The platform also launched a test of in-market audiences and added new HubSpot integration as it expands its partnerships.
Popular weight-loss drugs may do more than help people shed pounds. They might also melt away the years.
Drug giants Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk say patients taking their drugs age less quickly, according to readouts from molecular “aging clocks.”
Such clocks assess a person’s biological age by looking at changes to DNA that accumulate with time, or, in newer versions, by tracking levels of key proteins.
Both companies found that overweight or diabetic patients taking the drugs, called GLP-1s, had reduced biological age compared to those taking a placebo, although the difference varied widely, depending on which type of clock was used, and what organ was tested.
Overall, the difference was around “two to three years,” according to Nikolaj Roed, a global project leader at Novo, who says the company has been seeing “improved biological age in our patients across trials and across different tissues.”
The findings add to wide speculation among scientists that GLP-1 drugs, as they are known, are acting on basic causes of aging and might be a true longevity treatment.
“Two years is a pretty strong effect, in my book,” says Steve Horvath, a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, who’s credited with inventing aging clocks. Horvath says the emerging data could provide “evidence that these GLP-1 drugs are actually what is known as geroprotectors, medications that slow or possibly even reverse biologic aging.”
The companies shared their findings over the weekend during Aging Research & Drug Discovery, a conference devoted to seeking scientific remedies for old age. While that quest has not yet produced any clear-cut success, some scientists now think Novo’s drug semaglutide (sold under the names Ozempic and Wegovy) is coming close.
“In an unhealthy population, I do think it’s an anti-aging drug,” says Vadim Gladyshev, a Harvard biologist who assisted Novo with its molecular measurements. “But in a healthy population, no one knows.”
The drugs cause weight loss by stimulating a receptor, GLP-1, that tells your brain you’re not hungry. Yet real-world studies have shown much wider benefit. The drugs improve kidney function, reduce blood pressure, and even sharply cut the overall chance of death.
“If the question is,‘Can semaglutide reach several diseases relevant to health span and aging?’ we know we can say the answer is yes,” said Alejandro Aguayo-Orozco, a senior scientific director at Novo, the Danish drug giant, during the meeting.
The next question to answer, he said, is whether such effects are accompanied by changes to molecular measures of biological aging: “When you intervene with semaglutide, does it actually move the clocks in any direction? And the answer is yes.”
The company found that, over time, the drugs cause a wide slowdown in aging clocks—as much as 4 years in the case of a clock that looks at heart proteins. “I think it’s pretty clear that the organ age is shifting,” said Aguayo-Orozco.
The studies are also a huge boost for the science of aging clocks. Although these measures reflect a person’s age, it’s been uncertain if they are useful as true biomarkers. Now clock makers have evidence that their readouts show a drop in age when people take drugs with broad, well-demonstrated benefits.
“The clock people have been pushing for a decade to get this kind of study done,” says Yuge Ji, a biologist who previously worked in the field and now runs a startup, Reflector Bio. “It’s huge for them.”
As part of its study, Novo took blood draws from 10,052 people, half on the drug and half on a placebo. Their blood, collected at the start of the study as well as months later, was then measured with “proteomic clocks,” which use levels of key proteins to predict a person’s age and risk of dying.
Scientists at Eli Lilly performed similar research on their GLP-1 drug, tirzepatide, using so-called “epigenetic” clocks that assess age by counting accumulated changes to DNA. Lilly’s study was smaller, but also found that for the most part, molecular time moved more slowly for people on the drug.
“All the clocks are telling a consistent story that we’re seeing a reduction in age,” Kevin Duffin, vice president for aging research at Lilly, said during the conference. “It’s not like we’re going to reverse age by 30 years or something, but it’s a significant reduction.”
The molecules have become the best selling drugs in the world,, with Lilly’s tirzepatide, sold as Mounjaro for diabetes and Zepbound for obesity, topping the list with more than $36 billion in revenue to the company last year. Novo’s semaglutide, also sold under more than one name, was a close second.
Alex Zhavoronkov, the founder of Insilico Medicine, and the organizer of the Boston meeting, says that extending lives by even one year across the world’s population would be equal to tens of millions of lifetimes.
