Founding partner of LongeVC
LongeVC is a venture capital company supporting early-stage biotech and longevity-focused founders that are changing the world.
Garri Zmudze is a founding partner of LongeVC and Director of the Board at Longevity Science Foundation; a seasoned business angel. Zmudze has an extensive track record in tech business and he was an early investor in several longevity companies. Prior to founding LongeVC, Zmudze co-founded Longenesis – a medical technology startup working towards providing a technological bridge between healthcare institutions and the biotech industry, with the aim to help identify and unlock the hidden value of biomedical data to accelerate the novel drug and treatment discovery and provide better outcomes for patients.
Typical investment size and stage?
LongeVC’s ticket size typically ranges from $500k to $1.5 million, and we focus on Seed and Series A investment rounds. (Keep an eye on LongeVC’s website and social media for exciting news on what’s next for us1)
Longevity companies invested in?
As an angel investor, I participated in the early stage for Insilico Medicine, one of the leading companies in generative AI applications for drug discovery. This opportunity led to my other investments in the sector, including Basepaws, which Zoetis acquired in 2022, and Deep Longevity, which Regent Pacific acquired in 2020.
I’m also a venture partner at PsyMed Ventures, a VC firm focusing on psychedelic and other next-generation mental health treatments. I recently joined The Venture Collective as a partner to support early-stage, world-changing ideas.
LongeVC’s latest investments include:
- Freedom Biosciences: Yale University-backed startup pioneering more effective ketamine treatments for mental health conditions. We joined as an investor in February 2023.
- Melio: Groundbreaking platform for infectious disease diagnosis to reduce antibiotic over-reliance in infants. LongeVC invested in May 2023.
SiPhox Health: United States-based startup using semiconductor technology to expand at-home health testing. LongeVC joined its Series A round alongside top investment groups like Intel and Khosla Ventures in July 2023.
We’ve also invested in AOA Dx, PreComb Therapeutics, Turn Bio, First Longevity, and Longenesis, which you can read about in my co-founder Sergey Jakimov’s interview.
Why do you invest in longevity?
Longevity piqued my interest more than 10 years ago; I had multiple close family members receive age-related disease diagnoses, and the lack of available treatment options frustrated me, but it also inspired me to join a field central to the human experience. We will all age, meaning longevity investments will penetrate everyone’s lives. Seeing startups achieve life-changing breakthroughs continues to inspire my work.
That said, there is still plenty of work to do. While we’ve primarily moved past misconceptions around silver-bullet-style aging cures and life-changing superfoods, the longevity industry wasn’t always that way. The sector was drastically different when I started angel investing in early-stage biotech. Many doubted the potential of emerging technologies and biotech. Today, public health has entered our daily lives thanks to social media, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the efforts of physicians and thought leaders.
I view longevity investing as a way to bring new medical options to more people. By working with LongeVC and the Longevity Science Foundation, I make it a personal responsibility to ensure an accessible longevity rollout that will give everyone more healthy years with their loved ones.
What areas of longevity are you most excited about and why?
Firstly, emerging tech and longevity have a directly intertwined future. We are only at the beginning of the emerging tech revolution and can’t fully estimate the extent of transformation. I’m excited about more decentralized approaches to research and integrating new technologies. In particular, AI will unlock medical discoveries – just look at Insilico’s recent work delivering the first inhalation solution for an AI-discovered drug. Generative AI is particularly valuable in drug discovery, where it can evaluate the efficacy of new compounds.
Next-generation mental health approaches also fascinate me. Treatment options for conditions like depression have been stagnant for entirely too long – it’s time for something disruptive. Compounds, including ketamine, LSD, and MDMA, are entering a new era of public perception. We must view mental health as a vital part of longevity, as happiness and companionship directly impact our lifespans.
If you could change one thing about the longevity industry, what would it be and why?
The longevity industry maintains an open-door policy, but we need to bring more people through that door. You don’t have to be a certain age to pursue a longevity journey. Young people should join the industry through groups like the Youth Longevity Association. They can ‘carry the longevity banner’ and encourage others to unlock greater health understanding.
It’s not merely a question of younger versus older, either. Adapting to longer and healthier lives requires societal and individual buy-in. Longer lives will spark changes in labor structures like retirement and familial expectations. Policymakers and physicians should have conversations now about the future. It will take a village to bring longevity treatments to their public stages.
Finally, longevity resources are an essential part of this transition. Physicians like Peter Attia and David Sinclair publish books and give talks to guide individuals into the space, but we can do more. We need to amplify diverse voices and coordinate outreach with input from physicians, researchers, and public opinion channels.
What is your personal longevity regime?
I keep it simple. I eat very little meat, I prioritize good sleep, I practice yoga, and when I have long conference calls, I take them on a walk.
