How a Stanford & Google AI pioneer Invests in Longevity Biotech - Karl Pfleger

Today’s guest is Karl Pfleger. After spending a decade as one of the first AI researchers at Google from 2002 to 2011, he has dedicated himself to the cause of rejuvenation biotechnology for nearly a decade. He is a philanthropist, community builder, and prolific angel investor with over 35 investments into rejuvenation biotech startups. His website, agingbiotech.info, provides valuable information to the entire field, and his talks and X posts are highly insightful and influential within longevity. Karl has deeply researched and nuanced takes, and those really show in this conversation. We’ll cover why epigenetic reprogramming won’t solve aging, Karl’s investment strategy and what distinguishes true rejuvenation technology, and why better diagnostic technologies could be the key to personalized aging interventions. 0:00 Intro 1:56 Peter Attia and defining longevity 8:37 What is aging? 12:41 Wear and tear vs programmed obsolescence 16:12 Which molecular mechanism of aging do we have the most control over? 19:29 Does partial reprogramming solve the whole aging problem? 25:23 How to identify truly rejuvenating therapies 32:35 The role of AI and good screening technologies 37:03 Do we understand the mechanisms of aging well enough to intervene? 38:39 Will there be a longevity tipping point? 44:51 Karl's investment strategy for aging biotech 52:21 Senolytics 1:01:33 Misfolded protein clearance & mitochondrial transplantation 1:08:21 Sauna & parabiosis (not combined) 1:15:54 Stem cell therapies 1:22:02 Karl's research process & formal techniques for evaluating arguments 1:28:55 The successes of the geroscience paradigm 1:34:13 Diagnostic bottlenecks