TIME100 Most Influential Companies 2025: Colossal Biosciences
Extinction ain't what it used to be. Around one-third of all existing species could vanish due to global warming by 2050 according to the Center for Biological Diversity, but a handful of those already gone—and others on the brink of extinction—are getting a second chance, thanks to Dallas-based Colossal Biosciences. The company announced in March it had genetically engineered mice with the shaggy, golden-brown coat of the woolly mammoth—an initial step in Colossal's stated goal of bringing back the mammoth itself by 2028. In April, Colossal went further with its introduction of three genetically engineered dire wolves, the first representatives of that species to walk the planet in over 10,000 years. Just as important, the company is using similar technology to help protect the red wolf, the Asian elephant, and other species currently clinging to life. 'As I've gotten into the conservation community and…the biotech community, it became abundantly clear that we need new tools and technologies for conservation,' Colossal co-founder and CEO Ben Lamm says.
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