Altos Labs
Bay Area, US · 553 employees on LinkedIn · 7 known investors
Altos Labs develops computational and scientific approaches to reverse disease through breakthrough medicines, operating research institutes focused on cell health, computation, and drug discovery.
Also known as Altos · Altos Labs, Inc.
Founders & leadership
Investors · 7
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Also in the syndicate · 4
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Altos Labs, Inc. is a privately held American biotechnology research company working on cellular rejuvenation programming. Its stated mission is to restore cell health and resilience in order to reverse disease, injury and the disabilities that can occur throughout life. The scientific premise draws on partial cellular reprogramming derived from induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) methods, with research targeting mechanisms of cellular decline such as epigenetic drift and loss of proteostasis. Wikipedia characterizes the company's goal as developing life-extension therapies based on induced pluripotent stem cells that can halt or reverse human aging, while company president Hans Bishop framed the work in January 2022 as increasing human "healthspan," with longevity extension an "accidental consequence."
Activity is organized across Institutes of Science — in the San Francisco Bay Area, San Diego and Cambridge, UK — plus an Institute of Medicine intended to translate knowledge about cell health and programming into medicines, and an Institute of Computation. The company describes a model that merges academic freedom to pursue difficult biological problems with industry focus on patients and medicines, and it has assembled a large group of principal investigators and named scientific leaders. Atypically for a private company, its initial emphasis was on basic research without near-term commercial products.
Leadership listed on the company site includes Hal Barron (CEO and Founder), Hans Bishop (President and Founder), Rick Klausner (Chief Scientific Advisor and Founder), Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte (Founding Scientist and SVP), Hana El-Samad (SVP and Director, Institute of Computation), Kevin Sin (Chief Financial and Business Officer), Jodi Nunnari (Director, Bay Area Institute of Science), Wolf Reik (Director, Cambridge Institute of Science) and Joan Mannick (SVP, Chief Medical Officer and Head of Product Development). The board of directors is co-chaired by Barron, Bishop and Klausner and includes Frances Arnold, Jennifer Doudna, Maria Leptin, Karl Johansson, Robert Nelsen and Rajiv Shah, with David Baltimore listed in memoriam (1938-2025).
Founding story
Richard D. Klausner, a biotech entrepreneur and former director of the National Cancer Institute (1995-2001), originated the idea and co-founded the company with serial entrepreneur Hans Bishop; company materials list Hal Barron, Rick Klausner and Hans Bishop as founders. Yuri Milner co-hosted an October 2020 meeting at which aging researchers presented work and the concept for Altos was developed. Early backing came from Jeff Bezos and Yuri Milner (via an investment vehicle held for the benefit of the Breakthrough Foundation), and the company was registered in 2021. The name Altos Labs derives from the California city of Los Altos.
Business model
Privately funded biotechnology research company. Its FAQ confirms it is private and has not gone public. Research is organized across Institutes of Science, an Institute of Medicine and an Institute of Computation, with the intent of translating discovery research into medicines; sources describe an initial focus on basic research without immediate commercially viable products.
Traction
Wikipedia lists approximately 500 employees. The company has recruited senior scientists from the Salk Institute, the Babraham Institute, UCSF/HHMI and Google DeepMind, and staffs Institutes of Science in the Bay Area, San Diego and Cambridge with a large group of principal investigators. Sources report contributions to peer-reviewed studies in aging biology in 2024-2025, but no products or approved therapies.
Latest developments
Reported 2025 developments include the launch of an Institute of Computation for integrating AI-driven modeling with experimental biology, the August 2025 appointment of Joan Mannick, M.D. as SVP, Chief Medical Officer and Head of Product Development (previously involved in mTOR inhibitor trials and at MetroBiotech), and acquisition of senotherapeutics capabilities through Dorian Therapeutics. In October 2025 scientific founders were reported to have presented advances targeting "mesenchymal drift." Sources indicate the company is positioning toward potential clinical trials in ex vivo organ rejuvenation and in vivo therapies for age-related disease, with no approved therapies to date.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
Described in sources as the best-funded biotechnology start-up to date and one of the most heavily capitalized entrants in the longevity and regenerative medicine sectors. Reference material groups it with other life-extension organizations such as Calico, Human Longevity, Life Biosciences, AgeX and the SENS Research Foundation.
