Moonshots with Peter Diamandis – Episode #245

"How AI Is Bringing Extinct Animals Back (And What Comes Next)" | Guest: Ben Lamm (Colossal) | April 7, 2026

Episode Overview

On this episode of Moonshots, Peter Diamandis sits down with Ben Lamm, CEO and co-founder of Colossal Biosciences, to discuss the groundbreaking advances in de-extinction, synthetic biology, and the powerful role artificial intelligence is playing in bringing extinct species back to life—and what these technologies might mean for the future. The conversation dives into Colossal’s multi-pronged strategy, including spinoff companies tackling plastic degradation, artificial wombs, gene drives, and much more. The episode is fast-paced and mind-expanding, filled with both the promise and challenges of building a new biology-powered future.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Genesis of Colossal and the De-extinction Mission

• Meeting George Church: Ben shares how a conversation with legendary synthetic biologist George Church sparked Colossal’s moonshot—reviving the woolly mammoth as not just a spectacle, but a way to build new tech applicable to conservation and human health.
  • “If he could have unlimited capital and just one project, he didn’t hesitate: ‘I’d work to bring back mammoths, rewild them, and build technologies for saving species and human healthcare.’”
    (Ben Lamm, 02:12)
• Leadership & Vision: Ben didn’t expect to become CEO, initially considering funding Colossal as a side project. But the scale, impact, and interest drew him in full-time (00:07, 02:41).

2. Building an AI-driven Bioengineering Platform

• AI as Essential: AI is not just an add-on; it’s the core enabling technology for Colossal’s efforts in synthetic biology, from gene editing to designing entire living systems.
  • “Without AI, we would not be able to do anything we’re doing.” (Ben, 03:16)
• Living Products Pipeline: The platform enables the design and construction of living products, making Colossal more than just a de-extinction company.
  • “What Ben is building is a platform and an engine for creating living products, being able to design using AI and then build living products.” (Host, 03:33)

3. Tackling the Plastic Crisis: The ‘Braking’ Spinout

• Microbes That Eat Plastic: ‘Braking,’ Colossal’s first spinout, engineers microbes that break down plastics at the chemical bond level, tackling pollution at its core—not just breaking it into smaller harmful pieces.
  • “Most plastic degradation companies are just making microplastics. That’s not solving the problem… What’s interesting about this discovery is it actually breaks the chemical bonds of the plastic.” (Ben, 05:29–05:59)
• Health & Environment Impact: They are even exploring human supplements to digest microplastics before absorption (06:55).

4. Multispecies De-extinction Efforts

• Species in Focus: Colossal is working to bring back the woolly mammoth, Tasmanian tiger, dodo, moa—and recently announced success with dire wolves.
  • “We could take a 73,000-year-old skull and make puppies. And we did it in 18 months, which is pretty remarkable.” (Ben, 09:13)
• Cultural Connection: Collaborations with figures like George R.R. Martin (creator of Game of Thrones) bring cultural and scientific narratives together (08:13).

5. Business Models & Mega-markets

• Economic Scale: The de-extinction and bioengineering platforms extend into trillion-dollar markets—ranging from education, licensing, biodiversity, to government partnerships.
  • “If you take net new dollars that are comparable… the world spends about 12.5% of global consumers buy something that’s extinct every year… It turns out to be like $1.7 trillion.” (Ben, 09:40)
• BioVault in Dubai: Colossal announced major deals with the UAE for the world’s first animal biobank, creating a global biodiversity backup (10:52–13:11).

6. Artificial Wombs & “Moonshot” Projects

• Artificial Reproduction: Developing artificial wombs is integral to scaling the production and reintroduction of revived or endangered species. Three projects (“mini moonshots”) are in progress for different animal groups.
  • “We have three [artificial womb projects], they don’t work yet… but our vision is using AI, synthetic biology, and artificial wombs to productionize species development.” (Ben, 13:47)
• Genetic Bottlenecks: These techs enable engineering genetic diversity into population bottlenecks—like rescuing the almost-extinct Northern White Rhino (14:16).

7. Advanced Cloning Capabilities

• Buying Viagen: Colossal purchased the world’s top two cloning companies, giving them unprecedented capacity and efficiency in cloning endangered animals.
  • “Viagen… had a 78% cloning efficiency… the only endangered species ever cloned on the planet were cloned by Viagen.” (Ben, 15:39–16:10)

8. Gene Editing, Custom Life Design & CRISPR Advances

• Genotype to Phenotype Engineering: AI allows Colossal to specify features—longer tusks, immune traits—by editing complex gene networks efficiently.
  • “We’re now doing hundreds of edits at a time… at 90% efficiency. In the coming years, that’s thousands of edits.” (Ben, 32:16)
• Pop Culture Moments: Requests for “real” Pokemon and dragons are frequent; public imagination is running wild with the tech’s potential (17:45, 18:18).