Last month Zhavoronkov showed that one of his company’s drugs, for a lung disease, also reversed the signals from aging clocks. That drug is experimental, but Zhavoronkov has sought to promote the idea that humanity is entering a new era of longevity medicines. He also disclosed during the event that he has been “microdosing” the available weight-loss drugs, even though he is not overweight.
“I am on tirzepatide and I am an equal-opportunity injector of semaglutide as well,” Zhavoronkov said.
It was part of an effort to directly raise the question of whether the first mass-market anti-aging remedy is already here.
“Do you think a reasonable person should start taking semaglutide?” he asked Aguayo-Orozco, the Novo scientist, in front of a crowded audience.
“I am not a physician. I cannot answer that question,” Aguayo-Orozco replied.
Several people cautioned that GLP-1 drugs do have side effects, including muscle loss. That is one reason they might not help most people, says Horvath, who says he isn’t ready to take the drugs himself, although he’s thought about it.
“Clearly, the drugs have many benefits in obese people, but I did not yet see sufficient evidence that they will benefit skinny people,” he said. “I guess we will have to wait.”
Answers could start to emerge in a year or two. This past January, a US agency, ARPA-H, put $38 million toward a study in Texas that will attempt to determine whether semaglutide has anti-aging effects in healthy people over 60. That research will look at changes in cognition, mobility, and acuity of the senses.
That project also seeks to help define a regulatory pathway for anti-aging drugs and to “build a new therapeutic industry” around longevity.
The company, which is experimenting with the option on Instagram, is expanding its trials of the feature before expanding it to more countries.
The app is focusing on popular #FilmTok and #BookTok locations and suggesting vacation ideas tied to spooky themes and the fall season.
This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology.
10 climate tech companies to watch
Each year, MIT Technology Review puts together a list of the most promising climate tech companies in the world. This year, the stakes feel higher than ever. The world is on track for one of its hottest years on record, climate-fueled disasters are taking lives and costing billions, while political shifts and international conflict have stalled progress.
We urgently need to cut emissions and avoid climate change’s most harmful effects, and that’s where our 10 companies come in.
They’re working on everything from mobile flood barriers and semi-solid-state batteries to compressed-CO₂ energy storage and next-generation nuclear reactors. They also reflect the biggest shifts in climate tech—including the surging energy demands of AI data centers.
Meet the 10 companies working on some of the biggest challenges in climate tech.
Over the coming days, we’ll take a closer look at each of the 10 companies, along with how we chose this year’s list, right here in The Download. So stay tuned!
The must-reads
I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
1 Musk’s new Pentagon role has raised conflict-of-interest fears
His companies could directly benefit from the weapons he recommends. (NPR)
+ SpaceX has received billions in Pentagon and NASA contracts. (NYT $)
+ Beware the rise of the “Pentagon-Silicon Complex.” (Gizmodo)
+ The Pentagon wants an AI-powered lie detector. (MIT Technology Review)
2 The only billionaires making money this year are in tech
Tech fortunes now account for 36% of billionaire wealth. (Bloomberg $)
+ Nvidia is on the verge of the first $6 trillion valuation. (CNBC)
+ SpaceX stock has made Elon Musk a trillionaire again. (Gizmodo)
3 Norway is planning the first national ban on smart glasses
Camera-enabled glasses could be barred from public spaces. (Guardian)
+ Several other countries are also mulling bans. (Reuters $)
+ Smart glasses are causing havoc in India. (MIT Technology Review)
4 Tandem panels could help the US catch up with China in solar
They could produce 25% more electricity from sunlight. (NYT $)
+ The balcony solar boom is coming to the US. (MIT Technology Review)
5 South Korea’s President suspects AI’s been used in bank hacks
He called for new cybersecurity measures for the AI era. (Reuters $)
+ OpenAI agents may have caused a Wikimedia outage. (Verge)
+ Who’s liable when AI agents go rogue? (MIT Technology Review)
6 Russian drones are exploiting air defense gaps to hit data centers
The attacks are disrupting Ukraine’s digital infrastructure. (Ars Technica)
7 The AI boom is killing the world’s cheapest smartphones
Memory costs are squeezing out affordable phones. (Rest of World)
8 Pioneers of light-based brain mapping have won a Nobel prize
Their technique shines new light on brain circuits. (BBC)
9 AI slop has pushed arXiv to limit preprint research submissions
Submissions have doubled in two years. (404 Media)
10 McDonald’s is being sued over AI-powered Big Mac pricing
The lawsuit alleges AI helped franchises coordinate prices. (Reuters $)
Quote of the day
“In the extreme, I could see someone describing Anthropic as a cult that’s trying to take over the world.”
