What The Longevity Fund does

The Longevity Fund is a San Francisco-based venture capital firm founded in 2011 by Laura Deming that invests exclusively in early-stage biotechnology companies developing longevity therapeutics and healthspan-extending interventions. The firm targets mission-oriented founders — explicitly including first-time and early-career founders with unconventional backgrounds — and supplies capital alongside strategic guidance through regulatory, scientific, fundraising, and company-building challenges specific to the longevity field. Its portfolio spans multiple biotech modalities including senolytics, cellular reprogramming, and organ regeneration, and several portfolio companies have advanced drug candidates into clinical trials for age-related diseases.

The firm operates through two fund vehicles: the original Longevity Fund (first fund closed in 2013) and age1, a successor fund launched in 2023 with new General Partner Alex Colville. Notable portfolio outcomes include five IPOs (Alx Oncology, Metacrine, Navitor Pharma, Precision BioSciences, Unity Biotechnology) and Loyal's LOY-002, which has received FDA conditional approval for safety and efficacy, making it the first FDA-approved drug candidate designed to extend lifespan in any species. The firm generates returns through equity stakes in portfolio companies, realized via IPOs and acquisitions; it does not generate operating revenue from product or service sales.

The firm runs a small team of 2–5 personnel based in San Francisco and sources deals primarily through direct founder outreach and proprietary industry networks rather than traditional marketing channels. Its published investment thesis divides the longevity industry into three stages — Pioneers (2013–2023), Dominant Players (2023–2050), and Generic Players (2050+) — and positions the current period as the decisive decade in which longevity therapeutics reach the clinic.

Name

The Longevity Fund

Legal name

The Longevity Fund

Website

https://longevity.vc

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Longevity Fund is a San Francisco-based venture capital firm founded in 2011 that invests in early-stage biotech startups developing longevity therapeutics and healthspan-extending interventions, with a portfolio producing multiple IPOs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital / Life Sciences Investment

NAICS

Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles (525)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Transition / Engagement & Stewardship Funds (FSANAJAO)

akta.pro secondary industry

Medical Wellness & Longevity (Health Screening, Biohacking, Anti-aging Programs) (THAJAHAI)

Keywords

• Venture capital
• Longevity biotech
• Early-stage investing
• Healthspan therapeutics
• Anti-aging investments

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Venture Capital Returns: The Longevity Fund generates returns through equity investments in early-stage biotech companies. Returns are realized through portfolio company exits including IPOs and acquisitions. The fund has supported companies that have achieved IPOs and advanced drug candidates to clinical trials.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

The Longevity Fund is a venture capital firm that invests early-stage capital in biotech startups developing therapies to extend human healthspan and lifespan. Founded in 2011 by Laura Deming, the fund backs mission-oriented founders building longevity companies, and has supported portfolio firms from inception through IPO and into clinical trials for age-related disease drug candidates. The firm also operates a successor fund branded as age1, led alongside General Partner Alex Colville.

Product overview

The Longevity Fund operates as a venture capital firm offering investment funds to early-stage biotech startups focused on longevity and healthspan extension therapies. The primary offering is The Longevity Fund (originally launched in 2011, first fund closed in 2013), which has backed companies that have IPO'd and advanced drug candidates into clinical trials. The fund has also launched age1 (also referred to as 'age1' or 'next generation Longevity Fund'), which is a successor fund with a similar focus on longevity biotechnology companies, established in collaboration with General Partner Alex Colville. The portfolio spans multiple biotech companies working on various therapeutic approaches including senolytics, cellular reprogramming, and organ regeneration.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The Longevity Fund A venture capital fund that provides equity capital to early-stage biotech startups focused on therapies extending human healthspan and lifespan. Targets mission-oriented founders, including first-time and early-career founders, working on age-related disease drug candidates.
• age1 Next-generation venture capital fund vehicle managed by the same team as The Longevity Fund, co-led with General Partner Alex Colville, focused on backing longevity biotechnology companies and founder-driven approaches to building longevity companies.

Quantifiable outcome

• Multiple portfolio companies have achieved IPOs and advanced drug candidates to clinical trials for age-related diseases
• +1 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Khosla Ventures: Pioneer tech and biotech VC firm with significant longevity and healthspan investments. Directly comparable as a venture capital firm backing ambitious biotech founders in transformative categories, including longevity-adjacent therapeutics and high-conviction early-stage bets.
• ARCH Venture Partners: Leading biotech-focused VC firm investing in early-stage life sciences companies, including longevity and aging research. Comparable as a specialist biotech VC backing high-conviction, scientifically ambitious founders and breakthrough therapeutics.
• Lux Capital: Tech and bio VC firm investing in ambitious 'frontier' science, including longevity and aging research. Comparable as a thesis-driven VC backing unconventional founders in deep tech and biotech categories where conventional firms under-invest.
• BOLD Capital Partners: Venture firm focused on healthspan, longevity, and biotech innovation. Closely comparable as a thematic VC specifically targeting longevity therapeutics and founder-led biotech companies, with a similar domain-specialist orientation.
• Founders Fund: Venture firm with public commitments to longevity and biotech, backing ambitious technical founders. Comparable as a high-conviction VC that has explicitly backed longevity-related companies and shares a willingness to invest in unconventional founders.
• OrbiMed Advisors: Healthcare-dedicated investment firm across stages, with significant exposure to longevity and aging therapeutics. Comparable as a specialist healthcare investor in the same target category, though operating at much larger scale and broader stage range.

Broad incumbents

• Andreessen Horowitz (a16z Bio): Major technology VC with a dedicated Bio fund investing across biotech and healthspan. Overlaps with The Longevity Fund's biotech investment thesis but operates at much greater scale, broader scope, and with a multi-stage, multi-fund structure.
• New Enterprise Associates (NEA): Large multi-stage VC firm with deep biotech practice and longevity-adjacent investments. Comparable as a generalist VC with significant biotech and health exposure, though operating at much broader scale and across diverse sectors beyond biotech.

Others

• Hevolution Foundation: Non-profit foundation backed by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund with billions dedicated to aging and longevity research. Comparable as a major funder of longevity science but operates as a foundation, not a venture capital fund.
• Wellcome Leap: Non-profit organization funding bold, unconventional health research including longevity. Comparable as a longevity-focused capital provider, though structured as a non-profit program rather than a venture fund.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments23 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Longevity Fund