Arizona Tribune - The Colossal Foundation Doubles Funding to $100 Million to Prevent Mass Extinctions

DALLAS, TX / ACCESS Newswire / December 17, 2025 / The Colossal Foundation, the 501(c)(3) nonprofit arm of Colossal Biosciences, today announced it has secured an additional $50 million in funding, bringing its total capital to $100 million since launching just over a year ago.The Foundation also released its inaugural Impact Report detailing the progress and measurable conservation outcomes from this past year. Established to deploy Colossal's breakthrough de-extinction technologies to the front lines of the biodiversity crisis, the Foundation scales and accelerates partner-led efforts to protect wildlife, restore ecosystems, and build a resilient genetic safety net for species worldwide.

In its inaugural year, the Foundation launched dozens of projects spanning six continents, supporting more than 40 species while collaborating with over 55 conservation, Indigenous, and academic organizations. The new funding will expand global conservation programs focused on critically endangered species, genetic rescue, wildlife monitoring, and species reintroduction efforts.

"In just 12 months, we've doubled the Colossal Foundation's funding, allowing us to massively expand our partners and projects-and deliver immediate impact for conservation," said Ben Lamm, Colossal CEO and co-founder. "As our technology advances, our role is clear: move these tools into the hands of those on the front lines of biodiversity loss, and scale conservation innovation fast enough to matter."

With global wildlife populations declining nearly 70% and extinction rates exceeding natural levels by more than 100-fold, the Foundation's expansion addresses a biodiversity funding gap exceeding $700 billion annually.

"Traditional conservation remains essential but is no longer sufficient on its own. We are at a critical moment that demands seeing de-extinction and breakthrough biotechnologies not as fringe concepts, but as frontline strategies in the fight for biodiversity," said Matt James, Executive Director of the Colossal Foundation.

Major First-Year Achievements

The Foundation's 2025 Impact Report highlights breakthrough advances including cloning the world's first red "ghost" wolves to restore genetic diversity to America's most endangered canid; accelerating the world's first mRNA vaccine for elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus (EEHV); two elephants at the Cincinnati Zoo were vaccinated and later exposed to EEHV, recovering without signs of illness; deploying AI-powered acoustic monitoring across Yellowstone to decode wolf communication; launching the Species Reintroduction Fund in partnership with Re:wild, supporting six flagship species across six countries; and committing $3 million to engineer chytrid-resistant amphibians in response to the deadliest wildlife pandemic in vertebrate history.

"This is the most detailed acoustic study of wild wolves ever conducted, and it's only the beginning," said Dan Stahler of the Yellowstone Wolf Project.

"I have witnessed elephants battle EEHV and have even lost a juvenile elephant that was under my care," said Matt James. "To be able to get a vaccine into the world that can stop this senseless loss means everything to me. This is why I joined Colossal."

Building on its secured $100 million, the Colossal Foundation will continue raising additional reserves to launch new projects and scale impact across more species over the next decade.

VIEW THE IMPACT REPORT HERE

About The Colossal Foundation

The Colossal Foundation is a 501(c)(3) dedicated to supporting the use of cutting-edge technologies in conservation efforts globally to help prevent extinction of keystone species. The organization deploys de-extinction technologies and support to empower partners in the field to reverse the extinction crisis. For more information, visit www.ColossalFoundation.org.

About Colossal Biosciences

Colossal was founded by emerging technology and software entrepreneur Ben Lamm and world-renowned geneticist George Church, Ph.D., and is the first to apply CRISPR technology for the purposes of species de-extinction. Colossal creates innovative technologies for species restoration, critically endangered species protection, and the repopulation of critical ecosystems that support the continuation of life on Earth. Colossal is accepting humanity's duty to restore Earth to a healthier state, while also solving for the future economies and biological necessities of the human condition through cutting-edge science and technologies. For more information, visit www.colossal.com.

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SOURCE: Colossal Foundation

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N.Mitchell--AT