"The man in the mask is Laurence Ion, a programmer from Romania. After winning a Google Code-in competition as a teenager, he worked for various startups and became what he describes as "financially free." Four years ago, Ion helped launch VitaDAO, a decentralized organization for bankrolling longevity research, which attracted funding from Balaji Srinivasan, a former biotech founder and Coinbase executive, and the drug company Pfizer's venture arm. Now 31, Ion is part of a crowd of self-styled future-builders."
"Ion helped organize Zuzalu, Buterin's 2023 "pop-up city" for life extensionists at a resort in Montenegro, and another pop-up called Vitalia, on an island off the Honduran coast. For his latest project, Viva City, Ion has booked this 16-story office building on Market Street. Once the headquarters of Burning Man, it turned into a WeWork, then into Frontier Tower. For the six weeks that Ion and his citizens-to-be are here-bonding over life extension,"
A cohort of wealthy technologists and crypto entrepreneurs is building temporary and semi-permanent microcities to experiment with governance, biotechnology, blockchain, and AI. These projects convene people around life-extension goals, decentralized funding mechanisms, and libertarian-leaning rule sets. Organizers repurpose resorts and commercial buildings for residencies that mix social life, work, and experimental medical and technological projects. Funding often comes from crypto investors, biotech founders, and corporate venture arms. Events blend ritual and startup culture, emphasizing financial independence, decentralized organizations like VitaDAO, and the pursuit of radical longevity and autonomy from conventional regulations.
Read at WIRED
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