Autonomy is a seed-stage company developing the first human aging therapeutics. We have recently closed a seed round and are being incubated at age1 - a life sciences venture capital fund based in San Francisco that invests in companies focused on the biology of aging.
In the next decade Autonomy will add 400 million healthy years of life to people globally. This increase in healthy life years is comparable to some of the most successful drug classes in human history, but in populations that do not yet show overt disease.
Eventually, Autonomy’s mission is to create a world in which age doesn't dictate people's quality of life and well-being. Autonomy works on healthy lifespan extension to empower humans with more time to realize their potential and have fulfilling shared experiences with their loved ones.
The current healthcare system is built around sick care, not health care. We wait until people develop diseases and then treat them. We accept age-related loss of independence, frailty, and life-quality decline as processes that “just happen.” We want to intervene earlier to give people more biological resilience and prevent age-related health decline that leads to suffering.
Targeting aging itself, rather than individual diseases, addresses the root cause and offers a far more powerful way to improve health. As we age, the burden of multiple diseases (multi-morbidity) increases significantly, as shown in the figure below. The prevalence of multiple diseases rises exponentially with age, indicating that aging itself is a primary risk factor for disease. Eliminating deaths from cancer would only extend human life expectancy by ~3 years. Even eliminating cardiovascular disease, the most common cause of death, would extend life expectancy by just ~5 years. Treating individual diseases is far less efficient than preventing the biological decline that occurs with age and makes people more susceptible to disease.
Addressing aging—the underlying cause of disease—could extend not just lifespan but, more importantly, quality of life. This approach would enhance overall biological resilience and wellness while preventing diseases, rather than waiting for the deterioration of biological systems before treating its symptoms.
This section describes our values, guiding behaviors people at Autonomy show up with every day. We obsess about them.
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Ownership & Getting things done
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We take full ownership of our work and demonstrate agility in execution. We move fast, iterate quickly, and stay focused on outcomes.
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Rigor
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Charting new territory and working in the context of human health requires thoroughness. We go the extra mile, interrogate assumptions (and consultants), and make crucial decisions based on our own deep understanding of the situation.
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Innovation and smart risk taking - Hacker mindset
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We are charting new territory as a young organization. This requires innovative and creative thinking, along with the courage to take calculated risks despite uncertainty. We value resourcefulness and pragmatic solutions.
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Excellent communication
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We expect quick responses on email and Slack, well-structured meetings that respect everyone's time, and communication that is clear and direct yet kind and cordial. When focus time is needed, we respect periods of no communication. Our standards for professional communication are high—and we're proud of that.
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Care
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