Sam Altman has placed a few very large bets. There’s OpenAI, of course, and Helion Energy for fusion; World (fka Worldcoin) for finance and identity; and then Retro Bio for longevity.

In late 2023, I did a deep dive on Retro’s technology and Altman’s $180 million investment in the company. [Update: Would like to make it clear that MIT Technology Review reporter Antonio Regalado broke the story on Retro’s existence and Altman’s backing. This post previously had some self-congratulatory language that made it sound like I got there first. My apologies to Antonio, who does brilliant work.] Along the way, I got to know the Retro co-founder and CEO Joe Betts-LaCroix and have spent a lot of time following Retro’s work since. Betts-LaCroix has an unusual background and an original philosophy on life. In this episode, we explore both along with the heart of Retro’s science.

This is the first episode of the Core Memory podcast, and we’re beyond amazed to reveal that James Mercer and Jon Sortland of The Shins worked up the music for the show. We go hard.

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