Laura Deming
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}}{{short description|Venture capitalist}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name = Laura Deming
| image = Laura Deming.jpg
| caption = Deming speaking at TechCrunch Disrupt SF 2018
| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1994}}{{cite news |last1=Leuty |first1=Ron |title=New age of aging attracts new generation of entrepreneurs |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/memphis/bizwomen/news/profiles-strategies/2019/06/new-age-of-aging-attracts-new-generation-of.html |access-date=September 23, 2021 |work=Memphis Business Journal |date=June 10, 2019}}
| nationality = New Zealander
| fields = Life extension
| workplaces = The Longevity Fund
| alma_mater = Massachusetts Institute of Technology (dropped out)
| doctoral_advisor =
| academic_advisors = Cynthia Kenyon
| doctoral_students =
| notable_students =
| known_for =
| awards = Thiel Fellowship
Forbes 30 Under 30
| footnotes =
}}
Laura Deming (born 1994) is a venture capitalist whose work focuses on life extension, and using biological research to reduce or reverse the effects of aging.
Education
Laura Deming is the daughter of John and Tabitha Deming;{{cite news|last1=Kelly|first1=Caitlin|title=Forgoing College to Pursue Dreams|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/16/business/the-thiel-fellows-forgoing-college-to-pursue-dreams.html|access-date=24 December 2015|work=The New York Times|date=September 15, 2012}} she grew up in New Zealand.{{cite news|last1=Jacobs|first1=Vance|title=Portraits of Silicon Valley|url=https://www.storehouse.co/stories/c8xm-laura-deming|access-date=24 December 2015|publisher=Storehouse|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151224191538/https://www.storehouse.co/stories/c8xm-laura-deming|archive-date=24 December 2015}} Deming and her brother, Trey, were homeschooled; 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,{{cite news|last1=Hedgecock|first1=Sarah|title=Why Longevity Isn't Just A Numbers Game|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/sarahhedgecock/2015/06/10/why-longevity-isnt-just-a-numbers-game/|access-date=24 December 2015|work=Forbes|date=June 10, 2015}} and at age 12 she joined the lab of Cynthia Kenyon at the University of California, San Francisco.{{cite news|last1=Mulkerrins|first1=Jane|date=22 November 2015|title=Could this pill be the key to eternal youth?|publisher=The Telegraph|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/health-fitness/body/could-this-pill-be-the-key-to-eternal-youth/|access-date=24 December 2015}} Kenyon successfully increased the lifespan of the worm C. elegans by a factor of ten through genetic engineering.{{Citation needed|reason=Citation is broken link|date=October 2018}}{{cite news|last1=DePuy|first1=Larry|title=Electric cars? Triple lifespans? Warp drive? Sign me up!|url=http://www.times-standard.com/article/NJ/20150213/LOCAL1/150219943|access-date=24 December 2015|issue=February 13, 2015|publisher=Times Standard}} Deming was accepted to MIT at age 14 and studied physics,{{Cite news|last=Loizos|first=Connie|date=2017-08-22|title=This 23-year-old just closed her second fund — which is focused on aging — with $22 million|language=en-US|work=TechCrunch|url=https://techcrunch.com/2017/08/22/this-23-year-old-just-closed-her-second-fund-which-is-focused-on-aging-with-22-million/|access-date=2018-10-12}} but later dropped out to accept the $100,000 Thiel Fellowship and start a venture capital firm.{{cite news|last1=Leber|first1=Jessica|title=Too Young to Fail|url=http://www.technologyreview.com/news/426789/too-young-to-fail/|access-date=24 December 2015|publisher=MIT Technology Review|date=February 3, 2012}} Deming was one of only two women in the 2011 initial class of Thiel Fellows.{{cite news|last1=Henderson|first1=J. Maureen|title=Meet The Teen Who Got Paid $100 000 To Drop Out Of School|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/jmaureenhenderson/2011/06/20/meet-the-teen-who-got-paid-100-000-to-drop-out-of-school/|access-date=24 December 2015|work=Forbes|date=June 20, 2011}}
Career
