Gero (company)

Gero
TypePrivate
IndustryBiotechnology
Founded2018 (2018)
Headquarters
Singapore
Websitegero.ai

Gero is a privately held biotechnology company that develops a drug discovery platform combining artificial intelligence with a physics-based theory of aging originated and published by its co-founder, the physicist Peter Fedichev.[1][2][3][4][5][6]

The platform identifies drug targets by analysing large-scale longitudinal human health data and distinguishing potentially reversible, disease-associated processes from the largely irreversible accumulation of damage associated with aging. The company has applied this approach both internally and in pharmaceutical collaborations, including those with Pfizer and Chugai Pharmaceutical, a member of the Roche Group.[7][8]

In addition to the development of therapies against age-related diseases, the company proposed and pursues two new categories of interventions designed to slow aging processes themselves rather than reverse age-related damage. The company argues that such approaches may have a far greater impact on healthspan and lifespan than rejuvenation or cellular reprogramming strategies, which are more commonly pursued within the longevity field.[6][4][9]

It was co-founded in 2018 by Fedichev and Max Kholin, and is based in Singapore with a San Francisco subsidiary. Gero operates at the preclinical research stage.[10]

History

Gero was founded in 2018 and emerged amid growing interest in the application of physics and AI to biomedical research and drug discovery.[11] According to industry reporting, the company develops computational models intended to analyze aging-related disease processes using longitudinal human data rather than relying solely on traditional animal models.[12]

In October 2023, Gero raised $6 million in a Series A extension funding round.[13][14] Independent biotechnology industry publications reported that the funding was intended to support expansion of the company's AI platform and its research into aging and age-related diseases.[15]

In July 2025, Gero appointed Brian K. Kennedy, a leading longevity researcher and former president of the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, to its board of directors.[16]

On 17 June 2026, Gero announced $17 million in new financing, bringing the company's total equity funding to $34 million.[17] The financing followed Gero's collaboration and licensing agreement with Chugai Pharmaceutical, a member of the Roche Group, which includes an upfront payment and up to $250 million in milestone payments in addition to royalties.[18][19][20]

Research and technology

Gero's research platform integrates ML, physics-informed modeling, and longitudinal human health datasets to study biological processes associated with aging and chronic disease.[21][22]

The company's work focuses on identifying disease-associated biological pathways and potential therapeutic targets. As of the mid-2020s, Gero's research programs were reported to be in early discovery or preclinical stages.[23]

According to the company, Gero's platform identifies drug targets by analysing large-scale longitudinal human data and distinguishing reversible, disease-associated processes from the largely irreversible accumulation of damage associated with aging.[7] The company has cited this distinction as the basis for its 2023 target-discovery collaboration with Pfizer on fibrotic diseases and its 2025 research and license agreement with Chugai Pharmaceutical.[7][8] Gero's published and preprint work argues that human aging reflects the accumulation of stochastic, thermodynamically irreversible changes, which the authors present as a fundamental constraint on rejuvenation and a rationale for stabilising rather than reversing aging.[4][24]

In 2023, Gero reported using a quantum-computing device within a workflow for generating synthetically feasible, drug-like molecular structures.

In June 2025, Gero released ProtoBind-Diff, a diffusion-based machine-learning model that proposes candidate small-molecule binders for a protein target from its amino-acid sequence alone, without requiring an experimentally determined three-dimensional structure.[25][26] The company reported training the model on more than one million protein–ligand pairs and released its model weights publicly.[25] Gero researchers also described HARVEST, a multi-agent large language model pipeline built to extract structured bioactivity data from pharmaceutical patents; in a 2026 preprint the authors reported applying it to roughly 165,000 patents to generate millions of activity records, including protein targets absent from existing public databases.[27]

Collaborations

Pfizer collaboration

In January 2023, Gero entered into a research collaboration with Pfizer to apply its computational platform to the identification of potential therapeutic targets for fibrotic diseases.[28]

Chugai Pharmaceutical (Roche Group) partnership

In July 2025, Gero entered into a joint research and license agreement with Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., a Japanese pharmaceutical company majority owned by Roche.[29] The agreement focused on the development of antibody-based therapies for age-related diseases and included potential milestone and royalty payments of up to $250 million.[30]

