly disclosed.
- 2022Tasmanian thylacine restoration initiative
Australia · Global
The company promoted a research program intended to develop a thylacine proxy and examine possible ecological restoration in Tasmania and other parts of Australia.
Outcome. The initiative led to a formal advisory committee and continued collaboration with the University of Melbourne.
- 2021Mammoth restoration and biodiversity campaign
Global
Colossal launched with a public narrative linking mammoth-like animal research to ecosystem restoration, biodiversity protection, and the development of broadly useful genetic technologies.
Outcome. The campaign established the company’s public identity and attracted significant private investment and scientific attention.
Brand decisions
2025
Announce the dire-wolf projectProduct launchBackground
Colossal compared ancient dire-wolf genomic material with gray-wolf genomes to identify genes associated with selected physical traits.
Action taken
The company edited gray-wolf cells, produced embryos, and announced three pups as dire wolves.
Aftermath
The announcement generated extensive criticism over species definitions, ecological utility, and the distinction between a genetically modified proxy and a resurrected species.
- IUCN Species Survival Commission Canid Specialist Group — The group said the animals were neither dire wolves nor qualifying conservation proxies under its guiding principles.
2023
Expand into avian genomicsStrategyBackground
After establishing mammoth and thylacine programs, Colossal sought to apply its platform to extinct birds and living relatives.
Action taken
The company formed an Avian Genomics Group focused on the dodo and related reproductive technologies.
Aftermath
The expansion broadened Colossal’s portfolio beyond mammals and strengthened its conservation-genomics positioning.
2022
Spin out Form BioStrategyBackground
Colossal had developed software for handling large and complex biological datasets as part of its research operations.
Action taken
It created Form Bio as a separate computational biology company and announced separate funding.
Aftermath
The move supported a business model based on commercializing software and computational capabilities alongside biological research.
Form Bio funding. $30 million (September 2022)
Recent events
- 2025
Colossal reports woolly mice with mammoth-inspired traits[1]
Product launch
The company announced gene-edited mice with shaggy, mammoth-inspired characteristics as a model for studying genetic traits relevant to cold adaptation.
- 2024
Breaking launches from Colossal’s synthetic-biology work[1]
Product launch
Breaking was announced as a separate startup working on biological degradation of plastics, including research involving the X-32 microbe.
- 2024
Colossal reports a near-complete thylacine genome[1]
Product generation
The company said it had reconstructed a highly complete thylacine genome from historical biological material.
- 2024
Colossal announces the Colossal Foundation[1]
Campaign
The company announced $50 million in funding for a foundation intended to support conservation-related activities.
- 2023
Colossal raises Series B financing[1]
Other
A reported $150 million Series B placed the company’s private valuation above $1 billion.
- 2023
Colossal launches an avian genomics group for dodo research[1]
Product launch
The new group began work on dodo genomic reconstruction and possible use of Nicobar pigeons in reproductive research.
- 2023
Colossal creates the Conservation Advisory Board[1]
Leadership change
The company formed an external advisory body focused on conservation implications and field applications of its technology.
- 2022
Colossal raises Series A financing[1]
Other
The company announced a $60 million Series A, bringing reported total funding at the time to $75 million.
- 2022
Form Bio is spun out as a computational biology company[1]
M&A
Colossal separated its biological data and workflow software activities into Form Bio, which announced $30 million in funding.
- 2022
Colossal announces thylacine restoration project[1]
Product launch
The company began a program with the University of Melbourne to reconstruct thylacine genomic and reproductive capabilities.
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