—AI researcher Jacob Coxon, who resigned from Anthropic over fears that it’s building systems that it won’t be able to control, tells New York Magazine his views on the company’s culture.
One more thing
How AI is turning the Iran conflict into theater
Much of the spotlight on AI in the Iran conflict has focused on models like Claude helping the US military decide where to strike. But a wave of “vibe-coded” intelligence dashboards—and the ecosystem surrounding them—reflect a new role that AI is playing in wartime: mediating information, often for the worse.
These sorts of intelligence tools have much promise. Yet there are real reasons to be suspicious of their data feeds. Read the full story.
—James O’Donnell
We can still have nice things
A place for comfort, fun, and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line.)
+ A forgotten forest experiment reveals a “win-win-win” for trees 30 years later.
+ A gym-rat bear and a scowling owl star in this showcase of the year’s funniest wildlife photos.
+ Some fast-food chains have vanished, but these eight nostalgic names are still serving up beloved junk.
+ Find out what happens when you put a grown man inside a giant water balloon and roll him down a ramp.
The company is testing importing and creative insight features, as well as improved conversational guidance for its artificial intelligence elements.
As the team at MIT Technology Review set out to choose companies for this year’s edition of our annual list of Climate Tech Companies to Watch, the challenge felt more daunting than any year since we started compiling the list in 2023.
This year is shaping up to be one of the hottest ever recorded. The world must begin to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions to address the climate crisis, which is already affecting communities around the globe. Wildfires, floods, and other climate-fueled disasters are killing thousands and costing billions of dollars. At the same time, political shifts and international conflict have stalled progress, particularly in the US.
Technology alone can’t solve climate change. But we believe innovations can help us make real changes and improve lives around the world as we try to address one of the most pressing challenges of our time.
In this project, we look for companies developing technologies that can help us face the climate crisis. Some are driving down the greenhouse-gas emissions fueling climate change; others are working to reduce the dangers that communities face from extreme heat, drought, or other shifts brought on by a warming planet. We focus on companies that have established a track record, whether through research findings, capital raised, or deployments.
When we set out to build our list, we start by soliciting nominations from our team of reporters and editors. We ask experts for suggestions and reach out to academics, researchers, investors, and analysts. Once we have a pool of nominees, we then consider each one, digging through literature, reports, and patents to vet both the technology and the business.
We judge each company not only on its own merits, but also on how it might fit into our list overall. We want the final slate of companies to represent a range of industries and include firms based around the globe that are at different stages of development. We also aim to strike a balance between highlighting companies previously included and introducing new names. Finally, we consider some of the most important trends and events of the year and look for nominees that reflect those developments.
The dismembering of US federal regulations and cuts to financial government incentives for innovation means that the country is no longer a leader in climate tech. Like last year, the 2026 list is largely composed of companies that are based outside the US. China is an obvious hotspot for technological innovation across energy and climate. This year’s list includes two Chinese companies: WeLion is building semi-solid-state batteries for electric vehicles, and Envision Energy is installing huge amounts of wind power and energy storage in China and around the world.
Several sectors stood out this year as being of particular importance. One of the biggest stories of the year is the rising demand for electricity, driven in part by AI data centers.
Energy storage is a key piece of that puzzle because it can smooth out variations in the electricity supply as grids incorporate more renewable power. We’ve included several energy storage companies on this year’s list. Energy Dome is building long-duration energy storage systems on the grid that rely on compressed carbon dioxide. Moment Energy is a Canadian company working to repurpose EV batteries for grid-scale storage. And Form Energy, which we also included in the 2024 edition of this list, is producing iron-based batteries that can store energy for multiple days.
