This week, Andreas Munk Holm talks with Sergey Jakimov, Co-founder and Managing Partner at LongeVC, a leading longevity-focused venture fund backing breakthroughs in biotech, AI-driven drug discovery, and the science of healthy aging.
From pre-seed biotech spin-outs to multi-hundred-million-dollar exits with Big Pharma, LongeVC is building the category-defining fund at the frontier of life extension. In this episode, Sergey walks us through the team’s 3x+ MOIC track record, how LongeVC’s scientific advisory board unlocks proprietary deal flow, and why longevity and healthspan investing could be venture’s next trillion-dollar frontier.
🎧 Here’s what’s covered
01:15 – Who is Sergey Jakimov? From biotech entrepreneur to longevity investor
03:00 – What is LongeVC: thesis, structure, and Fund II snapshot
06:20 – The market for longevity & age-related disease: a $1.6 trillion opportunity
09:30 – Track record: Fund I’s 3x+ MOIC, 0 write-offs, 20 portfolio companies
12:40 – How LongeVC sources deals: scientific advisory board and AI-driven diligence
15:15 – Ecosystem advantage: from nonprofits to physician networks
18:00 – Case study 1 – Insilico Medicine, the $1.5 billion AI-drug-discovery unicorn
20:15 – Case study 2 – Turn Biotechnologies and $300 million + HanAll partnership
22:30 – Case study 3 – Rubedo Life Sciences and Beiersdorf’s dermatology deal
25:00 – How pharma’s pipeline erosion fuels biotech M&A
28:10 – Fund II: $120 million target, 20 % carry, 10-year term
31:20 – LP privileges: access, co-investments, and semi-annual IC observation
34:00 – Sergey’s vision: longevity as both moral and financial imperative
🎧 Listen to the full episode with Sergey Jakimov of LongeVC on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
✍️ Show Notes
LongeVC in one glance
Focus: Early- to mid-stage longevity & biotech across therapeutics, AI-for-drug-discovery, and healthspan technologies.
Fund I: $25 million raised | 20 portfolio companies | 3x + MOIC | 0 write-offs | Vintage 2021 | Top quartile performance vs Pitchbook peers.
Fund II: Target $120 million | $2 million min LP commitment | 20 % carry | 10-year term + 2 optional extensions.
Team: Sergey Jakimov, Garri Zmudze, Aurora Griffin, Ilya Suharenko – backed by a global advisory board featuring Michael Levitt (Nobel Laureate), Nir Barzilai (Albert Einstein College), and Alex Zhavoronkov (Insilico Medicine).
Why now: the trillion-dollar longevity opportunity
The science of aging has crossed from the lab into investable territory. According to EY and Evaluate Pharma data (p. 7–9 of the deck), therapeutic areas tied to aging — oncology, neurodegeneration, autoimmune, cardiovascular, and metabolic — represent over $1.6 trillion in addressable market value.
At the same time, Big Pharma’s patent cliffs are creating record pipeline erosion (page 8): only 14 % of first-in-class oncology drugs now originate from Big Pharma, while the majority are coming from smaller biotech teams — the exact space where LongeVC invests.
“Biotech innovation is shifting away from Big Pharma to small, fast-moving teams — that’s where we play.” – Sergey Jakimov
Fund thesis & differentiation
LongeVC’s edge comes from science + ecosystem + AI.
Scientific Due Diligence Loop: Every investment requires two votes from domain experts on its Scientific Advisory Board (p. 12).
AI for Clinical Prediction: Proprietary algorithms estimate clinical-trial success rates to inform valuation and timing (p. 3).
Integrated Ecosystem: LongeVC operates alongside the Longevity Science Foundation and Healthy Longevity Medicine Society, giving it deal flow “straight out of the lab” (p. 13).
Portfolio snapshots
Insilico Medicine (Hong Kong) – AI-first drug discovery engine; seed backer since 2017; now valued at $1.5 billion after Series D; >30x MOIC realized so far (p. 18).
Unnatural Products (US) – Macrocyclic therapeutics platform; partnered with Merck in a $220 million collaboration within months of LongeVC entry (p. 19).
Turn Biotechnologies (US) – Stanford spin-out pioneering mRNA-based cellular reprogramming; $300 million + deal with HanAll (KRX: 009420) (p. 20).
Rubedo Life Sciences (US) – Selective senolytic therapy developer; strategic dermatology partnership with Beiersdorf (ETR: BEI) (p. 21).
AOA Diagnostics (US) – Developing AKRIVIS, a non-invasive ovarian cancer test; 80 % of cases currently diagnosed too late (p. 22).
Ecosystem advantage for LPs
Through its ecosystem of funds, nonprofits, and professional networks (p. 13, 17), LongeVC offers investors more than returns:
Proprietary access to early longevity science from academic labs and advisory board members.
Co-investment rights in SPVs for AI-designed drug spin-outs from Insilico and others (p. 16–17).
Direct exposure to clinical protocols and early therapeutic breakthroughs through LongeVC’s physician network.
LP Engagement: Portfolio presentations, semi-annual Investment Committee observation, and advisory board keynotes.
“We designed LongeVC so our LPs aren’t just investors in longevity — they become participants in it.” – Sergey Jakimov
Track record & pipeline momentum
Fund I (Vintage 2021) has reviewed 2,700 companies and backed 20, with AI-driven diligence reducing risk and accelerating decision cycles.
Performance is top quartile vs. Pitchbook venture funds of the same vintage (p. 5), delivering 3x + gross multiple on invested capital.
LongeVC enters early (pre-Series A) for 10x potential and mid-stage (Series A–B) for 6x with shorter holding (4-5 years) (p. 15).
Average deal flow to investment conversion rate: <1 % (p. 4).
Fund II Highlights
Target fund size: $120 million (>$30 million first close)
Management fee: 2 % declining after 5 years
Carry: 20 %
GP commitment: 1 %
Term: 10 + 2 years
Strategy: Blend of therapeutics and AI drug-discovery platforms, anchored by clinical validation and M&A visibility.
Sergey’s Perspective
“Longevity investing isn’t just about extending life — it’s about compressing disease.
We fund what we can measure in years of health saved.”
Sergey frames the space as both a scientific and financial imperative: as societies age and healthcare systems strain, longevity is set to become the most impactful and scalable venture theme of the next decade.
💡 One-liner takeaway
Longevity is moving from mission to market and LongeVC is the fund bridging science and capital at the center of it.
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