Colossal Biosciences Expands Global Biovault Initiative to Preserve DNA from 10,000 Animal Species

A new open-source biobanking effort aims to safeguard genetic diversity as extinction risk accelerates worldwide.

BY Colossal Biosciences

Colossal Biosciences has announced plans to preserve the genetic material of more than 10,000 animal species through a large-scale biobanking initiative developed in collaboration with the government of the United Arab Emirates, according to reporting by TIME.

The initiative centers on the Colossal BioVault, a cryopreservation facility housed at Dubai’s Museum of the Future, where millions of frozen cells and tissue samples will be stored, sequenced, and preserved. The project will initially focus on the 100 most imperiled species worldwide, including animals facing the highest risk of extinction due to habitat loss, climate change, and genetic bottlenecks.

The BioVault is designed to operate as both a long-term genetic preservation system and a working research laboratory. Genomic data derived from stored samples will be made open-source, allowing scientists and conservation researchers around the world to study biodiversity loss, genetic resilience, and species recovery strategies.

Colossal leadership has emphasized that preserving genetic diversity at population scale is critical to conservation outcomes. By banking samples from hundreds of individuals per species, the BioVault aims to mitigate the loss of genetic variation that can undermine long-term species viability.

The initiative builds on Colossal’s broader work in conservation biotechnology, including genetic rescue and functional de-extinction research. The company has stated that large-scale genetic preservation is intended to complement habitat protection, wildlife management, and in-situ conservation, providing an additional safeguard as extinction rates accelerate.

Founded in 2021, Colossal has raised more than $600 million to date, including significant investment from the UAE. The company has indicated that the Dubai BioVault is intended to serve as the first node in a distributed global network of preservation facilities designed to support regional biodiversity efforts worldwide.

Why this matters

  • Preserves genetic diversity from thousands of threatened species

  • Enables open-access conservation genomics research

  • Reduces extinction-driven genetic data loss

  • Establishes a scalable, international preservation framework

Source: TIME reporting by Jeffrey Kluger (Feb. 2026).