SA国际传媒

raised a $150 million Series B to further its de-extinction platform that could bring back the Dodo bird and the woolly mammoth.

The investment gives the startup a valuation of more than $1 billion, per .

The new round was led by , and included participation from , , , , , , , and others.

The Dallas-based startup, which launched in 2021, plans to use the new cash infusion to continue to advance its genetic engineering and software and hardware solutions for applications involved with de-extinction, conservation and human health care.

鈥淭丑别 found that in the last 50 years, Earth鈥檚 wildlife populations have plunged by an average of 69% at the hands of mankind,鈥� said co-founder and CEO in a . 鈥淏y gathering the smartest minds across investing, genomics, conservation and synthetic biology, we have the opportunity to reverse human-inflicted biodiversity loss while developing technologies for both conservation and human healthcare.鈥�

Bringing back the DoDo

With this new round, Colossal has launched its Avian Genomics Group, which will pursue the

There are now more than 400 bird species that are categorized as either extinct, extinct in the wild, or critically endangered, per the . Colossal is looking to reverse these numbers through its genetic rescue tech and its de-extinction toolkit.

The company has said in the past it would focus on the 鈥渞estoration and rewilding of functional woolly mammoths to the tundra鈥� and bring back the Tasmanian tiger.

Colossal said bringing back mammoths would allow for a better understanding of evolutionary change in other species, and that genetic engineering applications also will help enhance food production and reduce environmental impact.

Last March, Colossal Bioscience raised a $60 million Series A led by and . Per the company, it has now raised a total of $225 million.

Colossal鈥檚 first technology spinout, , also raised a $30 million Series A in September.

Illustration: Dom Guzman