NewLimit: Using Epigenetic Reprogramming to Reverse Cellular Aging

NewLimit, a biotech company co-founded by Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, has raised $45 million in additional funding to advance its epigenetic reprogramming platform aimed at reversing cellular aging. The October 2025 raise follows a $130 million Series B round in May 2025 and brings the company's reported valuation to $1.6 billion.

The funding will support NewLimit's progression toward clinical trials, expected to begin within the next few years, as the company translates laboratory findings into potential therapies for age-related diseases.

Targeting Aging at the Cellular Level

Aging drives many major diseases, from cardiovascular conditions to metabolic disorders and immune dysfunction. Traditional medicine treats these conditions individually, but NewLimit is targeting cellular aging mechanisms themselves—specifically, changes in the epigenome that control which genes are active in each cell.

As the epigenome deteriorates over time, cells lose their ability to function properly, leading to age-related disease. Recent research suggests this process may be malleable and potentially reversible, though no therapies targeting aging itself have received FDA approval, as aging is not currently recognized as a disease indication by regulatory authorities.

Epigenetic Reprogramming Science

NewLimit's approach builds on Nobel Prize-winning research by Shinya Yamanaka, who discovered that four transcription factors (Oct4, Sox2, Klf4, and c-Myc) can reprogram adult cells back to embryonic-like states. Scientists have demonstrated this principle by creating cloned animals from adult cells, though complete reprogramming poses risks including tumor formation.

NewLimit takes a more targeted approach, aiming to restore youthful function without complete cellular reprogramming. The company uses single-cell genomics, machine learning, and high-throughput screening in an iterative "lab in a loop" process, where computational models predict promising therapeutic candidates, experiments validate predictions, and resulting data retrains the AI for improved accuracy.

The company has identified prototype medicines for three therapeutic areas:

Liver Reprogramming

Three transcription factor combinations that restore aged liver cells' ability to process fat and alcohol, showing effectiveness in animal models of liver disease

Immune System Rejuvenation

Three factor combinations that restore youthful function to aged T cells in laboratory studies

Vascular Program

A new initiative targeting endothelial cells that line blood vessels

These results are based on preclinical research in cell cultures and animal models. The company has not disclosed which specific disease indications it will pursue in clinical trials.

Leadership Team

NewLimit was founded by a team combining expertise in technology, venture capital, and biology:

• Brian Armstrong brings entrepreneurial vision and capital-raising experience as co-founder and CEO of Coinbase
• Blake Byers, former partner at GV (Google Ventures) and co-founder of NewLimit, advocates for scientific research showing aging's malleability
• Jacob Kimmel, President and co-founder, is a computational biologist with stem cell research expertise who leads scientific strategy
• Cathy O'Hare, Head of operations, coordinates the company's expanding research programs

The company has assembled a Scientific Advisory Board with expertise in nephrology and aging biology.

Funding & Industry Support

NewLimit's recent $45 million round attracted notable investors including pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly and Company, Duke Management Co., and Section 32, alongside existing investors Kleiner Perkins, Dimension, Abstract, Human Capital, and Boost.

The company's May 2025 Series B round of $130 million was led by Kleiner Perkins, with participation from Nat Friedman, Daniel Gross, Khosla Ventures, Founders Fund, Dimension Capital, Elad Gil, Garry Tan, and Patrick Collison. NewLimit previously raised $40 million in Series A funding.

Eli Lilly's participation signals growing pharmaceutical industry interest in longevity medicine and validates NewLimit's scientific approach.

Market Position & Challenges

NewLimit aims to create medicines that target cellular aging mechanisms, potentially addressing multiple age-related conditions simultaneously rather than treating diseases individually. The company's stated 20-year goal is to significantly extend human healthspan—the years people live in good health.

However, the longevity medicine field faces significant scientific and regulatory challenges, including demonstrating safety in long-term studies and gaining approval for interventions in healthy individuals. While laboratory research suggests cellular aging can be modified, translating these findings to safe, effective human therapies remains unproven.

Next Steps

With clinical trials planned within the next few years, NewLimit will test whether cellular rejuvenation observed in laboratory models translates to human patients. The participation of pharmaceutical partners like Eli Lilly suggests growing industry interest in longevity-focused drug development, though substantial scientific and regulatory hurdles remain before any such therapies reach patients.

The company's combination of significant capital, AI-driven drug discovery platform, and preclinical validation positions it at the forefront of efforts to develop age-reversal medicines, though the field awaits human proof-of-concept studies to validate the approach.