Coinbase Global Inc. (COIN) CEO Brian Armstrong isn't just thinking about cryptocurrency these days. He's also betting big on something arguably more ambitious: making humans live longer, healthier lives.
Armstrong revealed Monday that his longevity startup, NewLimit, is working on extending human healthspan by treating age-related diseases at their source. The approach? Restore cells to the function they had when they were younger, and watch the diseases that plague us in old age vanish.
The Cellular Fountain of Youth
In a post on X, Armstrong shared clips from a recent podcast with Rick Robin where he explained what drew him to the longevity space. "The thing that got me excited about that was like all these major diseases are correlated with aging," Armstrong said.
His logic is elegantly simple: if you can return cells to their youthful state, you'd "automatically" knock out the diseases that emerge later in life. Heart disease, cancer, dementia—most of what kills us correlates strongly with aging. Fix aging, fix everything else.
It's the kind of moonshot thinking you'd expect from someone who built a crypto empire, but Armstrong is putting serious money behind the idea.
A Billion-Dollar Bet on Living Longer
Founded in 2021, NewLimit has moved fast. The company raised $45 million in October—just five months after completing its Series B round. That latest funding valued the startup at $1.62 billion, giving it coveted unicorn status.
NewLimit said the fresh capital will enable clinical studies "in a few years," suggesting the company is moving from theoretical research into practical applications.
The Longevity Gold Rush
Armstrong isn't alone in chasing the fountain of youth. The race to extend human lifespan has attracted some of Silicon Valley's biggest names and deepest pockets.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman dropped $180 million into Retro Biosciences, a company building what it calls a "scalable and cost-effective" aging solution. According to a December report by STAT News, Retro is now chasing a $5 billion valuation.
But while private longevity startups are raising billions, publicly traded anti-aging companies have had a rough go of it. The stocks tell a brutal story:
| Company | 1-Year Performance | Price (as of 1:00 a.m. ET) |
|---|---|---|
| Klotho Neurosciences Inc. (KLTO) | -40.48% | $0.32 |
| Telomir Pharmaceuticals Inc. (TELO) | -64.78% | $1.49 |
| Longevity Health Holdings Inc. (XAGE) | -97.96% | $0.30 |
Investors, it seems, are more willing to bet on longevity through private funding rounds than public markets. Perhaps that's because the timeline for success in this field is measured in decades, not quarters.
Armstrong's NewLimit represents a fascinating convergence of tech money, biological innovation, and humanity's oldest dream: living longer. Whether restoring youthful cellular function can actually deliver on that promise remains to be seen, but with billions flowing into the space, we'll find out sooner rather than later.