Ben Lamm was born in Austin, Texas, on 4 December 1981 and raised near Dallas. He earned a business degree from Baylor University in 2004 and founded his first company as a senior.
He sold Chaotic Moon Studios to Accenture in 2015 and Hypergiant to Trive Capital in 2023. In 2019 he contacted Harvard geneticist George Church, who had discussed a mammoth-elephant hybrid since 2008.
Colossal launched on 13 September 2021 with a $15 million seed round. It raised $60 million in March 2022, $150 million in January 2023 and $200 million at a $10.2 billion valuation in January 2025.
In October 2024 the team rebuilt the thylacine genome. In April 2025 it announced three gene-edited pups called dire wolves, which scientists disputed. Colossal states a goal of a mammoth calf by 2028.