December 01, 2025

Inside NewLimit: A $1.6B Biotech Startup Solving Aging

38 minutes

In today’s episode, we sit down with Jacob, co-founder & CEO of NewLimit, a company that has raised $247M to push the frontier of aging science from epigenetic reprogramming to AI-driven drug discovery.
We dive deep into how NewLimit plans to restore youthful function in human cells, what’s actually possible with aging reversal, how AI accelerates drug discovery, why GLP-1s changed the game, and whether there’s a real chance that none of this works.
If you're curious about biology, longevity, AI in drug discovery, or what it takes to build a $1.5B+ biotech startup from scratch this episode is a must-watch.

Timestamps
00:00 – 00:58
How epigenetic reprogramming works & why aging might be reversible
00:58 – 01:03
How big AI models changed biotech
01:03 – 02:21
NewLimit’s origin story — Jacob, Brian Armstrong & Blake Byers
02:22 – 05:20
Early breakthroughs, skeptical experiments & why results surprised them
05:20 – 08:25
Choosing the first targets: liver, immunity & where aging hits hardest
08:25 – 11:35
AI in drug discovery — protein language models, predicting experiments, and cutting years of R&D
11:35 – 14:10
What medicines could actually make us “feel” younger?
14:10 – 16:15
Diseases of aging vs. problems that hit everyone after 25
16:15 – 19:10
How biotech actually works — discovery → development → commercialization
19:10 – 21:00
Why Eli Lilly invested & how a drug goes to market
21:00 – 23:30
How close NewLimit is to human trials
23:30 – 25:50
What needs to happen before a drug ever touches a human
25:50 – 27:45
Phase 1, 2, 3 trials explained simply
27:45 – 29:20
Building the team: from 5 scientists to a world-class 40-person biotech
29:20 – 31:20
Why staying small is a superpower in biotech
31:20 – 33:10
Fundraising: why aging reversal needs $200M+ instead of $5M
33:10 – 35:10
Is there a chance they discover nothing? Startup-like risk in drug discovery
35:10 – 38:02
What Jacob is most excited about: GLP-1s, diagnostics, AI & the future of health
38:02 – 38:30
How to get in touch + final thoughts