Palantir [NASDAQ: PLTR] co-founder Joe Lonsdale is backing a startup that wants to breed tens of thousands of laboratory monkeys in the U.S., where a years-long shortage has driven up prices and left medical researchers heavily dependent on foreign suppliers.
The startup, Safer Human Medicine, has raised $28 million since its founding in 2023, Forbes reports . Lonsdale's venture capital firm, 8VC, has reportedly contributed $20 million. The company has proposed building a breeding facility in Bainbridge, Georgia, that could eventually house up to 30,000 long-tailed macaques, a type of monkey commonly used in pharmaceutical research because of its biological similarities to humans.
Must Read
-
Dave Ramsey warns nearly 50% of Americans are making 1 big Social Security mistake. Here's what it is and 3 simple steps to fix it ASAP
-
A single line on your car insurance policy could be inflating your premium by up to 30% — here's what to change
-
Jeff Bezos backs a platform that lets anyone invest in rental homes for as little as $100 — 6 ways to build wealth like a landlord without actually being one
The shortage has also sent the price of research monkeys soaring. Journalist Ole Lehmann recently highlighted the increase in a post on X, claiming prices have jumped from roughly $3,000 per animal in 2019 to more than $20,000 today .
Historical pricing data shows just how sharply costs have risen. According to Evercore estimates cited by The Washington Post, the cost of research monkeys supplied by Charles River Laboratories, a major provider of animals used in clinical testing, climbed from roughly $2,500 in 2019 to $22,000 in 2022.
As Lehmann reported, the shortage dates back to the Covid-19 pandemic, when China, once a major supplier of research monkeys to the U.S., restricted exports, forcing American laboratories to seek alternative sources. Cambodia became an important supplier, but a federal investigation into the alleged trafficking of wild-caught monkeys further disrupted U.S. supplies.
Expanding domestic breeding capacity could help reduce America's reliance on imports, but it won't happen overnight. Female macaques reach reproductive maturity around age four and generally produce only one offspring annually. Safer Human Medicine has proposed starting with 500 to 1,000 macaques imported from Asian breeding facilities and gradually expanding its population to 30,000 over 20 years, according to Lehmann.
Such plans have drawn opposition from animal welfare advocates. In a 2025 report, the Animal Welfare Institute called for an end to the international trade in long-tailed macaques, citing their endangered status. The organization also raised concerns about expanding domestic breeding operations, pointing to animal escapes, injuries and deaths at existing U.S. facilities.
The $400 million monkey farm faces local opposition
Animal welfare groups aren't the only ones opposing the expansion of macaque breeding in the U.S. As the Associated Press reports, residents of Bainbridge have also pushed back against Safer Human Medicine's proposed $396 million breeding complex in their city.
The proposed facility initially received substantial backing from local authorities. In December 2023, officials agreed to provide roughly 200 acres of land and waive property taxes for a decade, while authorizing up to $300 million in revenue bonds, according to court documents . In return, Safer Human Medicine promised to create up to 263 jobs and invest $270 million in the local economy, according to the Development Authority of Bainbridge and Decatur County.
However, local officials withdrew their support just two months later amid growing public opposition. Local real estate agent Lacey Shepherd told NPR that the controversy had already prompted homebuyers to walk away from purchases. Other residents raised concerns about home values and potential contamination of local water sources.
Read More: Vanguard reveals what's coming for U.S. stocks — and it's raising alarm bells for older investors
"They're an invasive species and 30,000 of them, we'd just be overrun with monkeys," a local resident told WALB-TV in 2024, according to the Associated Press .
Safer Human Medicine subsequently filed a federal lawsuit alleging breach of contract. The legal dispute has dragged on and, as of October 2026, the company had not yet acquired the land for its Georgia facility.
The company has moved forward with a smaller operation in Florida. In 2025, it acquired an existing facility in LaBelle to house and quarantine research monkeys. The Florida facility is already operational, even as the much larger Georgia project remains stalled.
Could AI make the laboratory monkey shortage worse?
Despite the opposition, Safer Human Medicine may be correctly anticipating a new source of growing demand for laboratory monkeys.
In his X post , Lehmann argued that AI-assisted drug discovery could increase the number of drug candidates entering preclinical testing, potentially driving demand for macaques even higher.
"AI can now design endless new drugs to cure diseases in humans," Lehmann wrote, "but a lot of these new drugs need to be tested on monkeys first before they can go into a human."
For now, the Food and Drug Administration is moving in the opposite direction, encouraging the use of AI and other technologies to reduce animal testing. The transition could take years.
In September 2025, Reuters reported that animal testing remained a standard part of drug development . For example, safety studies involving monoclonal antibodies typically take up to six months and involve an average of 144 nonhuman primates, at a cost of $50,000 per animal.
Nevertheless, some industry executives believe AI could eventually eliminate the need for animal studies entirely.
"We are getting to the point where we don't actually need to do that anymore," Patrick Smith, president of drug development solutions at Certara, told Reuters.
What To Read Next
-
I'm 49 years old and have nothing saved for retirement. What do I do? Don't panic. Here are 7 ways to catch up fast
-
Here are 8 ways American seniors are throwing away money each month (and what to do instead)
-
Dave Ramsey says this 1 indulgent purchase stops Americans from becoming wealthy. Here's what he recommends instead
-
The tax breaks in Trump's 'big beautiful bill' expire after 2028. Here are 4 reasons why retirees can't afford to waste time
Get Warren Buffett's best investing lessons, free. Join 250,000 readers getting Moneywise's sharpest money reporting every week. Subscribe and we'll send you our guide to the ideas that built Buffett's fortune as a welcome gift.
This article originally appeared on Moneywise.com under the title: Lab monkey prices reportedly jumped from $3K to $20K. Now a Palantir billionaire wants to breed 30,000 of them in the US
This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
