NewLimit
Unicorn · $3.1BSouth San Francisco, US · Founded 2021 · Delaware corporation · 16 known investors
NewLimit develops epigenetic reprogramming medicines to extend healthspan and treat age-related diseases at the intersection of computer science and biotechnology. The company builds therapeutic programs that aim to engineer cell identity and reprogram cell age for human patients.
Also known as NewLimit Inc
Founders & leadership
NewLimit was founded in 2021 by Brian Armstrong, Blake Byers, and Jacob Kimmel.
Board
Investors · 16
Also in the syndicate · 3
Reported raises · per SEC filings
Form D private placements$202M disclosed across 2 of 4 rounds · 2023–2026
▶$129.8MraisedMay 2025 · 38 investors · BiotechnologyRule 506(b)
- Brian ArmstrongDirector
- Zavain DarDirector
- Jacob KimmelExecutive Officer, Director
- Blake ByersDirector
- Offering amount
- $130M
- Amount sold
- $129.8M
- First sale
- May 2025
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware, 2021
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
▶$72.2MraisedJan 2025 · 21 investors · BiotechnologyRule 506(b)
- Blake ByersDirector
- Brian ArmstrongDirector
- Zavain DarDirector
- Michael PolanskyExecutive Officer
- Jacob KimmelDirector
- Offering amount
- $72.2M
- Amount sold
- $72.2M
- First sale
- May 2023
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware, 2021
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
Source: SEC EDGAR Form D. Amounts as filed; amended filings shown once at their latest values.
Valuation · disclosed
Disclosed eventsSource: SEC prospectus filings, and round valuations the company or its investors disclosed — follow each entry's link for the claim.
Company profile
researched Aug 2026NewLimit is a South San Francisco-based biotechnology company developing medicines based on epigenetic reprogramming, an approach that aims to restore youthful gene expression in old cells rather than editing DNA sequence. The company's stated premise is that epigenetic marks on DNA and associated proteins determine which genes each cell uses, that these marks degrade with age, and that they can be rewritten using combinations of transcription factor genes. Its medicines activate transcription factor genes intended to return the epigenome toward a youthful state.
The company's therapeutic programs target diseases that resemble accelerated forms of normal aging, with initial programs in the liver, the immune system, and the vasculature. As of mid-2026 the company reported a prototype medicine that reverses the age of old human liver cells; in preclinical descriptions the liver therapy is said to allow livers to heal faster after injury, avoid damage from dietary challenges, and speed recovery from alcohol consumption. NewLimit has said it plans to bring its first aging reprogramming medicine into human clinical trials in the year following its June 2026 financing.
NewLimit describes itself as operating at the intersection of computer science and biotechnology, and states that generating large revenue streams as a for-profit company is part of its strategy.
Founding story
NewLimit was founded in 2021 by Brian Armstrong, co-founder and CEO of Coinbase; Blake Byers, a bioengineer and former General Partner at GV; and Jacob Kimmel, a computational and stem cell biologist who previously led a research laboratory on epigenetic reprogramming as a Principal Investigator at Calico, where his program developed methods to engineer cell identity and reprogram cell age. Kimmel holds a Ph.D. in stem cell biology from UCSF and serves as CEO and President; Armstrong and Byers serve as co-founders, with Armstrong on the Board of Directors. The company's own team page states that Kimmel and Armstrong co-founded NewLimit in 2022, while the company blog and press coverage give a 2021 founding date.
Business model
For-profit therapeutics developer building an internal discovery platform and a pipeline of reprogramming medicines, funded to date by venture capital. The company states explicitly that it intends to generate large revenue streams and considers building a for-profit company a key part of its strategy.
Traction
By June 2026 the company reported a prototype medicine that reverses the age of old human liver cells, with preclinical effects including faster liver healing after injury, protection from dietary challenge, and accelerated recovery from alcohol consumption; it stated plans to initiate its first human trial in the year following the Series C. It had raised a cumulative total in the hundreds of millions of dollars across Series A, B, B extension, and C rounds.
