Jeff Bezos Funding Silicon Valley Tech Firm To Make Him Immortal?

Altos Labs, a biological reprogramming tech firm, reportedly has huge names coming to its aid like Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and Russian-Israeli billionaire Yuri Milner, as per MIT Technology Review. The company is roping in top scientists from across the globe with salaries as high as $1 million and promises they can pursue their own research on anti-aging and how to reverse the process of cell aging.

Researchers Include A Nobel Prize Winner

The folks joining the research will definitely grab everyone's attention. Juan Carlos Izpisúa Belmonte, a biologist at the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California is among the many scientists that will work closely with Altos Labs. Besides, Nobel Prize winner scientist Shinya Yamanaka will also be a part of the Altos scientific advisory board. He won the Nobel Prize for his research into aging reversal in cells.

To rejuvenate cells a method known as biological reprogramming is used that could open the doors to immortality. While many startups are working on biological reprogramming, none of them have managed to secure the funding that Altos Labs did.

Bezos’ Love For Longevity Research

Bezos is currently 57 years old and is also the world's richest man with a net worth of about $201 billion, as per Bloomberg's Billionaires Index. He is said to have been long-interested in longevity research. The billionaire previously invested in an anti-aging company called Unity Biotechnology. While MIT Technology Research couldn't confirm Bezos' stake in Altos, what's certain is that he's aware of his age.

This ideology is reflected through his last letter to Amazon shareholders as well, where he quoted biologist Richard Dawkins: "Staving off death is a thing that you have to work at...If living things don't actively work to prevent it, they would eventually merge with their surroundings and cease to exist as autonomous beings. That is what happens when they die."

What Bezos indicated here is that countries, firms, and humans have to battle it out to stay distinct and unique. Turning back the clock to your younger days could be one of achieving it.

Can Money Buy You Time?

Well, it's no surprise that billionaires are first in line to put their bets on something that will make them live as long as possible. However, it's still unclear how exactly Altos Labs is trying to achieve it and how will they get there.

Moreover, MIT Technology Review reports that there won't be any deadlines for the researchers. Instead, the firm is aiming to create "great science." So currently, Altos Labs is still a mystery, and the only reason it's getting huge funding is a simple fact that no one wants to die. But how to achieve immortality is the question. Perhaps the more haunting question would be who gets access to this tech once the scientists crack the code?