A wide range of technologies is represented here: everything from mobile flood barriers to next-generation nuclear reactors. Some of the awardees might be familiar from our past coverage; others are just emerging and may be less well known.
We believe we’ve put together a list filled with businesses that are rising to the challenge of this moment. Political will has weakened even as the damages wrought by climate change continue to mount. By helping us make progress on tackling the climate crisis in such difficult times, these companies point to a better way forward.
The company launched X Lift at Advertising Week New York and said the new system can automatically convert a business URL to a promotional campaign.
WeLion New Energy is on a quest to make safer, better batteries. The company’s semi-solid-state cells could improve safety and offer greater energy density than lithium-ion batteries to power electric cars, boats, and drones.
From the EVs that carry commuters home to the ships that transport goods across countries, more and more vehicles around us are powered by batteries.
Lithium-ion batteries are commonly used to power personal devices and vehicles today. But as the need for batteries surges, there’s a growing appetite for cells that can store more energy on a single charge.
Also, in lithium-based batteries the electrolyte, which facilitates ion transfer, uses a flammable liquid that can create a fire hazard.
Several companies, including WeLion New Energy, are working to make solid-state cells, which use a solid electrolyte instead of a liquid one. This could increase the energy density of batteries, as well as improve their safety. Fully solid-state cells are extremely difficult to manufacture, though. So WeLion currently focuses on developing and producing semi-solid-state cells, which have a part-liquid, part-solid electrolyte.
On that front, they have made steady progress. In 2023, WeLion released a battery pack in partnership with Shanghai-based EV-maker Nio, best known for its battery-swapping technology. The pack had an energy density of 360 watt-hours per kilogram (wh/kg), significantly higher than the 200 wh/kg average for lithium-ion packs today. That translated to a range of over 1,000 kilometers (621 miles). However, only about 200 of the battery packs were manufactured due to their high production cost, but they are still being used by Nio, WeLion says.
WeLion has also built batteries to power cargo ships and ferries through a subsidiary. And the company is developing batteries with even higher energy density too. WeLion’s engineers made a semi-solid-state battery that achieved a remarkable energy density of 824 wh/kg during testing in 2025, more than three times that of a standard lithium-ion battery available today.
Key indicators
- Industry: Energy storage
- Founded: 2016
- Headquarters: Beijing, China
- Notable fact: WeLion’s cofounders include Chen Liquan, a scientist at the Chinese Academy of Sciences who led the development of the country’s first all-solid-state battery back in 1988.
Potential for impact
China emits more carbon dioxide than any other country, and its transportation sector accounts for around 10% of that total. Scaling up the production of safer, higher-capacity batteries could help switch more vehicles away from fossil fuels.
Batteries that power electric ships could be especially helpful—the carbon dioxide emissions from vessels that move goods along China’s lakes, canals, and rivers are projected to grow by around 25% in this decade alone, reaching 18.7 million metric tons by 2030.
Caveats
One big challenge WeLion faces is scaling up production of its semi-solid-state batteries and competing on cost in a crowded battery market. WeLion says that its semi-solid-state batteries are more expensive than conventional lithium-ion batteries made by larger Chinese battery companies such as CATL.
And while laboratory tests showing high energy density are impressive, it can be difficult to translate laboratory results to the real world. The company declined to give more details about the experimental results from its 2025 prototype, which it says is far from commercialization. Key details remain unclear, including how many times the cell can be charged and discharged and how capacity degrades over its lifetime.
Next steps
WeLion plans to bring a new semi-solid-state battery for drones to market with an energy density of 410 wh/kg by the end of this year. It also intends to introduce its first all-solid-state battery for cars in 2027, which is expected to have an energy density of 400 wh/kg.
Two inland cargo ships powered by WeLion’s batteries are expected to launch in October 2026 in Huzhou, a city in eastern China. The battery pack of each of these ships will be able to carry nearly 4,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity, enough for them to sail for up to 250 kilometers (155 miles), the company says.
Today, WeLion has an annual manufacturing capacity of 11 gigawatt-hours (GWh) spread between four production bases in China. Two additional plants with a combined yearly capacity of 18 GWh are under construction.