Latest developments
On 2026-06-02 NewLimit announced a $435M Series C led by Founders Fund, with new investors Thrive Capital, Greenoaks, and Quiet Capital and returning investors including Kleiner Perkins, Abstract, Nat Friedman and Daniel Gross, Valor Equity Partners, Eli Lilly Ventures, and Human Capital. CEO Jacob Kimmel said the company was valued at approximately $3.1 billion. The company said it will bring its first aging reprogramming medicine into human clinical trials in the following year and will add further therapeutic programs over the coming years.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
NewLimit is one of several venture-backed companies pursuing cellular reprogramming as a route to treating aging, a field that has attracted substantial investment; press coverage in June 2026 described it as a longevity startup drawing significant investor attention.
The company combines an in-house AI payload design system (Ambrosia) with pooled, barcoded transcription factor screening (RESTORE-seq) and single-cell readouts, allowing thousands of factor combinations to be tested simultaneously rather than a handful at a time, and applies partial rather than full reprogramming to restore youthful gene expression.
Technology
NewLimit's discovery engine combines machine learning with high-throughput functional genomics in an iterative design-test-learn loop. Its AI system, Ambrosia, designs candidate transcription factor payloads by learning from the company's reprogramming data corpus and building atop foundation models of protein and DNA sequences as well as scientific literature; the company describes a search space of roughly 10^16 plausible factor combinations. Candidate payloads are tested in parallel using RESTORE-seq, a molecular screening system in which cells or tissue are treated with a pool of DNA-barcoded transcription factors so that each cell receives a different combination by chance, encoding experimental logic in base pairs rather than physical space. Effects are then read out with single-cell genomics: millions of individual epigenetic profiles are sequenced and each cell's profile is computationally paired with the payload it received via DNA barcodes, allowing measurement of the effect of reprogramming on cell age, identity, and function. The most effective payloads are then tested for restoration of youthful function in old cells and preclinical models.
Go-to-market
Internal drug discovery and development leading to regulatory filings and company-run clinical trials, with a translation function overseeing preclinical development, regulatory filings, and advancement of reprogramming medicines into patients.
Patients with age-related diseases, beginning with indications that resemble accelerated aging; initial programs address liver, immune, and vascular health.
Geography
Headquartered in South San Francisco, California, at 901 Gateway Boulevard.
History
After its founding, NewLimit raised a $40M Series A in May 2023. In May 2025 it raised a $130M Series B led by Kleiner Perkins, and in October 2025 a $45M Series B extension. In June 2026 the company announced a $435M Series C led by Founders Fund, its third announced financing in a year, and said the round would support bringing its first reprogramming medicine into human trials. The accelerated timeline was attributed to the discovery of a prototype medicine that reverses cell age in old human liver cells.
Risks & controversies
The company's medicines remain preclinical, with the first human trial not yet initiated at the time of the June 2026 financing, and it states that the combination of transcription factors required to restore youth in each cell type is unknown, making payload discovery the core challenge of its work.
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.
Competitors · 1
by search overlap
Companies competing with NewLimit for the same Google search keywords, organic and paid, via search-intersection analysis.
Timeline · 4
launches, deals, and filingsNewLimit closed a $435M Series C led by Founders Fund with new investors Thrive Capital, Greenoaks and Quiet Capital and returning investors including Kleiner Perkins, Abstract, Nat Friedman/Daniel Gross, Valor Equity Partners, Eli Lilly Ventures and Human Capital. The CEO said the company was valued at about $3.1 billion.
$435M source ↗
NewLimit said the Series C would fund taking its first aging reprogramming medicine into human clinical trials the following year, driven by a prototype medicine that reverses cell age in old human liver cells.
NewLimit announced raising an additional $45 million, reported as a Series B extension.
$45M source ↗
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
Legal entities · 1
corporate structure▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- NewLimitnewlimit.com · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does NewLimit do?
- NewLimit develops epigenetic reprogramming medicines intended to restore youthful function in aged human cells.
- Who founded NewLimit?
- NewLimit was founded by Brian Armstrong, Blake Byers, Jacob Kimmel in 2021.
- Who are NewLimit's investors?
- NewLimit's investors include S32, Valor Equity Partners, 8VC, Abstract Ventures, age1, Beyond Capital, Draper Associates, Elad Gil and 5 more.
- How much funding has NewLimit raised?
- NewLimit has disclosed $202M raised across 2 of its 4 known rounds.
- Where is NewLimit headquartered?
- NewLimit is headquartered in South San Francisco, US.