The Longevity Fund

The Longevity Fund / age1 Research Investment Thesis The Longevity Fund, now operating as age1, is the first venture capital fund created explicitly to invest in companies extending human healthy lifespan and treating aging itself as a disease rather than an inevitable consequence of biology. Founded by Laura Deming in 2011 when she was just 16 years old, the fund operates on the core belief that increasing healthy human lifespan with drugs is technically possible, economically viable, and deeply desirable—not a matter of fighting physics, but rather of applying engineering and medicine intelligently to local biological systems. The fund's thesis rests on three fundamental axioms: (1) it is technically possible to extend lifespan, as demonstrated by the diversity of lifespans across the animal kingdom; (2) it is economically possible, evidenced by their first fund's portfolio producing five IPOs and over $1B in follow-on capital raised; and (3) it is desirable, as giving people agency over their healthy years aligns with human flourishing and medical advancement. Laura Deming has articulated that longevity is a completely new industry within biotech, requiring founders who can think differently. The field has reached a critical inflection point where mission-oriented, founder-led companies with unconventional backgrounds will prove most effective at bringing the first longevity drugs to market. The fund explicitly avoids traditional biotech patterns, instead backing contrarian founders who deeply understand aging biology and can navigate the novel regulatory, scientific, and fundraising challenges unique to longevity therapeutics. Evolution and Fund Structure The original Longevity Fund (2011-2023) deployed approximately $100M and achieved remarkable outcomes: five portfolio companies went public (Alexion Oncology/ALXO, Decibel Therapeutics/DBTX, Metacrine/MTCR, Precision Biosciences/DTIL, Unity Biotechnology/UBX), and portfolio companies collectively raised over $1B in follow-on capital. This track record proved the viability of the longevity thesis and established the template for founder-centric, deep-tech biotech investing. In 2023, Laura Deming partnered with Dr. Alex Colville, a biologist who studied the biology of aging, to launch age1, rebranding the fund to reflect its focus on founder-driven companies. age1 closed its initial fund at $35 million in September 2023. The new structure positions age1 as the next evolution of The Longevity Fund, maintaining the founder-first philosophy while scaling the expertise. Laura Deming transitioned to Venture Partner role while Alex Colville leads as General Partner. The fund is structured for earliest-stage investing, particularly pre-seed and seed rounds where founder vision and technical rigor prove most critical. They maintain close ties to The Longevity Fund's proven portfolio, providing downstream follow-on capital and continued support. Team and Leadership Alex Colville, Co-Founder & General Partner: Studied the biology of aging and brings deep scientific expertise in gerontology. At age 31 (as of 2025), he represents a new generation of biotech VCs who grew up around longevity science. He leads day-to-day investment decisions and fundraising, positioning age1 as a next-generation vehicle for the field. Laura Deming, Co-Founder & Venture Partner: Started aging research at age 12, founded The Longevity Fund at 16, and has become one of the youngest and most successful biotech VCs in the world. Now 29-31 years old, she remains deeply involved as a venture partner, bringing founder relationships, deal sourcing, and strategic guidance. Her track record of identifying longevity leaders early is unparalleled in the space. Lily Clayton, Head of Operations: Leads organizational and operational functions for age1, enabling the investment team to focus on portfolio support and founder relationships. Kat Kajderowicz, Principal: Brings operational and investment expertise to the deal team, supporting due diligence and portfolio company engagement. Satvik Dasariraju, Principal: Contributes investment analysis and portfolio support capabilities. Additional team: Includes Carol Magalhaes (NewCo Chief of Staff), Maggie Li (Special Projects Lead), Soleil Wizman (Venture Fellow), and Lynetta Wang (Venture Intern)—a lean but growing team focused on supporting ambitious founders. Investment Stage and Check Size age1 focuses on the earliest stages where founder vision matters most. Primary focus is on pre-seed and seed rounds where scientific founders are building proof-of-concept. Check sizes typically range from $250K-$3M with flexibility based on founder quality and scientific potential. Both lead and participate in rounds, depending on conviction and syndication partners. The fund avoids the traditional growth capital approach, instead providing deep technical and operational support during the critical early years when founders are validating scientific hypotheses and recruiting world-class talent. Portfolio Strategy and Recent Activity age1's portfolio encompasses 25+ active companies plus the legacy Longevity Fund portfolio. Key categories include genomics & gene therapy (Precision Biosciences/DTIL, Arda Therapeutics, General Proximity, Reservoir Neuro), cellular & regenerative (Conception Bio, Skeletalis, Until Labs, Science.xyz), drug discovery & ML (Fauna Bio, Spring Discovery, Aperture, Aergsky), and emerging companies (Loyal for Dogs, Anagenex, Gordian Bio, Deciduous, Navitor Pharma). Track record of exits includes Alexion Oncology (NASDAQ: ALXO) for checkpoint immunotherapies, Decibel Therapeutics (NASDAQ: DBTX) for hearing/balance regeneration, Metacrine (NASDAQ: MTCR) for GI and liver disease, Precision Biosciences (NASDAQ: DTIL) for gene editing, and Unity Biotechnology (NASDAQ: UBX) for aging disease therapeutics. Notable recent activity includes the Loyal for Dogs 1,300-dog longevity study cited in Forbes (November 2025) and continued deployment from the $35M age1 fund. Sector and Technology Focus age1 operates exclusively within the longevity/healthspan extension sector. Primary disease focuses include neurodegeneration and brain aging, musculoskeletal aging (bone loss, frailty), cardiovascular aging, metabolic and liver aging, cancer (aging-related), and hearing and sensory decline. Technology platforms include gene therapy and gene editing (CRISPR, base editing, multiplex approaches), cell therapy and regenerative medicine, small molecule drug discovery (traditional and AI-enabled), genomics and precision medicine, biotech tools and ML platforms, and novel modalities (induced proximity, endogenous immune activation). The fund explicitly excludes consumer wellness and lifestyle longevity products, large pharma partnerships, and traditional aging-adjacent sectors like longevity services or supplements. Geographic and Founder Profile Primary geography is US-focused with strong presence in Bay Area, Boston, and other biotech hubs. Selective international investments particularly for exceptional founders. Founder preferences emphasize mission-driven, often first-time or early-career biotech entrepreneurs with scientists and engineers possessing deep domain expertise in aging biology. Unconventional backgrounds are preferred over traditional pharma pedigree. The fund seeks founders with "fire in them" for the longevity field specifically, and technical founding teams comfortable with scientific rigor and multi-year timelines. Decision Process and Support Model Decision structure is partnership-based with both co-founders involved in significant investments. The lean team means principals are deeply involved in due diligence and board support. Investment decision timeline is typically 2-6 weeks for conviction-driven founders with proven science; age1 does not require traditional biotech BD infrastructure but values scientific rigor. Post-investment support includes board participation and deep scientific guidance, connection to The Longevity Fund's legacy founder network, operational support through team members like Lily Clayton (NewCo CoS), access to talent networks in aging research, and fundraising support for downstream rounds. Warm introductions are helpful but not required. Fund Status and Future Direction As of late 2025, age1 is actively deploying capital from its $35M fund with measured pace befitting early-stage biotech. The firm maintains a co-working space in downtown San Francisco, emphasizing collaboration with founders and easy access for the founder community. The fund represents the "dominant players" stage when the best founders the longevity field has ever seen enter the space, equipped with the right resources to build moonshot companies. Recent activity and portfolio composition demonstrate they are selectively backing the most ambitious scientific approaches to aging.