Google co-founder fuels psychedelic biotech’s leap into mental health treatment
Google co-founder Sergey Brin is making waves in the nascent psychedelics sector, backing the development of a hallucinogen derived from a rainforest shrub for use as a mental health treatment. This marks the latest Silicon Valley deal in this emerging field.
Brin’s non-profit investment vehicle, Catalyst4, set up using the proceeds of his 2021 sale of his Tesla stake, has committed to cover around $15 million of a $25 million funding round for psychedelic start-up Soneira. The biotech company is launching clinical trials looking at ibogaine, a shrub native to West Africa, as a treatment for traumatic brain injury (TBI).
Historically, ibogaine has been used as part of spiritual rituals by forest-dwelling tribes in Gabon due to its mind-altering effects. Recently, it has gained traction among western psychedelic advocates and mental health researchers. A Stanford University project funded by Brin’s charitable foundation found that ibogaine therapy improved mental health symptoms and cognitive function in 30 US military veterans with TBI.
Interest from Silicon Valley
Soneira, advised by Stanford psychiatrist Nolan Williams who worked on the study, is researching how ibogaine can be combined with heart medications to mitigate the risk of fatal cardiac arrhythmia associated with the plant. The company is also developing a synthetic version of the compound and plans to launch early-stage clinical trials using the funding.
Silicon Valley’s enthusiasm for psychedelics, both for personal use and as an investment, is growing. Catalyst4 was set up with cash from the $366 million windfall from Brin’s sale of his entire Tesla stake. Tesla founder Elon Musk has spoken publicly about his use of ketamine to treat depression, and billionaire tech investor Peter Thiel was one of the early backers of Atai Life Sciences, a biotech researching psychedelic-based mental health treatments that is also studying ibogaine to treat opioid-use disorder.
Venture capitalists have invested nearly $180 million in psychedelic biotechs so far this year, according to PitchBook data. Investment in the sector hit a record high in 2021, with $528 million raised.
Through the Sergey Brin Family Foundation, Brin has invested hundreds of millions of dollars into research into neurodegenerative and psychological conditions. Brin, the world’s seventh-richest person according to Forbes, discovered in 2004 that he possesses a genetic mutation that puts him at heightened risk of Parkinson’s disease.
Catalyst4, which had total assets of $430 million at the end of 2022, has a mandate to invest in breakthrough treatments for neurological disorders and technology to mitigate climate change. One Catalyst4 board member also works for Brin’s family office, Bayshore Global Management, which with at least $100 billion of assets is one of the biggest family offices globally.
Around half-a-dozen other parties have also held discussions about investing in Soneira, including Helena Special Investments, the impact investor behind Lykos Therapeutics, which is awaiting an approval decision by regulators for MDMA as a treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder, and digital health start-up investor LifeForce Capital. Soneira’s funding round is set to close after summer.
