The Entrepreneur’s Guide to the $600 Billion Longevity Market: 5 Entry Points

The longevity sector is expanding not because of hype, but because aging populations make it unavoidable. Narrow definitions focused on longevity-specific products project growth from about $21.3 billion in 2024 to more than $60 billion by the mid-2030s, while broader estimates of the global “silver economy” already reach into the multi-trillion-dollar range. By 2030, one in six people worldwide will be over 60, based on UN and WHO population projections. The most accessible opportunities are not speculative biotech moonshots, but consumer diagnostics, supplements, clinics, digital platforms, and longevity-adjacent services that generate revenue today with manageable startup costs.

• Consumer diagnostics and biomarker testing are scaling through subscriptions ($50–$200/month), with value driven by interpretation and guidance rather than owning labs.
• Personalized nutrition and supplement brands can launch for $15,000–$30,000 using contract manufacturing, operating under the FDA’s DSHEA supplement framework while targeting $300–$600+ customer lifetime value.
• Longevity-focused clinics and telemedicine platforms use direct-pay models to avoid insurance friction, with pricing ranging from ~$40/month telehealth programs to $40,000/year premium services.
• Digital health and optimization apps monetize by translating wearable and lab data into actionable behavior change, with MVP development typically costing $30,000–$100,000.
• Longevity-adjacent services, financial planning, wellness travel, and professional education, benefit from demographic tailwinds and often operate with 50%–70% gross margins.

The longevity sector isn’t just another healthcare trend, it’s a demographic inevitability wrapped in a market opportunity. Narrow industry estimates focused on longevity-specific products and services project growth from roughly $21.3 billion in 2024 to over $60 billion by the mid-2030s, while broader definitions of the longevity or “silver” economy already place its value in the multi-trillion-dollar range globally. Entrepreneurs are entering a convergence of durable demographic demand, rising capital interest, and technologies mature enough to support real businesses today.

Unlike speculative cycles that periodically sweep through Silicon Valley, this market is anchored in an unavoidable reality. By 2030, one in six people worldwide will be over the age of 60, according to UN and WHO projections. The opportunity isn’t about convincing people to care about aging, they already do. It’s about building the infrastructure to serve them.

Yet despite billions flowing into capital-intensive biotech moonshots, many of the most accessible opportunities exist at ground level. These are businesses entrepreneurs can build without a PhD in molecular biology or a $50 million Series A.

Consumer Diagnostics and Biomarker Testing

Consumer diagnostics and biomarker testing has attracted several billion dollars in venture funding across 2023–2024, driven by growing demand for preventive and personalized health insights. Function Health reached a reported $2.5 billion valuation in 2024, offering a $499 annual membership that bundles lab testing with digital interpretation. Superpower has raised $30 million in Series A funding and follows a similar $499-per-year subscription model.

Pricing across the category varies by depth. Molecular You lists its 250+ biomarker panel at $1,099, while advanced preventive imaging such as full-body MRI scans typically costs $2,000 to $4,000, depending on provider and location. Ongoing membership programs generally fall within a $50 to $200 per month range.

The business model is straightforward: aggregate lab testing into subscription packages, present results in a consumer-friendly format, and sell directly to individuals dissatisfied with reactive healthcare. Most startups do not operate their own labs, instead relying on partnerships with established testing providers. Value creation comes from curation, interpretation, and guidance, not the tests themselves.

The main challenge is retention. Consumers churn quickly if biomarker insights do not translate into measurable improvements, meaning these companies are ultimately in the behavior change business, not just diagnostics.

Personalized Nutrition and Supplement Brands

While much of the longevity focus remains on capital-intensive biotech areas like cellular reprogramming, a parallel market exists for science-informed consumer products available today. Personalized nutrition and supplement brands operate with far lower capital requirements than biotech, often launching with tens of thousands of dollars and generating revenue immediately rather than funding years of R&D.

The supplement opportunity generally splits into two models. The first is formulation-driven: companies such as Elysium Health and Tru Niagen focus on specific compounds, including NAD⁺ precursors, supported by published research. These brands require higher scientific and regulatory discipline but can command premium pricing, with subscriptions commonly in the $60 to $150 per month range. The second is curation-driven: brands that simplify supplement choices by bundling ingredients into daily protocols, similar to how Ritual or Athletic Greens scaled through convenience and brand trust.

Manufacturing barriers have fallen as contract manufacturers offer lower minimum order quantities. Initial production runs in the low thousands of units can often be launched for $15,000 to $30,000, depending on formulation and testing. As with most DTC health brands, customer acquisition is the largest ongoing cost, typically $50 to $150 per customer, with successful subscription brands targeting $300 to $600+ in lifetime value.

Longevity-focused supplements often show stronger retention than general wellness products, as customers view them as long-term health investments. Regulation is comparatively accessible. In the U.S., supplements fall under the FDA’s DSHEA framework, allowing structure-function claims without drug-level trials, provided brands avoid claims of treating, preventing, or reversing disease.