Reception

Gero has been covered by biotechnology and longevity-focused industry publications in the context of broader investment and research trends involving artificial intelligence and aging science. Commentators have cited the company's funding activity and pharmaceutical collaborations as examples of increasing interest in AI-assisted approaches to drug discovery for age-related conditions.[31]

A 2021 study by Gero, led by co-founder Peter Fedichev and published in Nature Communications,[1] attracted renewed attention in 2025 after a hot-microphone exchange in which Chinese leader Xi Jinping told Russian president Vladimir Putin that people might live to 150 this century. An analysis by the news outlet Meduza suggested Xi's remark likely traced to the paper, which it characterized as having become a common reference point for such forecasts, while noting that media coverage tended to drop the study's lower bound of 120 years.[32]

In June 2026, Gero was named a World Economic Forum (WEF) Technology Pioneer, becoming part of the Forum's 2026 cohort of 100 companies recognized for developing technologies with the potential to significantly impact business and society. The company was recognized for its physics-based approach to aging research and AI-driven drug discovery platform, which combines large-scale human longitudinal data, machine learning, and principles from statistical physics to identify therapeutic targets for age-related diseases.[33][34]

References

  1. 1 2 Pyrkov, Timothy V.; Avchaciov, Konstantin; Tarkhov, Andrei E.; Menshikov, Leonid I.; Gudkov, Andrei V.; Fedichev, Peter O. (2021). "Longitudinal analysis of blood markers reveals progressive loss of resilience and predicts human lifespan limit". Nature Communications. 12 (1) 2765. Bibcode:2021NatCo..12.2765P. doi:10.1038/s41467-021-23014-1. PMC 8149842. PMID 34035236.
  2. ↑ Podolskiy, Dmitrii; Molodtcov, Ivan; Zenin, Alexander; Kogan, Valeria; Menshikov, Leonid I.; Gladyshev, Vadim N.; Shmookler Reis, Robert J.; Fedichev, Peter O. (2015). "Critical dynamics of gene networks is a mechanism behind ageing and Gompertz law". arXiv:1502.04307 [q-bio.MN].
  3. ↑ Fedichev, Peter O. (2018). "Hacking aging: a strategy to use big data from medical studies to extend human life". Frontiers in Genetics. 9: 483. doi:10.3389/fgene.2018.00483. PMC 6215820. PMID 30420870.
  4. 1 2 3 Tarkhov, Andrei E.; Denisov, Kirill A.; Fedichev, Peter O. (2024). "Aging Clocks, Entropy, and the Challenge of Age Reversal" (PDF). Aging Biology. 2.
  5. ↑ Denisov, Kirill A.; Gruber, Jan; Fedichev, Peter O. (2024). "Discovery of thermodynamic control variables that independently regulate healthspan and maximum lifespan". bioRxiv 10.1101/2024.12.01.626230.
  6. 1 2 Fedichev, Peter O.; Gruber, Jan (2025). "A Minimal Model Explains Aging Regimes and Guides Intervention Strategies". bioRxiv 10.1101/2025.08.25.671954.
  7. 1 2 3 "Pfizer and Gero Form Collaboration to Discover Potential Targets for Fibrotic Diseases". Pharmaceutical Technology. 2023-01-18. Retrieved 2026-06-16.
  8. 1 2 "Chugai and Gero ink $250M deal to develop new therapies for age-related diseases". BioSpectrum Asia. 2025-07-09. Retrieved 2026-06-16.
  9. ↑ "Humans Can Stop Aging, But They Can't Reverse It, a New Study Says". Popular Mechanics. 2023. Retrieved 2026-06-21.
  10. ↑ "Chugai and Gero Enter Into Research and License Agreement". Lifespan.io. 2025-07-09. Retrieved 2026-02-05.
