What is longevity?
Longevity is more than a buzzword or trend: it’s a phenomenon that is bound to revolutionise the economy, government policies, and consumer habits. Unlike lifespan – which measures the total number of years a person lives – healthspan refers to the years spent in good health, free from chronic disease. According to the World Health Organisation, there is currently a 9.6-year gap between average lifespan and healthspan.
Despite its importance, the concept of healthspan remains widely misunderstood. In the 2025 Healthy Longevity in Singapore survey by the National University of Singapore, only 43.1% of respondents could correctly define healthspan as the number of years one lives in good health. This indicates a clear need to raise public awareness and a valuable opportunity for entrepreneurs and researchers to lead the conversation – educating the public, and promoting a science-based understanding of longevity.
What are the Six Pillars of Longevity?
While some individuals pursue treatments that boldly claim to reverse biological aging, a more accessible first step toward extending healthspan lies in adopting the six pillars of lifestyle medicine.
This evidence-based, holistic approach encapsulates: eating whole foods, maintaining a plant-based diet; engaging in regular physical activity; getting restorative sleep; avoiding harmful substances; cultivating positive and meaningful social connections; and practicing effective stress management.
According to The British Society of Lifestyle Medicine, making sustainable lifestyle changes, can help individuals prevent chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. In contrast, unhealthy habits – like smoking or excessive alcohol consumption – are known to increase disease risk and reduce life expectancy. A UK study found that adopting a healthier lifestyle, even for those with pre-existing conditions, leads to a longer life – with quitting smoking offering the most significant survival benefit.
What is the Longevity Economy?
The longevity economy refers to the financial opportunity arising as a result of a global ageing population, with the World Economic Forum reporting that the population aged 60 and older is expected to double by 2050. In the US alone, for example, people aged 70+ now collectively own a record 31% of the nation’s wealth, while accounting for only 13% of the US population — the highest share since records began in 1989. This change is set to drastically alter society, work, technology, healthcare, and policies.
UBS predicts that longevity will become as revolutionary as AI, emerging as one of the major transformational innovation opportunities (TRIOs) set to drive equity markets over the next decade – estimating the longevity sector will reach a staggering USD 8 trillion by 2030. More recently, 2024 saw financing for the longevity sector reach USD $8.49 billion across 331 deals. Currently, the US remains the central hub for longevity innovation as it is home to 57% of longevity companies and accounts for 84% of total deal volume.
The emerging longevity economy will not only transform how people live healthier, longer lives through social impact; it also opens up countless new avenues for entrepreneurs and investors. Fueled by longer lifespans and the demands they place on all facets of life and society, this growth will unlock diverse investment opportunities across industries like healthcare, consumer goods, financial services, and real estate.
What are the key opportunities in the longevity economy?
As the world’s population ages, healthcare is poised to be a key driver in longevity advancements. The total healthcare opportunity tied to longevity is projected at USD 2.2 trillion by 2030.
Innovations that could extend lifespans and healthspans include early disease detection technologies, personalised treatments, and breakthroughs in therapies targeting metabolic diseases (such as obesity and diabetes) and cancer. With these advances, governments, employers, and individuals are likely to increase spending on treatments that enhance both lifespan and quality of life, fueling growth in the sector.
The opportunities around consumer goods created to support longer lives is also set to grow. Consisting of vitamins, minerals, supplements, the consumer goods market is currently generating USD 166 million a year, and is poised for 5% compound annual growth. Specifically, the active nutrition market is currently worth USD 37 billion with a 7% compound annual growth rate, while the medical nutrition market is worth USD 15 billion. In 2024, consumer health was worth USD 134 billion, and is projected to be worth USD 182B by 2030. The cosmetics industry, particularly anti-ageing and beauty products, is worth USD 248 billion and projected to be worth USD 387B by 2030.
Opportunities also exist in the hotel and leisure industries – especially among those aged 55 and older. The hotel market catering to the “silver economy” is projected to grow from USD 259 billion in 2023 to USD 412 billion by 2030. This demographic is particularly notable, with people over the age of 60 also accounting for 37% of global travellers in 2024, and 52% of people aged 50 and over ranking travel as their top discretionary spend. Cruises also present an opportunity for growth: while worth USD 214 billion in 2023, it is predicted to rise to USD 288 billion by 2030. With the average cruise passenger being age 50 and over, there is predicted growth in luxury, medical, and wellness cruises. As a whole, combined opportunities in hospitality – hotels, cruises, and casinos – were worth USD 786 billion in 2023 and are expected to reach USD 1.2 trillion by 2030.
Meanwhile, younger generations like millennials and Gen Z are driving demand for wellness-themed travel. According to McKinsey, 56% of U.S. consumers who purchase in-person services travel two or more hours for wellness retreats, while 45% travel that far for thermal therapies or yoga classes.
Longevity is also a key priority for younger travellers. According to the McKinsey report, 60% of consumers in these markets consider healthy ageing to be a “top” or “very important” concern. For younger generations, longevity goes beyond just living longer – it includes maintaining independence, preventing chronic disease, and sustaining high energy levels. This reflects a broader cultural shift: rather than waiting to address health problems later in life, younger people are proactively seeking solutions to support long-term wellbeing now.
Real estate is another industry benefitting from the longevity economy boom. As older populations accumulate wealth and focus on quality of life, the demand for senior-focused, wellness-enhancing environments is surging. Wellness-related real estate investment has grown globally between 2019 – 2023, with average transaction volumes increasing by 32% in Asia-Pacific, 29% in the Americas and 23% in EMEA.
What is being funded in the longevity economy?
According to Longevity.technology, longevity discovery platforms – tools that can facilitate drug discovery, biomarker identification, and bring further insights into aging – attracted USD 2.65 billion, securing the highest rates of venture capital funding across all activity in the longevity industry. Other key investments include longevity neuropharma, which secured USD 2.64 billion; rejuvenation, which secured USD 1.98bn; while Cellular reprogramming garnered a financing of USD 1.62 billion.
Areas that secured mid-range funding include longevity drugs secured USD 890 million, longevity genetics at USD $580 million, regeneration at USD 560 million, Diagnostics at USD 540 million clinics at USD 450 million. Attracting much smaller-scale investments include sectors such as pet longevity (160 million), advanced aesthetics (110 million), neurotech (90 million) and reproductive longevity (90 million).
About Seveno Capital
Seveno Capital is an investment fund backing early and growth stage ventures that have the holistic potential to extend the human health span. The average gap between health span and lifespan is nine to ten years. Seveno Capital aspires to cultivate a thriving ecosystem of impact-first, purpose-driven businesses that can measurably enhance and restore human health and well-being to extend the human health span. The VC fund is led by fitness and holistic wellness entrepreneur and Park Hotel Group founder, Allen Law.
About Allen Law
Allen Law is a leading global authority on the emerging US$8 trillion longevity economy and is Asia’s most prominent longevity entrepreneur and investor. Allen Law has invested US $156m in launching MORROW, a 38,000 sq ft flagship longevity centre in Singapore, which is being rolled out globally with an initial focus on Hong Kong, China, UAE and Australia.
Across a substantial global portfolio of high-growth companies and investments, which includes Park Hotel Group, Move[Repeat], and REVL Training, Allen Law’s commercial interests are aligned with his global mission to extend the human health span. Allen Law is also Principal at Seveno Capital, a VC fund backing the component innovations of the longevity revolution.