# Joe Betts-LaCroix

> Joe Betts-LaCroix is the co-founder and CEO of Retro Biosciences, a San Francisco longevity biotech on a mission to add 10 healthy years to the human lifespan. A scientist-turned-serial-entrepreneur who once held a Guinness World Record for building the world's smallest Windows PC, he now leads a company backed by OpenAI's Sam Altman, valued at $1.8 billion in 2026, that has run an Alzheimer's clinical trial and co-developed a longevity-focused AI model with OpenAI. He came to biology by an unlikely route: a D-average high schooler who tinkered in shared houses, then earned straight A's, transferred to Harvard, and did research at MIT and Caltech before co-discovering principles of electron transfer in proteins.

- **Role:** Co-Founder & CEO at Retro Biosciences
- **Organizations:** Retro Biosciences, Health Extension Foundation, Vium, OQO, Y Combinator, Halcyon Molecular
- **From:** Seattle, Washington, United States
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Environmental geoscience / Earth sciences, Harvard College, SM, oceanographic / ocean chemistry research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Biophysics research fellowship, California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
- **Known for:** Co-founder and CEO of Retro Biosciences, valued at $1.8 billion (2026), Co-founded three venture-backed startups (OQO, Vium, Retro Biosciences), OQO recognized by Guinness World Records for the world's smallest Windows PC (2006)

## Career timeline

- **1992** — Earns SM at MIT; participates in mission collecting a 2km-deep Greenland ice core
- **2000** — Co-founds OQO, maker of the world's smallest Windows PC (Guinness World Record, 2006)
- **2010** — Joins Halcyon Molecular to lead automation; company backed by Elon Musk and Peter Thiel
- **2012** — Founds the Health Extension Foundation to fund and convene aging research
- **2013** — Co-founds Vium, automating in-vivo research; later acquired by Recursion (2020)
- **2020** — Co-founds Retro Biosciences with $180M seed funding from Sam Altman
- **2025** — Retro and OpenAI announce GPT-4b micro, an AI that redesigned Yamanaka factors
- **2026** — Retro raises at a $1.8B valuation; runs first clinical trial in Alzheimer's

## Achievements

- Co-founder and CEO of Retro Biosciences, valued at $1.8 billion (2026)
- Co-founded three venture-backed startups (OQO, Vium, Retro Biosciences)
- OQO recognized by Guinness World Records for the world's smallest Windows PC (2006)
- Co-discovered factors governing electron-tunneling rates in proteins; work published in Science with 700-1,500+ citations
- Founded the Health Extension Foundation (2012)
- Co-developed GPT-4b micro with OpenAI, achieving 50x gains in pluripotency marker expression
- Angel investor in StemCentrx, Recursion Pharma, and Spring Discovery
- Former part-time partner at Y Combinator mentoring biotech founders

## Latest updates

- **2026-05** — Retro Biosciences confirmed a fundraise valuing the company at $1.8 billion, with its first clinical trial (an Alzheimer's protein-clearance pill) advancing.
- **2025-01** — Retro and OpenAI unveiled GPT-4b micro, an AI model that redesigned Yamanaka factors and cut iPSC generation from three weeks to about one.

## Links

- Website: https://retro.bio
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/bettslacroix
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/retrobio_

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/joe-betts-lacroix
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-12