Longevity-Focused Health Services and Clinics

There are hundreds of longevity-focused clinics operating across the United States, reflecting growing demand for preventive and health-optimization services. At the premium end, programs such as Equinox’s longevity offering, priced around $40,000 annually, position preventive care as a luxury service. More accessible models include telemedicine-based longevity platforms, typically priced from tens of dollars per month. Humanaut Health launched with approximately $8.7 million in seed funding to build integrated clinics focused on healthy aging and disease prevention.

The service model ranges from ultra-premium to accessible. Boutique clinics often provide comprehensive assessments including VO₂ max testing, DEXA scans, continuous glucose monitoring, and concierge physician access. On the lower-cost end, telemedicine platforms may prescribe medications such as metformin or rapamycin off-label, under physician supervision, with programs commonly starting in the $40 to $65 per month range.

Startup requirements vary by model. Telemedicine-first clinics require significantly less upfront capital, while physical clinics demand higher investment but benefit from premium positioning. Most longevity clinics operate on a direct-pay, out-of-pocket model, avoiding insurance billing and enabling strong unit economics when costs are controlled. Growth opportunities are strongest in secondary cities with affluent demographics, with corporate wellness partnershipsoffering an additional revenue stream.

Digital Health Platforms and Health Optimization Apps

The platform category accelerated in 2024, with AI-enabled digital health and wellness apps attracting significant venture funding. Beneath the heavily funded leaders, smaller teams are also building sustainable businesses with far less capital. The core insight is simple: consumers are willing to pay for software that turns raw health data into clear, actionable guidance.

Successful platforms often blend multiple revenue streams. Common models include biomarker testing booked through an app with platform fees, subscription-based health insights, and product-linked ecosystems that combine software with nutrition or supplement offerings. While the approaches differ, they all aim to solve the same problem, translating abstract health metrics into practical behavior change.

Development costs for a minimum viable product typically range from $30,000 to $100,000, depending on whether teams build features in-house or integrate existing APIs such as Apple HealthKit, Google Fit, and major wearable platforms. The main challenge is rarely the technology itself, but product-market fit. Many health apps struggle because they emphasize broad tracking features rather than the simple, outcome-driven actions that drive long-term retention.

Once built, platform businesses benefit from low marginal costs. Serving thousands of users costs little more than serving hundreds. At scale, user data can improve recommendations and personalization, strengthening the product over time. However, reaching that point usually requires $200,000 to $500,000 in combined customer acquisition and product iteration before sustainable growth takes hold.

Longevity-Adjacent Services: Financial Planning, Travel, and Education

Some of the most overlooked opportunities sit adjacent to longevity science rather than inside it. As people plan for longer lives, demand is rising for financial tools focused on long-term care and retirement resilience. Addition Wealthwas selected as a winner in Manulife and the World Economic Forum’s Prospering in Longevity Challenge and operates as a financial wellness platform for employers. Waterlily uses actuarial modeling and AI to help families and advisors estimate long-term care costs and plan accordingly, an area growing alongside aging demographics.

Longevity tourism fits within the broader wellness tourism market, which the Global Wellness Institute estimates reached nearly $900 billion in 2024. While “longevity tourism” is not tracked as a standalone category, premium wellness and medical-wellness retreats increasingly combine diagnostics, lifestyle interventions, and supervised programs, with pricing varying widely by location and service depth.

Educational services complete the picture. As longevity research advances, demand is increasing for courses, certifications, and consulting that help health professionals understand preventive and longevity-focused practices. Practitioner education programs in functional and preventive medicine already operate as profitable, low-overhead businesses, with revenue driven by tuition and professional training rather than clinical delivery.

These adjacent service businesses require relatively little capital to launch. A financial advisory practice focused on longevity and retirement planning typically requires tens of thousands of dollars for licensing, technology, compliance, and initial marketing. Professional service firms commonly operate with gross margins in the 50%–70% range, supported by demographic trends as longer lifespans increase demand for planning and advisory support.

The Bigger Picture

The expansion of the longevity sector is creating broad opportunity, but not every business will benefit equally. Successful entrepreneurs tend to focus on problems people face today rather than speculative scientific breakthroughs, build sustainable unit economics early, and rely on real consumer demand instead of venture capital validation. Longevity is no longer a niche interest of biohackers, it reflects a mainstream concern about aging, healthspan, and long-term security.

The market is not waiting for frontier science to mature. While researchers pursue areas such as cellular reprogramming and senolytics, consumers are already spending billions on biomarker testing, supplements, preventive care, and health-optimization services available today. These categories generate revenue now and represent the most accessible near-term opportunities.

For founders who execute well, five-year revenue outcomes can range from several hundred thousand dollars for bootstrapped digital products to multi-million-dollar service businesses. Capital requirements are often manageable, typically tens of thousands to a few hundred thousand dollars depending on the model, and demographic tailwinds support continued growth. The question is not whether the longevity economy will expand, but whether entrepreneurs will build solutions people genuinely need.

Related: This article is part of Mooloo’s Business & Entrepreneurship Hub, covering how businesses are started, financed, scaled, and protected over time.