Opinions expressed by business partners are their own.
Key takeaways
- The health span, not only focused on increasing the amount of life, is driving the expected growth of the longevity market to $8 trillion by 2030.
- Preventive health and evidence-based solutions are reshaping the economics of healthcare with significant consumer and corporate investment.
- The longevity sector is attracting institutional investment and mainstream attention, signaling a structural shift in global healthcare and capital markets.
The longevity space is accelerating and for entrepreneurs and investors looking to build in emerging sectors, this evolution of health and wellness represents one of the most important opportunities of this decade.
According to a March 2025 UBS report, the longevity market is expected to grow from $5.3 trillion in 2023 to $8 trillion by 2030, surpassing AI, which is projected to reach $1.16 trillion by 2027. Chronic disease.
Here are five things founders and VCs need to understand.
Sign up for the Entrepreneur Daily newsletter to get the news and resources you need to know today to help you run your business better. Get it in your inbox.
1. The real opportunity is health, not just age
As populations in the US, Europe and Asia age, demand is shifting from simply extending life to increasing quality of life. By 2050, more than 2 billion people globally will be over the age of 60, and in the United States, adults over the age of 65 will make up nearly a quarter of the population within the next decade.
Yet 2024 World Health Organization data shows a gap of nearly a decade between the average global life expectancy at 71.4 years and the health span at 61.9 years. Scientific American echoed this in 2025, noting that while life spans have improved, health spans have remained largely flat. Closing this nearly decades-long gap is both a public health imperative and a commercial opportunity.
The World Economic Forum’s 2025 report on future-proofing the longevity economy emphasizes that aging populations are reshaping labor markets, financial systems and consumer demand globally, positioning health innovation as an economic infrastructure rather than a niche health category.
During the 2026 annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, healthy aging and preventive health were included in the broader discussion on workforce participation, long-term growth and fiscal sustainability, reinforcing longevity as an economic priority rather than a specialist health care topic.
2. Prevention is reshaping the economics of health care.
The shift toward proactive and preventive health is gathering pace, particularly in the United States, where chronic disease drives the majority of health care spending. Consumers are increasingly willing to invest early in solutions that support metabolic health, mobility, cognitive performance and overall resilience rather than waiting for late medical intervention.
The rapid adoption of GLP-1 therapy in the US has accelerated this shift, rendering metabolic health modifiable and reshaping both consumer expectations and capital allocation for prevention models.
UBS projects annual growth of 5% to 7% in health-related sectors, including functional and medical nutrition, supplements, consumer health and wellness technology. Even ancillary industries such as beauty, hospitality and travel are experiencing compound annual growth of 4.5% to 6.3% as they align offerings with longevity-focused lifestyles. This is not a specific consumer trend but a broader restructuring of spending.
3. Corporate strategies are already positioning.
Senior officials are moving forward decisively. Unilever has expanded its wellness portfolio through acquisitions, including Onnit and OLLY, as it drives demand for preventative health and lifestyle-driven longevity.
For VCs, this signals more than consumer appetite. This indicates reliable exit routes as strategic buyers accumulate portfolios associated with longevity. Rather than being confined to specialist biotech circles, the health span is increasingly integrated into mainstream corporate strategy.
4. Evidence will separate the winners from the noise.
As capital flows into the sector, scientific credibility will increasingly define sustainable businesses. Evidence-based innovation, clinical validation and measurable results will differentiate long-term platforms from marketing-led wellness brands.
Founders building in health spans need to embed data collection and real-world validation into their models from the start, collaborating closely with researchers, scientists and practitioners. In a space that attracts attention and speculation, rigor becomes a competitive advantage.
5. Longevity is moving from the fridge to the institutional.
The global spotlight on longevity is intensifying. The 2023 Global Health Span Summit in Riyadh held a first-of-its-kind international conference that brought together founders, investors and researchers to shape the future of the sector. Conversations that once sat on the margins of biotech and wellness are now central to capital allocation and long-term health care strategy.
Longevity and preventive health were also recurring themes during recent JP Morgan healthcare conferences, reflecting how firmly the conversation has entered mainstream healthcare investing.
That capital shift is measurable. Longevity investment grew to nearly $8.5 billion across 325 deals in 2024, with late-stage venture capital accounting for nearly a third of total funding, indicating growing institutional confidence in the sector.
With the market predicted to reach $8 trillion by 2030, longevity is no longer a subjective term. This reflects a structural shift in how aging populations, health care systems and capital markets think about value creation.
For founders and VCs in health, longevity, wellness or consumer technology, this is an extraordinary synergy of scale and impact. The opportunity is not just to extend life but to define how those extra years are spent.
Want to buy a franchise but don’t know where to start? Entrepreneur Franchise Advisors will guide you from start to finish – free of charge. Sign up here.
Key takeaways
- The health span, not only focused on increasing the amount of life, is driving the expected growth of the longevity market to $8 trillion by 2030.
- Preventive health and evidence-based solutions are reshaping the economics of healthcare with significant consumer and corporate investment.
- The longevity sector is attracting institutional investment and mainstream attention, signaling a structural shift in global healthcare and capital markets.
The longevity space is accelerating and for entrepreneurs and investors looking to build in emerging sectors, this evolution of health and wellness represents one of the most important opportunities of this decade.
According to a March 2025 UBS report, the longevity market is expected to grow from $5.3 trillion in 2023 to $8 trillion by 2030, surpassing AI, which is projected to reach $1.16 trillion by 2027. Chronic disease.
