Real-Time BNB Signal Analytics
Real-Time BNB Signal Analytics
Colossal Biosciences, the company chasing woolly mammoths and dodos, just bought Viagen, a firm specializing in animal cloning. It's their first acquisition, and the stated aim is to bolster endangered species preservation. Viagen is known for cloning pets (dogs, cats, and horses, mostly), but they've also cloned endangered species like the black-footed ferret. Colossal sees this as a "win-win," a way to combine technologies and accelerate de-extinction efforts. Dallas de-extinction firm Colossal buying animal cloning company in first acquisition
But let's dissect this deal. Viagen charges $50,000 to clone a dog or cat. Horses are $85,000. They've cloned "several thousand" animals since 2002, according to one article. That's a revenue stream, sure, but is it enough to significantly impact Colossal's ambitious (and expensive) de-extinction projects? Lamm claims Viagen is profitable. I'd love to see those financials. What are the actual profit margins here? Are we talking a few hundred thousand a year, or something more substantial? Details remain scarce on the exact figures.
Colossal's CEO, Ben Lamm, claims Viagen has cloning "efficiencies" that surpass their own. More specifically, it's claimed that Viagen achieves cloning success rates around 80%, far exceeding published averages of 2%. That's a massive discrepancy. But how is "success" being defined here? Is it just the initial cloning, or does it include the long-term health and viability of the cloned animal? Because an 80% initial success rate that plummets to 5% after a year isn't exactly a game-changer.
And this is the part of the report that I find genuinely puzzling. Colossal is built on cutting-edge genetics. Viagen's core tech is somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), a cloning method that's been around for decades. It's not exactly new science. So, why acquire a company for its cloning "efficiency" when Colossal's supposed strength lies in manipulating the genes themselves? It feels a bit like buying a horse and buggy factory when you're trying to build a rocket ship.
Lamm says the acquisition will allow Colossal to reinvest Viagen's profits into conservation. That's a noble sentiment, but let's be realistic. The primary business of Viagen is cloning pets for wealthy clients. If they're cloning "several thousand" animals, and most are dogs, cats, and horses at $50-85k a pop, the endangered species work is likely a small fraction of their overall operation. I suspect the endangered species cloning serves more as a PR boost than a genuine driver of revenue or scientific advancement.
The ethical questions also loom large. The ASPCA, for instance, calls for a moratorium on cloned pets. Critics argue that cloning diverts resources from pet adoption and can interfere with the grieving process. These are valid concerns, and Colossal needs to address them head-on.
Colossal is valued at $10 billion, and Lamm has stated they are not focusing on monetization. That's a pretty big statement for a startup. How long can they sustain that without real revenue streams? Will the pet cloning business be enough to keep the lights on while they chase mammoths? It's hard to say, but I suspect that eventually, the pressure to monetize will intensify.
This acquisition feels less like a strategic masterstroke and more like an expensive sideshow. Colossal is buying a profitable but ultimately tangential business to prop up its core (and highly speculative) de-extinction projects. The numbers don't quite add up.