Laura Deming | |
|---|---|
 Deming speaking at TechCrunch Disrupt SF 2018 | |
| Born | 1994 (age 30–31)[1] |
| Nationality | New Zealander |
| Alma mater | Massachusetts Institute of Technology (dropped out) |
| Awards | Thiel Fellowship Forbes 30 Under 30 |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Life extension |
| Institutions | The Longevity Fund |
| Academic advisors | Cynthia Kenyon |
Laura Deming (born 1994) is aventure capitalist whose work focuses onlife extension, and using biological research to reduce or reverse the effects ofaging.
Laura Deming is the daughter of John and Tabitha Deming;[2] she grew up inNew Zealand.[3] Deming and her brother, Trey, werehomeschooled; she says she taught herself "calculus and probability and statistics, and French literature and history". At age 8, Deming became interested in the biology of aging,[4] and at age 12 she joined the lab ofCynthia Kenyon at theUniversity of California, San Francisco.[3][5] Kenyon successfully increased the lifespan of the wormC. elegans by a factor of ten throughgenetic engineering.[citation needed][6] Deming was accepted toMIT at age 14 and studied physics,[5][7] but later dropped out to accept the $100,000Thiel Fellowship and start aventure capital firm.[8] Deming was one of only two women in the 2011 initial class of Thiel Fellows.[9]
Deming is the founder of and partner at The Longevity Fund, a venture capital firm focused on aging and life extension.[3][5] The firm raised $4 million in its first fund and $22 million for its second fund, in 2017.[7][10] The Longevity Fund investments includeUnity Biotechnology, which develops senolytic drugs targeting diseases of aging, Navitor Pharmaceuticals, and Metacrine.
In 2018, Deming launched the AGE1 accelerator, a four-month startup program aimed at supporting founders developing longevity-focused companies.[11] The program graduated its first cohort of six on October 10, 2018, including Fauna Bio, a startup using the biology of hibernation to aid in heart attack and stroke recovery.[12][13] In August 2018, Deming also began advising the newly launched Pioneer, a fund designed to find talent and "lost Einsteins" around the world, for projects in longevity.[14]
In 2023, Deming joined forces with Alex Colville to launchage1, a next-generation venture capital fund building on the success of The Longevity Fund.[15][16] With $55 million in funding,age1 is dedicated to advancing breakthroughs in longevity and aging science by supporting innovative early-stage companies.[17] Colville, the fund's co-founder, has been recognized for his leadership in driving innovation and advocating for regulatory reforms in aging-related drug development.[18]
Deming believes that science can be used to createbiological immortality in humans, and has said that ending aging "is a lot closer than you might think".[19] She has been featured in "30 Under 30" byForbes magazine,[20] and was one of the stars of "The Age of Ageing", a documentary byNational Geographic television channel.[5] She also spoke at the 2012Singularity Summit[21] and at the 2013TEDMED conference.[22]
