How AI Is Bringing Extinct Animals Back (And What Comes Next) | Ben Lamm (Colossal) | EP #245

Colossal utilizes synthetic biology and artificial intelligence to pioneer de-extinction, aiming to restore species like the woolly mammoth and Tasmanian tiger while creating a platform for broader biological innovation. By integrating AI into an end-to-end pipeline, the company designs living products, including microbes capable of breaking chemical bonds in plastics to address global pollution. Beyond de-extinction, the firm develops gene drives to humanely manage invasive species and explores advanced IVF techniques to improve embryo health. These efforts are organized into a parent company that spins off specialized ventures, such as Fraking, to tackle specific environmental and health challenges. This approach shifts biological engineering from one-off research projects to a scalable, production-oriented model, positioning synthetic biology as a transformative, multi-trillion-dollar industry capable of addressing existential threats to biodiversity and human health.