Will Chinese and Russian Leaders' '150-Year Lifespan' Dream Become Reality? "US Invests 7 Trillion Won in Longevity Industry Over 25 Years"

Spotlight on the "Longevity Industry" Extending Human Lifespan
Active Startup Investments by Peter Thiel, Sam Altman, and Others
"An Industry Once on the Fringe, Now a Mainstream Topic"

It has been reported that Silicon Valley billionaires are making large-scale investments in the so-called "longevity industry," which focuses on extending human lifespan. On September 7 (local time), Yonhap News reported, "According to an analysis by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) of public disclosures, market data provider PitchBook Data, and announcements from listed companies, these billionaires have invested a total of 5 billion dollars (6.9 trillion won) in the longevity industry over the past 25 years."

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman reportedly invested $180 million in the startup Retro Biosciences, which aims to develop new drugs that regenerate aging cells. Photo by AFP Yonhap News

According to the WSJ, prominent figures include Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal and a major Silicon Valley investor; Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI; Yuri Milner, a venture capitalist originally from Russia; and Marc Andreessen, co-founder of global venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz.

Thiel has invested more than 700 million dollars in 12 companies, either directly or through funds. In 2021, he co-founded and supported the startup NewLimit, which researches ways to slow cellular aging, together with Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong. This startup has attracted more than 200 million dollars from over nine billionaires, including former Google CEO Eric Schmidt and Sun Microsystems co-founder and venture capitalist Vinod Khosla. Altman reportedly invested 180 million dollars in the startup Retro Biosciences, which aims to develop new drugs that regenerate aging cells.

The so-called "longevity industry" is now said to form a vast network involving over 200 startups and nonprofit organizations, as well as about 1,000 investors. Over the past 25 years, these startups have raised more than 12.5 billion dollars (approximately 17.3312 trillion won at current rates), attracting not only billionaires but also influencers, renowned scientists, and actors. Some investors are reportedly drawn to the longevity industry for personal reasons.

Naveen Jain, founder of the startup Viome Life Sciences, established a company developing personalized health tests and nutritional supplements after his father died of pancreatic cancer, investing 30 million dollars of his own money. Jain told the WSJ, "I want to make aging optional."

It is also well known that Moderna CEO St?phane Bancel practices the "fasting-mimicking diet" developed by longevity researcher Valter Longo, a professor at the University of Southern California. Bancel also led an investment of up to 47 million dollars in L-Nutra, a startup founded by Longo. The WSJ commented, "Thanks to billionaires, longevity research, once on the fringes of academia, has now become a mainstream topic in popular culture."

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin were seen discussing the possibility of 'immortality through organ transplantation' during the 80th anniversary military parade of China's Victory Day on the 3rd. Photo by AFP

Previously, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin were seen discussing the possibility of "immortality through organ transplantation" during the 80th anniversary military parade of China's Victory Day on the 3rd. This was a so-called "hot mic" situation, where the leaders, unaware that their microphones were on, had a private conversation that was unintentionally made public.

At the time, President Xi remarked, "In the past, it was rare for people to live to 70, but now 70 is considered young." President Putin responded, "With advances in biotechnology, human organs can be continuously transplanted. The longer you live, the younger you become, and you could even achieve immortality." President Xi then laughed and said, "Some people expect that humans could live up to 150 years within this century."

This conversation, which revealed both leaders' interest in longevity, became a major topic of discussion, but it was reportedly deleted at the request of the Chinese side.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.