Victor Vescovo – Solo Dive to the Titanic, Cloning Humans & Reviving Extinct Animals | SRS #244

Victor Vescovo, a renowned explorer and investor, discusses his extreme adventures to the deepest parts of the oceans, highest mountains, and space, alongside his ventures in de-extinction, asteroid mining, and advanced technological investments, emphasizing a commitment to human progress through exploration and innovation.

• Victor Vescovo has achieved an 'extreme trifecta' of Earth exploration: summiting the highest peaks, diving to the deepest ocean points, and traveling to space.

• His current focus on venture capital involves investing in groundbreaking technologies like de-extinction, asteroid mining, and advanced medical solutions, prioritizing human progress.

• Vescovo champions comprehensive ocean mapping, as 75% of the seafloor remains unexplored, and plans to build a dedicated vessel to contribute to this critical endeavor.

Victor Vescovo, a private investor and former Navy Reserve Commander, shares his extraordinary life marked by extreme exploration, including being the first person to dive to the deepest points in all five oceans, summiting the highest peaks on all seven continents, and traveling to space. He emphasizes how his venture capital firm, Kaledan Capital, now focuses on breakthrough technologies like de-extinction and asteroid mining, aiming to push the boundaries of human knowledge and capability. Vescovo also highlights his deep-seated passion for exploration as a genetic compulsion, driving him to continually seek new challenges and contribute to scientific and technological advancement.

Victor Vescovo's Background

• 00:00:41 Victor Vescovo is introduced as a private investor with over 30 years in business, co-founder of Insight Equity, and current head of Kaledan Capital focusing on defense startups, high-tech hardware, and life sciences. He is also a retired US Navy Reserve Commander and an extreme explorer, having completed the Explorers Grand Slam, dove to the deepest points in all five oceans, and achieved the 'extreme trifecta' by reaching Everest, the ocean's bottom, and space on Blue Origin, holding multiple Guinness World Records.

Omega Watch & Survival Gear

• 00:02:19 Vescovo discusses his unique Omega Seamaster timepiece, which has accompanied him on all 17 deep ocean trench dives, including 15 to Challenger Deep, and even into space. He highlights its critical role as a safety instrument, similar to how Omega watches were used for timed burns during the Apollo 13 disaster, allowing for precise timekeeping and communication (e.g., Morse code tapping) in extreme emergencies where electronics might fail.

De-extinction & Genetic Tools

• 00:13:06 Vescovo, an investor in Colossal Biosciences, clarifies that the company's primary value lies in developing genetic manipulation tools, not just de-extincting species like the woolly mammoth or direwolf. These tools could be crucial for conserving critically endangered animals and potentially making extinction a thing of the past by synthetically creating healthy populations. He likens this focus on foundational technology to Astroforge's asteroid mining, where the long-term value is in the advanced tools developed for space exploration and colonization.

Winning Counterinsurgencies

• 00:36:05 Vescovo, drawing on his intelligence background, outlines four critical conditions for winning a counterinsurgency: isolating the battlefield to prevent guerrilla regeneration, isolating the population to cut off support, conducting relentless hunt and seek missions, and establishing enduring institutions to maintain stability after departure. He argues that the U.S. has often failed by not adhering to these principles, particularly by not sealing borders and by pushing unsuitable democratic institutions onto cultures unprepared for them, leading to prolonged conflicts like in Afghanistan.

Disruptive Technology Investments

• 00:41:42 Vescovo expresses his excitement for investing in breakthrough technologies that significantly move the needle for the human experience, rather than traditional industrial private equity. He highlights Astroforge's asteroid mining venture, a company developing industrial automation for shipbuilding to increase U.S. capacity, and a life sciences company he personally funds, aiming to cure incurable nervous system diseases using artificial viruses to target rogue DNA. He prefers to operate quietly, bringing things to fruition before public announcement, to avoid external pressure.

Deep Sea Mining Debate

• 00:52:12 Vescovo strongly disagrees with deep sea mining, opposing the CEO of The Metals Company on technical, environmental, and financial grounds. He argues that the metals extracted (copper, manganese, cobalt, nickel) are either common terrestrially or becoming technologically irrelevant for new battery chemistries. Furthermore, he contends that the logistical challenges of operating heavy machinery at extreme depths are underestimated, and the strategic argument about countering China's monopoly overlooks the fact that China dominates metal processing, not just raw material extraction.

Exploring the Titanic & Deep Shipwrecks

• 02:07:07 Vescovo recounts his three dives to the Titanic, emphasizing the inherent dangers of entanglement and strong currents, and the limited visibility. He describes finding the largest part of the wreck by moving slowly and ascending, revealing its immense scale. He also proudly details his discovery of the two deepest shipwrecks in history, the USS Johnston and USS Samuel B. Roberts, at depths of 6,500-6,800 meters. These pristine wrecks allowed for historical reconstruction of the Battle of Samar, with intact guns and even burn marks from battle.

Deep Ocean Discoveries & Future Mapping

• 01:31:53 Vescovo's deep ocean dives frequently led to the discovery of new, unique species adapted to extreme pressure, cold, and darkness, often living off chemosynthesis. He describes encounters with bioluminescent organisms and traversing 'brine lakes' (underwater lakes of dense, hot saltwater) which posed significant technical challenges. Motivated by the fact that 75% of the ocean remains unmapped, Vescovo is now dedicated to building an advanced, semi-autonomous deep ocean mapping vessel to thoroughly chart the seafloor and contribute the data to the open-source community.