Colossal Biosciences Deploys AI to Decode Dodo DNA, Peter Diamandis Backs Startups Built on Platform

Colossal Biosciences announced a new artificial intelligence platform called GenoMorph designed to accelerate de-extinction projects by identifying gene-editing targets in species with fragmentary genomic records, and venture investor Peter Diamandis has launched a dedicated fund to back startups building on the technology. The platform addresses a fundamental bottleneck in species resurrection: most extinct species leave behind sparse, incomplete genetic data. GenoMorph uses 3D morphology, comparative genomics, and developmental biology to infer which regulatory DNA elements—the genetic "switches" controlling anatomy—shaped distinctive features like the dodo's curved beak. By analyzing developmental patterns across more than 70 living bird species and hundreds of embryonic samples at different developmental stages, the AI system identified approximately 2,300 candidate regulatory elements linked to beak size and shape in the dodo de-extinction program, a dramatic narrowing of the search space compared to the entire genome.