What happened
TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 will host a fireside chat titled 'Can We Engineer Nature's Comeback?' with Colossal Biosciences CEO Ben Lamm on its Real World AI Stage in San Francisco.
TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 returns to Moscone West, San Francisco, October 13-15 with 10,000+ attendees and 250+ sessions.
On the Real World AI Stage, Colossal Biosciences CEO Ben Lamm will headline 'Can We Engineer Nature's Comeback?' to show how AI is accelerating genome editing for de-extinction.
Colossal, founded in 2021 by Lamm and Harvard's George Church, now runs a 55,000 sq ft Dallas lab, has raised $600M+ and is valued above $10B after reviving dire wolves from 13,000-year-old DNA.
The woolly mammoth has slipped from 2028 to early 2030s due to heavier editing load, while Lamm's AI spin-out Astromech hit a $2B valuation in August 2026, fueling debate over whether de-extinction aids conservation.
Timeline: From Lab to Comeback
How Colossal moved from founding to dire wolf revival and the Disrupt stage.
- 2021 — Ben Lamm and George Church found Colossal Biosciences in Dallas.
- Late 2024 — Three dire wolf pups brought to life from 13,000-year-old DNA.
- May 19, 2026 — Artificial egg hatches 26 healthy chickens, step toward dodo revival.
- Aug 2026 — Mammoth timeline slipped to early 2030s; Astromech hits $2B valuation.
- Oct 13-15, 2026 — Lamm headlines Real World AI Stage at Disrupt, Moscone West.
What Is Confirmed
Disrupt session is officially announced for Oct 13-15; Colossal's scale, dire wolf pups, artificial egg hatch, and Astromech funding are corroborated by TIME, Colossal and CB Insights.
What Is Unclear
Exact mammoth birth date remains vague (early 2030s, not 2030 nor 2036) and whether de-extinction delivers net conservation benefit is still debated by scientists.
Why it matters for me
For founders and investors, it shows AI plus synthetic biology moving from demo to $10B-scale venture, with spin-out Astromech now valued at $2B for predicting where living systems break.
Money
Tech Investors · Ai Founders
Investors get a $10B+ case study in AI + bio convergence, with a $2B Astromech spin-out showing how genomic data can be productized as predictive AI.
Daily Life
Climate And Biodiversity Enthusiasts
If de-extinction works, it could reframe conservation from protection alone to active restoration, but critics warn it may divert funds from saving existing ecosystems.
Work
Ai Founders
Founders see a repeatable playbook: serial entrepreneur leverages AI infrastructure from one moonshot (Colossal) to launch a second venture (Astromech) in under a year.
What to remember
AI is no longer just writing code — it is rewriting genomes to bring species back.
Ben Lamm brings de-extinction to Disrupt 2026: dire wolf done, mammoth in early 2030s, and a $2B AI spin-out predicting biology's next break.
Verified sources (4)
Hear how AI can engineer nature's comeback at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026
↗Inside Colossal Biosciences' Dallas HQ: The Science Behind the Woolly Mammoth Revival
↗The Woolly Mammoth's Comeback Is Taking Longer Than Expected
↗Colossal co-founder Ben Lamm raises $20M at $2B for AI that predicts how biology breaks (Astromech)
↗Claims and linked sources
8 claimsTechCrunch Disrupt 2026 is hosting a 'Can We Engineer Nature's Comeback?' fireside chat on the Real World AI Stage featuring Ben Lamm as part of its October 13-15, 2026 event at Moscone West, San Francisco.
Ben Lamm previously founded Hypergiant, Conversable, and Chaotic Moon, acquired by Trive Capital, LivePerson, and Accenture respectively, before co-founding Colossal Biosciences in 2021 with Harvard geneticist George Church.
Colossal Biosciences has raised over $600 million, carries a valuation exceeding $10 billion, and operates from a 55,000-square-foot Dallas facility.
Colossal revised its woolly-mammoth birth estimate from 2028 to early 2030s in August 2026 after discovering the genome requires substantially more than the initial 60 gene edits.
Colossal Biosciences de-extincted the dire wolf in spring 2025, bringing three pups to life in late 2024 using DNA from 13,000-year-old fossils.
On May 19, 2026, Colossal announced its silicone-membrane artificial egg system hatched 26 healthy chickens, a step toward reviving extinct birds like the dodo.
Ben Lamm co-founded Astromech in September 2025, an AI startup trained on Colossal genomic data to predict how living systems break; it raised $20M at a $2B valuation in August 2026 led by Bob Nelsen of ARCH Venture Partners, doubling from $1B in March 2026.
De-extinction faces ongoing scientific debate over whether engineering extinct species is a conservation breakthrough or a distraction from protecting existing ecosystems.