It’s grey and rainy in Gstaad. The clouds hang low, and the town appears as if it’s floating somewhere between heaven and earth – an appropriate setting for a longevity conference.

The Longevity Investors Conference 2025 is hosted inside the Alpine luxury hotel Le Grand Bellevue and is a summit of scientists and bio-optimised elites. The guest list reads like a who’s who of the age-defying: Speakers include Joe Betts-Lacroix, who has partnered with OpenAI’s Sam Altman on his biotech firm, Retro Sciences, to halt the progression of Alzheimer's; Cambridge’s Aubrey de Grey, often considered one of the fathers of the longevity movement; and Swiss investor Tobias Reichmuth, who has just spent 18 months sailing the globe in search of the fountain of youth.

The Science of Stopping the Biological Clock

The presentations held in the hotel’s exclusive yacht club feature a range of technological breakthroughs. Products range from moonshots, such as senolytics — drugs that target so-called «zombie cells» — to cryopreservation, the controversial process of freezing human bodies after
their clinical death. Other therapies include stem-cell treatments and over-the-counter supplements, such as NAD+.

During the event, it quickly becomes clear that there are different schools of thought regarding longevity. Some believe that longevity is down to editing genes or targeting the mTOR pathway, while others posit that eternal youth is found by manipulating mitochondria. Figures like de Grey lean more towards the idea that the key to longevity lies in the periodic removal of cellular and molecular damage from the body.

One such approach comes from CEO Lisa Patel, whose firm, Istesso, has developed a daily pill to safely repair damage and restore health. Special attention is given to the anti-aging drug rapamycin, which has shown promise in improving immune function and reducing age-related decline. Notably, the innovations at the conference are not only aimed at those in their later years, but also at those whose lives are cut short by disease. This includes novel therapies that promise to extend the shelf-life of donated organs.

Organs in Space and Machines in Flesh

Elsewhere, innovations seem to step out of the realm of science fiction: 3D-printed lungs, organs grown in space using zero-gravity environments to replicate floating in a womb, or the regrowing of livers from lymph nodes.

Some, such as Sergey Young, author and founder of the $100M Longevity Vision Fund, even believe that it is only a matter of time until humans will be part machine or AI. If these ideas seem ambitious, the attendees themselves offer a glimpse of what may already be achievable. Looking around the conference, there is a quietly uncanny feeling. Many of the attendees are clearly older, but look remarkably young, making one wonder how many skincare brands their secrets would put out of business. A talk by Marc P. Bernegger sheds light on why this might be. Chronologically, he is 46. Biologically, he says, he's anywhere between 39 and 46.