9. Expanding Platform: Disease Resistance, Plants, and Society

• From Animals to Plants: Colossal is applying its genetic toolkit to create disease-resistant, drought-tolerant plants and animals—addressing massive agri-food and ecological challenges (18:18).
• Public Education Needed: Changing perceptions on GMOs and genetic engineering is crucial, including government engagement (22:17).

10. Gene Drives & Invasive Species Control

• Humane Biocontrol: Colossal is working on gene drives that can target invasive species—potentially a $5.4 trillion global problem—more safely, humanely, and reversibly than poisons or culls.
  • “Gene drives… is a 40% technology problem, 60% marketing problem.” (Ben, 23:25)
  • “If you engineer the right gene drives… you can have animals, including insects, live out their normal lives, and then over time… have a decrease in population, humanely.” (Ben, 25:18)
• Market Size: The U.S. alone spends over $500B annually on invasive species response (27:08).

11. Innovation in IVF and Human Embryo Health

• Advanced Embryo Grading: Colossal’s work in animal embryos for artificial wombs spins out into new, more accurate and predictive technologies for IVF clinics, moving beyond outdated, morphology-based grading (29:02–30:38).

12. Unprecedented Biological Scale & Pace

• Exponential Progress: Colossal’s tech is improving so rapidly—hundreds of gene edits at high precision, massive gains in DNA synthesis and delivery, and system-level advances—not matched by any competitor (32:16–34:42).

13. Company Philosophy and Ecosystem Spinouts

• Strategic Focus: Colossal seeds spinouts for secondary opportunities but keeps focus on de-extinction and biodiversity as core, using internally-built tech and expert teams to launch new initiatives (34:47).

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On the magnitude of the mission:
  “Now that’s a moonshot, ladies and gentlemen.” (Host, 00:50)
• On cultural fascination:
  “Most people thought direwolves were just mythical creatures… It was a pretty cool thing to show we could take a 73,000-year-old skull and make puppies.” (Ben, 09:13)
• On the need for AI:
  “We don’t always like to lead with AI, but without AI, we would not be able to do anything that we’re doing.” (Ben, 03:16)
• On public perception:
  “Gene drives is a 40% technology problem, 60% marketing problem.” (Ben, 23:25)
• On global impact:
  “De-extinction, species preservation… is a $10 trillion opportunity, but also one of the most important things to focus on.” (Ben, 34:47)

Timeline & Timestamps of Major Segments

• 00:00–04:53 – Origins of Colossal, AI and synthetic biology as a platform, first spinout (“Braking”)
• 05:29–07:37 – Tackling plastics, health implications, and the problem of microplastics
• 07:42–09:14 – Species under revival, direwolf project, and George R.R. Martin anecdote
• 09:24–13:11 – De-extinction business model, global markets, Dubai BioVault
• 13:22–15:15 – Artificial wombs, “mini moonshots,” addressing genetic bottlenecks
• 15:23–17:00 – Acquiring cloning companies, scaling up endangered species cloning
• 17:00–20:34 – Engineering new life forms, pop culture intersections, disease-resistant animals & plants
• 20:56–23:18 – AI-enablement of synthetic biology, GMO education, regulatory environment
• 23:18–27:08 – Gene drives, invasive species crisis, humane biocontrol strategies
• 27:08–29:02 – Market size of invasive species, practical and ethical biocontrol
• 29:02–31:52 – Innovations in IVF, embryo health and grading technologies
• 32:16–34:42 – Rapid advances in gene editing, comparison to industry standards
• 34:47–End – Spinout strategy, focus on biodiversity and platform building

Final Thoughts

This episode captures the audacious scale of Colossal’s work: from reviving extinct animals to building a versatile, AI-powered synthetic biology platform ready to transform both planetary and human health. Ben Lamm’s “moonshot” vision is grounded in sharp business acumen, game-changing science, and a pragmatic approach to spinning out world-changing technologies. For anyone interested in technology, biology, and humanity’s future, this is essential listening.

For further exploration, follow Peter Diamandis on X: https://x.com/PeterDiamandis