Sam Altman invests ₹1,700 cr in startup aiming to slow ageing

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has invested nearly $180 million in Retro Biosciences, a startup aiming to slow ageing and fight diseases like Alzheimer's and cancer. Retro is collaborating with OpenAI on an AI model called GPT-4b micro. The firm is trying to reset ageing cells into a younger biological state without fully converting them into stem cells. This tech will help design proteins faster and find solutions scientists might miss on their own. The firm says it is making real progress.

So instead of treating diseases such as Alzheimer's, heart disease and cancer separately, researchers hope to slow or even reverse some of the underlying biological processes that cause ageing itself.

According to Business Insider, Altman personally funded the company's early development with around $180 million before backing a much larger funding round that pushed the company's valuation into the billions.

At the centre of Retro's research is a field known as partial cellular reprogramming. Scientists believe it may one day be possible to "reset" ageing cells back to a younger biological state without completely transforming them into stem cells.

So how is it different?

What makes Retro different from many previous longevity projects is its close connection to artificial intelligence.

OpenAI recently revealed it developed a specialized AI model called GPT-4b micro to support Retro's scientific work. The model was trained to help researchers redesign proteins involved in cellular reprogramming.