Longevity for VCs: Understanding the Growing Sector Shaping the Future of our Lifespans

At LongeVC, we often receive the very straightforward question: what is longevity investing, and how can a VC categorize it?

This is a great question. The answer differs a lot depending on investment ideologies and approaches, proving that longevity as an investing area has a lot of valid angles. To explain these categories, I use a simple pillar approach, which distinguishes longevity investment frontiers based on their immediate applicability, complexity, and time needed to become feasible.

Pillar 1: The Frontier of Public Adoption?

Public adoption is what we can see happening in the current world. As a society, we are reaching the peak of self-awareness (and still climbing) with wearables, apps, trackers, and the overall digitalization of basic medical data/information, which we can feed into companion apps or gadgets.?

The most important aspect of this? We can derive meaningful actions from this data. Step trackers encourage us to walk more. Sleep scores can prompt better sleep hygiene. Monitoring heart rate can give valuable clues as to when something is changing in the body.?

Longevity-focused data is quickly catching up to these other data collection areas. Aging clocks (like that pioneered by Deep Longevity ) are a great example of packaging biomarker information that an average consumer might not understand into consumer-digestible, actionable insights into their biological aging processes. Individuals can track their aging-related stress, link it to their lifestyle choices and adjust appropriately.??

All fasting apps, cognitive training apps, and other non-medical-device age tech belong in this pillar, as they are enjoying widespread adoption. I would also group geroprotectors here, where clinical evidence of the effects of rapamycin and metformin on longevity are slowly piling up.?

(Note: This is not medical advice; please consult your physician before making any changes.)

These readily available technologies are a fantastic entry point into the longevity sector for VCs. Much of this tech is consumer-facing and has seen validation, making it reasonably easy to perform due diligence and make confident deals.?

Pillar 2: Age-Related Diseases

Age-related diseases are another rapidly developing area, with a critical impact/value inflection point expected in 5-10 years. Most popular short to mid-term VC investment strategies require solid in-house due diligence and deep industry knowledge to succeed in this space.?

Here, we are looking at disease-modifying therapies in areas like oncology, neurodegenerative diseases, cardiovascular conditions and more. These diseases kill prematurely, making them an essential aspect of advancing longevity. While some areas are already well-established, such as oncology using TIL and other immunotherapy research (think PD1 inhibitors) or even chronic pain management with promising CRISPR-based therapies, some areas, like neurodegenerative diseases, are still waiting for the first effective drug to be approved. The key focus in this frontier is, and I cannot stress this enough, identifying potential disease-modifying therapies and platform technologies.

On the flip side, early diagnostics deserve equal attention - if caught early, some potentially fatal diseases are significantly easier to manage. LongeVC, for example, has strengthened its early-diagnostics thesis through its recent investment into AOA Dx , which is developing a liquid biopsy test for early detection of ovarian cancer.?

Pillar 3: Systemic Rejuvenation and “True Longevity” Frontier

I consider this “the long road,” with a value inflection point in 15+ (some would even argue 30+) years. Many think the ultimate goal of longevity is being able to rewind or freeze the biological clock, achieving what is widely referred to as “longevity escape velocity.” There is enough conversation around this topic for several articles. For the purpose of VC categorization, I’d emphasize the role of epigenetic reprogramming in being able to trigger rejuvenation processes and alter our cell behavior. This reprogramming is essential as we age and accumulate DNA damage.

From the VC standpoint, a firm’s approach to this pillar is really dependent on the fund’s vision, as well as its holding and exit strategies. In other words, deals in this area can be both early-stage fund and PE territory, depending on the stage of the company, ticket size, and ability to exit via a secondary deal. Huge early-stage rounds are possible! Look at the spectacular $165M early round for Capstan Therapeutics , led by all-star big pharma. Capstan is taking a platform approach to develop first-in-class in vivo CAR therapies.

Even a strong in-house due diligence capacity here is not enough. To invest in this area, a VC must possess a solid visionary and risk-taking component. As part of our mission to back visionary biotech, LongeVC has already entered the space with its investment in Turn Biotechnologies , a Stanford University spinout creating mRNA medicines for cellular reprogramming. We continue exploring other opportunities in this area and encourage you to do the same to stay knowledgeable about the growing field, regardless of your investing approach.?

While there are countless ways to segment the longevity sector, I hope this sheds some light on what VC logic can look like when looking at different pillars of longevity investments. If not, I certainly apologize for confusing you even more! ??