The richest person in the world is also afraid of getting old? Jeff Bezos continuously invests in anti-aging biotech companies

A new startup looking to reverse the aging process has received funding from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, according to a new report from MIT Tech Review.

Called Altos Labs, this is a research-based company founded earlier this year that is recruiting scientists with an annual salary of up to $ 1 million.

Quoting from the company’s “brief,” the Altos Labs report said that the world’s richest man, Jeff Bezos, is among its investors.

Bezos’ investment office, Bezos Expeditions, did not respond to related requests for comment.

Former Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is often praised for looking younger than his actual age.

Jeff Bezos stepped down as CEO of Amazon in July. In a letter to employees published in February this year, he said he would dedicate his time to philanthropic projects and pursuing personal passions, including space exploration company Blue Origin.

And I don’t know if forever young is Bezos’ passion, but Altos Labs is not the first company in this field to be eyeed by Bezos. In 2018, he invested in Unity Technologies, a biotech company whose goal is to create anti-aging therapies.

For now, Altos Labs is mainly focusing on a technology called reprogramming, which works by adding proteins to cells. Essentially, this technology allows to guide cells back to a stem cell-like state. If successful, it will allow to delay aging and prolong human life.

The company has the backing of Japanese scientist Shinya Yamanaka, who won the 2012 Nobel Prize for demonstrating the technology on mice. He will join Altos Labs as chair of the scientific advisory board.

“Although there are still many obstacles to overcome, the potential is huge, ” the young scientist said in an email.

According to other reports, Spanish biologist Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte has also joined the company. He is best known for leading a team to transplant human cells into monkey embryos and once predicted that human life expectancy could be extended by 50 years.

The company was founded after a two-day conference on anti-aging biotechnology at the Palo Alto mansion of Russian investor and tech mogul Yuri Milner, according to MIT Tech Review.

Refer to BI