Editor’s Note: The video above is from KXAN’s newscast on Aug. 20, 2025.
AUSTIN (KXAN) — An Austin-based company was acquired by Colossal Biosciences, a biosciences company that has claimed to “de-extinct” animals, according to a Tuesday announcement.
Viagen Pets and Equine is “the global leader and expert in animal cloning,” according to the release. Viagen, along with its 25 employees, will remain at its Texas headquarters and will integrate its team into Colossal.
“This marks Colossal’s first acquisition, following the successful gestation of two announced companies — Breaking and Form Bio — since the company’s launch in 2021,” Colossal said in the release.
Viagen was founded in Austin in 2002. It “has grown from a livestock and genetic preservation company into the global leader in animal reproduction and preservation services for pets, equine, livestock, and endangered species.”
“No other company comes close to what Viagen has achieved,” said Colossal Founder Ben Lamm. “Their unmatched expertise and cloning technology stack have become the world’s standard and their application of these critical and proprietary technologies to endangered species conservation makes them an invaluable partner in advancing our global de-extinction and species preservation mission.”
Viagen has “successfully cloned 15 species,” including the Grevy’s zebra — which Colossal said is not yet cloned since it is in gestation — the black-footed ferret and Przewalkski’s horse, according to Colossal.
“Viagen have also cultured, and bio banked more than 40 unique species including 22 threatened or endangered species such as the White rhino, Black rhino, Florida bonneted bat, Perdido beach mouse and Indiana bat. These achievements firmly establish Viagen as the global leader in animal cloning, setting unmatched benchmarks for innovation, efficiency, and conservation impact,” Colossal said.
Colossal said Viagen has “been at the forefront of cryopreservation, a process that preserves biological samples by freezing materials at extremely low temperatures to halt their metabolic activity and degradation.”
“This technique also allows for the later revival of the frozen materials. Cryopreservation is an essential tool in biobanking for ensuring the long-term quality and integrity of stored samples,” Colossal said.
In addition to cloning, Viagen “advanced reproductive technologies for horses” in 2022 and has “decades of experience in the U.S. horse industry.”
“At Colossal we believe cryopreservation and cloning are essential tools to preserve, revive and restore biodiversity,” said Matt James, Colossal’s chief animal officer, in the release. “Viagen’s proprietary technology will fuel Colossal’s de-extinction efforts and allow us to restore more endangered species populations as well as preserve their genetic diversity in Colossal’s Bio Vaults.”
Colossal performed its first “de-extinction” after it “brought back” “dire wolves,” a species that roamed the earth more than 12,000 years ago. It used DNA fragments from a 13,000-year-old tooth and a 72,000-year-old skull to genetically modify grey wolves.
The company’s chief science officer has said that it’s “not possible to bring something back that is identical to a species that used to be alive,” according to reporting in May 2025 by the New Scientist.
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