Ben Lamm, founder and CEO of Colossal Biosciences, joined the show to talk about the science (and business) of bringing extinct species back to life. Backed by top scientists and investors, Colossal is using advanced gene editing and synthetic biology to recreate animals like the woolly mammoth and dire wolf. Ben walks us through the technology, ethical considerations, and commercialization paths, including tech spinouts and conservation credits. It’s a wild conversation at the intersection of Jurassic Park and deep tech.
(00:00) Introduction to Ancient DNA and Forced Evolution
(00:34) What is Colossal?
(01:03) The Mammoth Project: From Idea to Reality
(01:15) Building the Team and Raising Funds
(02:01) The Role of George Church and Synthetic Biology
(02:50) Challenges and Innovations in Genetic Engineering
(04:43) The Dire Wolf De-Extinction Project
(05:55) Understanding the Science Behind De-Extinction
(13:13) Functional De-Extinction and Species Classification
(20:01) Methodologies and Ethical Considerations
(28:14) Animal Welfare and Genetic Editing
(28:34) Technical Details of Genetic Edits
(29:32) Efficiency and Off-Target Effects
(30:04) Multiplex Editing Innovations
(31:39) Cloning and Embryo Development
(41:56) Challenges in Cross-Species Surrogacy
(45:53) Business Models and Ethical Considerations
(55:41) Media Impact and Public Interest in Conservation
(56:18) Open Source Technologies for Conservation
(57:16) Government and Enterprise Collaboration
(58:09) Rewilding and De-extinction
(01:00:12) Challenges in Animal Testing and AI
(01:06:56) Ethical and Regulatory Considerations
(01:08:08) Public Perception and Media Influence
(01:15:47) Future of Conservation Technologies
(01:18:20) Balancing Conservation and Development
(01:24:20) Conclusion and Final Thoughts
Executive Producer: Rashad Assir
Producer: Leah Clapper
Mixing and editing: Justin Hrabovsky
Check out Unsupervised Learning, Redpoint’s AI Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@UCUl-s_Vp-Kkk_XVyDylNwLA
🎙 Listen to the show
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-logan-bartlett-show/id1606770839
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5WqBqDb4br3LlyVrdqOYYb?si=3076e6c1b5c94d63&nd=1
🎥 Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCugS0jD5IAdoqzjaNYzns7w?sub_confirmation=1
Follow on Socials
📸 Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/theloganbartlettshow
🐦 Twitter – https://twitter.com/loganbartshow
🎬 Clips on TikTok – https://www.tiktok.com/@theloganbartlettshow
About the Show
Logan Bartlett is a Software Investor at Redpoint Ventures – a Silicon Valley-based VC with $6B AUM and investments in Snowflake, DraftKings, Twilio, and Netflix. In each episode, Logan goes behind the scenes with world-class entrepreneurs and investors. If you’re interested in the real inside baseball of tech, entrepreneurship, and start-up investing, tune in every Friday for new episodes.