  11. ↑ "9 Anti-Aging and Longevity Startups to Watch in 2026". WeWillCure. 2025. Retrieved 2026-02-05.
  12. ↑ "Longevity AI biotech Gero raises $6M in Series A round for aging research". BioWorld. 2023. Retrieved 2026-02-05.
  13. ↑ "Physics-powered GenAI biotech Gero raises $6M to find root causes of aging and age-related diseases". BioSpace. 2023. Retrieved 2026-02-05.
  14. ↑ "Gero raises $6 million to find root causes of aging and age-related diseases". Longevity.Technology. 2023. Retrieved 2026-02-05.
  15. ↑ "Biotech company Gero secures $6m Series extension round". Startups Magazine. 2023. Retrieved 2026-02-05.
  16. ↑ "Gero appoints longevity expert Dr. Brian Kennedy to board of directors". Yahoo Finance. 2025-07-14. Retrieved 2026-02-05.
  17. ↑ "Gero raises $17M for AI-driven aging drug discovery | MobiHealthNews". www.mobihealthnews.com. 2026-06-19. Retrieved 2026-07-16.
  18. ↑ "Gero Reaches $34M in Equity Funding to Turn the Physics of Aging Into Medicines". Business Wire. 2026-06-17. Retrieved 2026-06-20.
  19. ↑ "Gero Lands $17M as Roche Partnership Validates AI Aging Drug Discovery Approach". Founderland. 2026-06-19. Retrieved 2026-06-20.
  20. ↑ Brian Gormley. "HealthQuest Capital Leads $40 Million Series B for Connie Health". The Wall Street Journal Pro Venture Capital. Retrieved 2026-06-20.
  21. ↑ "Longevity biotech startup Gero demonstrates the power of quantum computing in drug design". EurekAlert!. 2023-07-13. Retrieved 2026-02-05.
  22. ↑ "AI-driven aging model lands potential multibillion-dollar runway". Longevity.Technology. 2025. Retrieved 2026-02-05.
  23. ↑ "Longevity biotech companies GERO and FOXO Technologies to embark on joint initiative on artificial intelligence and epigenetic data to discover signatures of human health trajectories". BioSpace. 2023-08-07. Retrieved 2026-02-05.
  24. ↑ Tarkhov, Andrei E.; Denisov, Kirill A.; Fedichev, Peter O. (2022). "Aging clocks, entropy, and the limits of age-reversal". bioRxiv 10.1101/2022.02.06.479300.
  25. 1 2 "Gero's Structure-Free AI Model Generates Small Molecules from Protein Sequences". Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News. 2025-06-26. Retrieved 2026-06-16.
  26. ↑ "Gero unveils AI model for small molecule design without structure". Longevity.Technology. 2025-07-04. Retrieved 2026-06-16.
  27. ↑ "HARVEST: Unlocking the Dark Bioactivity Data of Pharmaceutical Patents via Agentic AI". bioRxiv. 2026. Retrieved 2026-06-16.
  28. ↑ "Pfizer and Gero Form Collaboration to Discover Potential Targets for Fibrotic Diseases". Pharmaceutical Technology. 2023-01-18. Retrieved 2026-02-05.
  29. ↑ "Chugai and Gero ink $250M deal to develop new therapies for age-related diseases". BioSpectrum Asia. 2025-07-09. Retrieved 2026-02-05.
  30. ↑ "Roche's Chugai inks $250M Gero deal to access age-related disease targets". Fierce Biotech. 2025. Retrieved 2026-02-05.
  31. ↑ "Gero Secures $6M to Unlock Aging's Secrets with Physics-Powered GenAI Biotech". BioPharmaBoardroom. 2023-10-19. Retrieved 2026-02-05.
  32. ↑ "From hot mics to hard math: Xi and Putin muse about 150-year lifespans and even immortality. Here's what the science says". Meduza. 2025-09-10. Retrieved 2026-06-15.
  33. ↑ "Meet the Technology Pioneers driving innovation in 2026". World Economic Forum. Retrieved 16 June 2026.
  34. ↑ "Gero Named World Economic Forum 2026 Technology Pioneer for Advancing the Physics of Aging in Drug Discovery". Business Wire. 10 June 2026. Retrieved 16 June 2026.
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