Craig Venter

Global Ocean Sampling Expedition

The Global Ocean Sampling Expedition (GOS) is an ocean exploration genome project with the goal of assessing the genetic diversity in marine microbial communities and to understand their role in nature's fundamental processes. Begun as a Sargasso Sea pilot sampling project in August 2003, the full Expedition was announced by Venter on March 4, 2004. The project, which used Venter's personal yacht, Sorcerer II, started in Halifax, Canada, circumnavigated the globe and returned to the U.S. in January 2006.

Synthetic Genomics

In June 2005, Venter co-founded Synthetic Genomics, a firm dedicated to using modified microorganisms to produce clean fuels and biochemicals. In July 2009, ExxonMobil announced a $600 million collaboration with Synthetic Genomics to research and develop next-generation biofuels. Venter continued to work on the development of engineered diatomic microalgae for the production of biofuels.

Venter sought a patent for the first partially synthetic species possibly to be named Mycoplasma laboratorium. There is speculation that this line of research could have led to the production of bacteria that are engineered to perform specific reactions, for example, produce fuels, make medicines or combat global warming.

In May 2010, a team of scientists led by Venter became the first to produce successfully what was described as "synthetic life". This was done by synthesizing a very long DNA molecule containing an entire bacterium genome, and introducing this into another cell, analogous to the accomplishment of Eckard Wimmer's group, who synthesized and ligated an RNA virus genome and "booted" it in cell lysate. The single-celled organism contains four "watermarks" written into its DNA to identify it as synthetic and to help trace its descendants. These watermarks include:

Code table for entire alphabet with punctuation

Names of 46 contributing scientists

Three quotations

The secret email address for the cell

On March 25, 2016, Venter reported the formation of Syn 3.0, a synthetic genome having the fewest genes of any freely living organism (473 genes). Their aim was to strip away all nonessential genes, leaving only the minimal set necessary to support life. This stripped-down, fast reproducing cell is expected to be a valuable tool for researchers in the field.

In August 2018, Venter retired as chairman of the board, saying he wanted to focus on his work at the J. Craig Venter Institute. He remained as a scientific adviser to the board.

J. Craig Venter Institute

In 2006, Venter founded the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI), a nonprofit which conducts research in synthetic biology. It has facilities in La Jolla and in Rockville, Maryland, and employs over 200 people.

In April 2022, Venter sold the La Jolla JCVI facility to the University of California, San Diego, for $25 million. Venter continued to lead a separate nonprofit research group, also known as the J. Craig Venter Institute, and stressed that he was not retiring. With multiple new facility hires, the Venter Institute outgrew its building and in 2025 moved into a new space.

Individual human genome

On September 4, 2007, a team led by Sam Levy published one of the first genomes of an individual human—Venter's own DNA sequence. Some of the sequences in Venter's genome are associated with wet earwax, increased risk of antisocial behavior, Alzheimer's, and cardiovascular diseases.

The Human Reference Genome Browser is a web application for the navigation and analysis of Venter's genome. The HuRef database consists of approximately 32 million DNA reads sequenced using microfluidic Sanger sequencing, assembled into 4,528 scaffolds and 4.1 million DNA variations identified by genome analysis. These variants include single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), block substitutions, short and large indels, and structural variations like insertions, deletions, inversions, and copy number changes.

The browser enabled scientists to navigate the HuRef genome assembly and sequence variations, and to compare it with the NCBI human build 36 assembly in the context of the NCBI and Ensembl annotations. The browser provides a comparative view between NCBI and HuRef consensus sequences, the sequence multi-alignment of the HuRef assembly, Ensembl and dbSNP annotations, HuRef variants, and the underlying variant evidence and functional analysis. The interface also represents the haplotype blocks from which diploid genome sequence can be inferred and the relation of variants to gene annotations. The display of variants and gene annotations are linked to external public resources including dbSNP, Ensembl, Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM), and Gene Ontology (GO).

Users can search the HuRef genome using HUGO gene names, Ensembl, and dbSNP identifiers, HuRef contig or scaffold locations, or NCBI chromosome locations. Users can then browse any genomic region via the simple and intuitive pan and zoom controls; furthermore, data relevant to specific loci can be exported for further analysis.

Human Longevity, Inc.

On March 4, 2014, Venter and co-founders Peter Diamandis and Robert Hariri announced the formation of Human Longevity, Inc., a company focused on extending the healthy, "high performance" human lifespan. At the time of the announcement, the company had already raised $70 million in venture financing, which was expected to last 18 months. Venter served as the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) until May 2018, when he retired. The company planned to sequence 40,000 genomes per year, with an initial focus on cancer genomes and the genomes of cancer patients.

In 2016, Venter was screened using diagnostic methods developed by the company. A prostate cancer tumor was found, which had been missed by conventional PSA testing. The tumor was successfully removed by surgery.

Human Longevity filed a lawsuit in 2018 against Venter, accusing him of stealing trade secrets. Allegations were made stating that Venter had departed with his company computer that contained valuable information that could be used to start a competing business. The lawsuit was ultimately dismissed by a California judge on the basis that Human Longevity was unable to present a case that met the legal threshold required for a company, or individual, to sue when its trade secrets have been stolen.

Human Longevity's mission is to extend healthy human lifespan by the use of high-resolution big data diagnostics from genomics, metabolomics, microbiomics, and proteomics, and the use of stem cell therapy.