Sergey Jakimov, Founding Partner at LongeVC, is a seasoned entrepreneur and venture capitalist specializing in biotech and longevity investments. In this engaging discussion, he emphasizes the importance of practical, science-backed approaches to longevity over hype. Sergey explains why aging isn’t classified as a disease, dives into AI's revolutionary impact on drug discovery, and highlights the burgeoning market of pet longevity. He also shares insights on how LongeVC evolved from a modest fund to raising $250M with an impressive record.
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question_answer ANECDOTE
Sergey's Entrepreneurial Journey
Sergey Jakimov shared his journey from aspiring neurosurgeon to medtech entrepreneur and eventually biotech investor.
He co-founded companies in engineering, medical devices, and healthcare data to improve clinical trial recruitment and longevity solutions.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Deep Dive Before Founding
You don't need a degree in a field to found a deep tech company, but a thorough six-month industry deep dive is essential.
Surround yourself with experts to compensate for gaps in technical knowledge and become the 'dumbest person in the room' productively.
insights INSIGHT
Challenges for Deep Tech Startups
Deep tech startups face a chicken-and-egg problem where validation is needed for strategic partnerships but partnerships are needed to gain validation.
Big organizations often resist innovation due to entrenched procedures, complicating sales of novel biotech solutions.
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Synopsis:
Longevity isn’t just about living longer—it’s about living better. In this insightful episode of Biotech 2050, host Alok Tayi sits down with Sergey Jakimov, Founding Partner at LongeVC, to unpack what it really takes to invest in the future of healthspan.
Blending his experience as a medtech entrepreneur, rare disease patient, and venture capitalist, Sergey shares why LongeVC focuses on practical, science-backed longevity solutions rather than hype-driven moonshots. He explains why aging isn’t a disease, how diagnostics differ from therapeutics in venture ROI, and what makes AI drug discovery a pivotal unlock in modern biotech.
The conversation also explores the rise of pet longevity, the role of lifestyle in aging, and how LongeVC grew from a €20M experiment to a high-performing fund now raising $250M for Fund Two—all with zero write-offs.
For founders, funders, and anyone curious about the intersection of biotech, aging, and real-world outcomes, this episode offers an honest, no-fluff look at building the future of longevity—one evidence-based investment at a time.
Biography:
Sergey Jakimov is a founding partner of LongeVC, a venture capital fund supporting early-stage biotech and longevity-focused founders that are changing the world. He is a serial entrepreneur, having co-founded 3 deep-tech ventures and raised more than $40 million in venture funding for his own ventures and as an entrepreneur in residence. He has worked with several other early-stage companies in the therapeutics space on fundraising, IP protection, and clinical trial strategies, focusing on early treatments in cardiovascular, oncology, and neurodegenerative spaces. He is also a visiting lecturer to several universities on venture capital and intellectual property rights, and he co-authored a master's program in Technology Law for the Riga Graduate School of Law.
Since 2018, he has co-founded medical tech startup Longenesis, a cutting-edge company that unlocks the hidden value of biomedical data and accelerates novel drug treatment & discovery. In 2020 he co-founded LongeVC, and in 2021, he co-founded the Longevity Science Foundation - a non-profit organization advancing the field of human longevity by funding research and development of medical technologies to extend the healthy human lifespan.
He holds a BSc in International Affairs from Rīga Stradiņš University and two MScs in Political Science and Government and Law and Finance from Central European University and Riga Graduate School of Law, respectively. He was named Forbes Latvia 30 Under 30 in technology and healthcare in 2020.
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