Deming is the founder of and partner at The Longevity Fund, a venture capital firm focused on aging and life extension. The firm raised $4 million in its first fund and $22 million for its second fund, in 2017.{{Cite news |last=Mack |first=Heather |date=2017-08-22 |title=Longevity Fund Raises $22 Million to Support Anti-Aging Therapies |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/longevity-fund-raises-22-million-to-support-anti-aging-therapies-1503401400 |access-date=2025-01-23 |work=Wall Street Journal |language=en-US |issn=0099-9660}} The Longevity Fund investments include Unity 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.{{Cite news |title=One of the youngest fund managers in the U.S. just launched her own accelerator, too |url=https://techcrunch.com/2018/03/21/one-of-the-youngest-fund-managers-in-the-u-s-just-launched-her-own-accelerator-too/ |access-date=2018-10-12 |work=TechCrunch |language=en-US}} 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.{{Cite news |title=A VC who dropped out of MIT at age 14 has invested in biotech companies that are now worth billions. Here's how's she's picking her next investments to help us live longer. |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/longevity-fund-laura-deming-on-investing-in-aging-2018-10 |access-date=2018-10-12 |work=Business Insider}}{{Cite news |title=A new startup backed by an anti-aging wunderkind is taking cues from animal hibernation to help humans recover from heart attacks and strokes |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/fauna-bio-researching-hibernating-animals-2018-10 |access-date=2018-10-12 |work=Business Insider}} 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.{{Cite news |last1=Lohr |first1=Steve |date=9 August 2018 |title=Wanted: 'Lost Einsteins.' Please Apply. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/09/technology/talent-opportunity-gap-pioneer-fund.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230620070028/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/09/technology/talent-opportunity-gap-pioneer-fund.html |archive-date=June 20, 2023 |access-date=2018-10-12 |work=The New York Times |language=en}}
In 2023, Deming joined forces with Alex Colville to launch age1, a next-generation venture capital fund building on the success of The Longevity Fund.{{Cite news |last=Gormley |first=Brian |date=2023-09-19 |title=WSJ News Exclusive {{!}} New Venture Firm Age1 Raises $35 Million Toward Early-Stage Longevity Fund |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/new-venture-firm-age1-raises-35-million-toward-early-stage-longevity-fund-7e8e4aca |access-date=2025-01-23 |work=Wall Street Journal |language=en-US |issn=0099-9660}}{{Cite web |title=age1 |url=https://age1.com/team |access-date=2025-01-23 |website=www.age1.com |language=en}} With $55 million in funding, age1 is dedicated to advancing breakthroughs in longevity and aging science by supporting innovative early-stage companies.{{Cite web |title=SEC FORM D/A |url=https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1939171/000193917124000001/xslFormDX01/primary_doc.xml |access-date=2025-01-23 |website=www.sec.gov}} 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.{{Cite web |last=Janin |first=Alex |title=Make America Ageless: Trump’s Health Picks Take Longevity Movement Mainstream |url=https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/anti-aging-longevity-maha-movement-5ee62310 |access-date=2025-01-23 |website=WSJ |language=en-US}}
Deming believes that science can be used to create biological immortality in humans, and has said that ending aging "is a lot closer than you might think".{{cite news|last1=Segran|first1=Elizabeth|title=The Eternal Problem Silicon Valley Can't Solve|url=http://www.fastcompany.com/3034569/healthware/the-eternal-problem-silicon-valley-cant-solve|access-date=24 December 2015|publisher=Fast Company|date=August 25, 2014}} She has been featured in "30 Under 30" by Forbes magazine,{{cite web|title=30 Under 30|url=https://www.forbes.com/pictures/mkg45jfej/laura-deming-18-2/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121231031015/http://www.forbes.com/pictures/mkg45jfej/laura-deming-18-2/|url-status=dead|archive-date=31 December 2012|website=Forbes|access-date=24 December 2015}} and was one of the stars of "The Age of Ageing", a documentary by National Geographic television channel. She also spoke at the 2012 Singularity Summit{{cite news|last1=Popper|first1=Ben|title=Rapture of the nerds: will the Singularity turn us into gods or end the human race?|url=https://www.theverge.com/2012/10/22/3535518/singularity-rapture-of-the-nerds-gods-end-human-race|access-date=24 December 2015|publisher=The Verge|date=October 22, 2012}} and at the 2013 TEDMED conference.{{cite web |url=http://www.tedmed.com/speakers/show?id=46921 |title=How can science and business team up for the long (health) haul? | publisher=TEDMED |access-date=January 27, 2016 }}
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://longevity.vc/ The Longevity Fund]
- [https://www.ldeming.com/longevityfaq Longevity FAQ]
{{Life extension}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Deming, Laura}}
Category:New Zealand businesspeople
Category:American venture capitalists