Technology
Cellular rejuvenation programming, including partial cellular reprogramming based on Shinya Yamanaka's induced pluripotent stem cell discoveries, aimed at resetting epigenetic clocks and restoring cellular resistance to stressors. Research targets mechanisms including epigenetic drift, loss of proteostasis and mesenchymal drift. The company also builds a computational ecosystem using machine learning, generating high-quality internal data and integrating external datasets to develop multi-scale generative models of cell and organ health across biological hierarchies.
Go-to-market
Not specified in the sources beyond an intention to develop medicines for patients of any age affected by disease, injury and age-related disability.
Geography
Operations in the San Francisco Bay Area and San Diego, California (US) and Cambridge, United Kingdom, with significant research collaborations in Japan, where Nobel laureate Shinya Yamanaka was named senior scientific advisor overseeing Japanese research activities.
History
The concept originated with cell biologist and former National Cancer Institute director Richard (Rick) Klausner, who co-founded the company with Hans Bishop. A meeting co-hosted by Yuri Milner in October 2020 presented aging research and developed the concept for Altos. The company was founded/registered in 2021 in the United States and the United Kingdom and operated in stealth, with reported early funding of over $270 million by September 2021. It launched publicly on January 19, 2022 with approximately $3 billion in funding and began operations in 2022. Hal Barron, then President of R&D and Chief Scientific Officer at GSK, joined as CEO and board co-chair effective August 1, 2022. Subsequent milestones include the launch of an Institute of Computation, the August 2025 appointment of Joan Mannick as Chief Medical Officer and Head of Product Development, and reported acquisition of senotherapeutics capabilities via Dorian Therapeutics by 2025.
Risks & controversies
Sources note that full therapeutic translation of cellular reprogramming to humans remains unproven and experimental, and that the company's initial focus is basic research without immediate prospects of a commercially viable product; no approved therapies have been produced. Press coverage has characterized the venture as controversial and secretive about specific research goals, and notes that principal investigator salaries may be roughly ten times higher than at comparable research institutions. Founding scientist Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte previously drew notoriety for work mixing human and monkey cells in embryos.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Acquisitions · 1
Early investors' stakes continue via these dealsDorian Therapeutics was a biotechnology startup developing senoblockers, drugs designed to rejuvenate cells and tissues by targeting aging-related mechanisms. Acquired by Altos Labs.
Timeline · 6
launches, deals, and filingsAltos Labs appointed Joan Mannick, M.D., as Senior Vice President, Chief Medical Officer and Head of Product Development.
As of 2025, Altos was reported to have acquired senotherapeutics capabilities through Dorian Therapeutics.
Altos launched an Institute of Computation to integrate AI-driven modeling with experimental biology; the company website also features an update announcing the launch of the Institute of Computation. Hana El-Samad is listed as SVP and Director of the Institute of Computation.
Altos said it would initially be based in the San Francisco Bay Area and San Diego in the US and Cambridge in the UK, with significant collaborations in Japan, organized across Institutes of Science and an Institute of Medicine.
Altos Labs announced its formation as a biotechnology company focused on cellular rejuvenation programming, launching with roughly $3 billion committed from investors including ARCH Venture Partners, Jeff Bezos and Yuri Milner.
$3B source ↗
The launch announcement named Hal Barron (incoming CEO and board co-chair, effective August 1, 2022), Rick Klausner (Chief Scientist and Founder), Hans Bishop (President and Founder) and Ann Lee-Karlon (Chief Operating Officer). Institutes of Science leads announced were Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte, Wolf Reik and Peter Walter; Thore Graepel was named global head of computational science, AI and machine learning; Shinya Yamanaka was named senior scientific advisor overseeing research in Japan, without remuneration.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
In the news
5 largest VC rounds of H1 2026 - BioSpacebiospace.com · Jul 2026▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- Altos Labsaltoslabs.com · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Altos Labs do?
- Biotechnology company pursuing cellular rejuvenation programming to restore cell health and reverse disease, injury and disability.
- Who founded Altos Labs?
- Altos Labs was founded by Richard Murray, Shinya Yamanaka, Hal Barron, Richard Klausner.
- Who are Altos Labs's investors?
- Altos Labs's investors include 8VC, ARCH Venture Partners, General Catalyst.
- Where is Altos Labs headquartered?
- Altos Labs is headquartered in Bay Area, US.