On November 15, Deepinder Goyal, founder of Eternal (formerly Zomato) wrote a post on X and LinkedIn, saying: “I am saying gravity shortens lifespan.”
His new longevity venture, Continue Research, backed by a $25 million fund, is investigating whether gravity—the force that keeps us grounded—could also be accelerating ageing by gradually reducing blood flow to the brain. He added: “It’s open-source, backed by science, and shared with you as part of our common quest for scientific progress on human longevity.”
The announcement has drawn scepticism and criticism from doctors and other entrepreneurs, with rebuttals being posted on social media platforms and reported in the news media. For instance, Jitendra Chouksey, CEO of fitness startup Fittr, posted on LinkedIn on November 16: “"We live in dangerous times. When I forwarded Deepinder’s "gravity theory of ageing" to Dr Lauren Colenso, a scientist who actually works in this field, she joked that she wanted to delete her social media." Yet Goyal’s move is part of a trend in India: Entrepreneurs betting on radical ideas to extend human health span, including Accel’s Prashanth Prakash, Biocon’s Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, and former Infosys CEO Kris Gopalkrishnan.
A 2019 report by Bank of America analysts had predicted that the global longevity economy would become worth $600 billion by 2025. Subsequently, the sector started attracting tech founders and billionaires worldwide, who have invested in various startups. In 2021, Jeff Bezos invested an undisclosed amount into Altos Labs, which focuses on cellular reprogramming to reverse ageing; Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, invested $180 million in Retro Biosciences, also started in 2021 and which aims to add 10 years to human lifespan through cellular rejuvenation. Others like entrepreneur and investor Peter Thiel and Brian Armstrong (CEO of Coinbase) are backing ventures such as NewLimit and Unity Biotechnology, targeting epigenetic reprogramming and senescent cell clearance.
In his social media posts and blog on the website of Continue Research, in which Goyal has invested $25 million this October, Goyal writes about how evolution designed human bodies for survival and reproduction, not longevity. He writes that there is no selective pressure to counteract gravity’s long-term effects, because our average lifespan of 30 to 40 years is sufficient for reproduction; what happens after that is nature’s afterthought.
Goyal mentions three points: 1) An upright posture reduces blood flow to the brain by small amounts, compounding over decades; 2) Neurons in the hypothalamus and brainstem are highly metabolic and depend on tiny perforating blood vessels, which makes them very sensitive to even small drops in blood flow; 3) These regions control hormones, inflammation, metabolism, autonomic balance, repair and aging itself.
On November 15, he posted on X: “Nobody has put these 3 pieces together into a single, testable mechanism for aging. A big part of human aging might be brain-first and gravity driven, and not body-first [like we’ve always believed]. That’s the breakthrough.” This led Goyal to ask: What if counteracting gravity and restoring blood flow to the brain could lead to a healthier brain and, as a consequence, a healthier body?
Also Read: The new longevity hack: Not to live forever, but better for longer
Cerebral blood flow (CBF) is the continuous delivery of blood that supplies oxygen and glucose to power nearly every system-regulating metabolism, hormones, and cellular repair. Continue’s research found that sustained CBF is critical for both brain and body health, and its reductions—especially in regions like the hypothalamus and brainstem—may accelerate aging. Its research says that low CBF nearly doubles all-cause mortality risk, independent of heart health. As these control regions degrade, the autonomic, hormonal and immune systems they govern spiral into dysfunction. In short, brain aging becomes body aging.
“Research shows CBF declines by 0.3 to 0.74 percent annually, resulting in a 20 to 40 percent loss between ages 20 and 80. Superagers and centenarians (people who live exceptionally long and maintain strong cognitive health) tend to have higher baseline CBF compared to average individuals,” says Nitish Kumar, part of Continue Research Science Team. Continue has employed an experimental device—called Temple, Goyal has been seen wearing it—that indirectly measures CBF and provides a reading.
The company’s research also claims that superagers experience slower brain shrinkage: 1.06 percent per year compared to the average 2.24 percent. Kumar adds, “We’ve not publicly disclosed any data on aging markers obtained from our experimental device. We will do that closer to the launch.”
Kochi-based Dr Cyriac Abby Philips, a consultant hepatologist and liver transplant physician, who goes by the name ‘The Liver Doc’ on social media, calls the ‘Gravitational Theory of Aging’, “a persuasive story rather than actual science”. Speaking to Forbes India, he argues ageing is a complex biological process driven by multiple factors, and not a single cause like gravity.
One major flaw in the theory, he says, is the astronaut paradox: “If gravity caused aging, astronauts in zero gravity should age slower. But the opposite happens—they experience rapid aging-like changes in space. The theory tries to claim both gravity and lack of gravity are bad, which makes it impossible to prove wrong.”
On November 18, Pawan Goenka, chairman of the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe), when asked about the impact of gravity on ageing, told Forbes India: “From what I’ve heard—and again, I’m not a space scientist and never claim to be, nor can I ever become one—ageing happens faster if gravity is less, because muscles deteriorate. And then there’s a lot of recuperation you have to do after you come back from space. For example, [Shubhanshu] Shukla had to spend about two weeks in Houston, or wherever he was, before returning to India, to recuperate and go through all that.”
Other claims made by Continue—such as bats living longer because they hang upside down, or shorter people living longer because their hearts have to pump less against gravity—are also being debunked. “Bats live long because of unique genetic adaptations like telomere maintenance and DNA repair. Shorter people benefit from lower IGF-1 levels, a proven longevity factor—not gravity,” Philips says.
He stresses that real aging science focuses on cellular damage: “As we age, DNA accumulates errors, telomeres wear down, gene regulation gets scrambled, and broken proteins pile up. Mitochondria fail, growth signals misfire, and damaged cells turn into ‘zombie cells’ that poison their neighbours. These interconnected processes drive aging—not gravity.”
Validating or invalidating the hypothesis that gravity accelerates aging will require years of research across various scientific fields, says Kumar of Continue Research. “We’ve begun by commissioning research in murine models to understand how the neurovasculature changes with age and how short microgravity-like interventions might influence long-term brain vascular health,” he adds.
At this stage, Continue’s work on interventions is focussed “purely on studying how altered gravitational loading affects human and animal physiology; we are not promoting or scaling any intervention for everyday use until the science is clear.” Continue isn’t planning to sell consumer wellness products or clinical therapies. Its vision, says Kumar, is “solely to support and fund scientific research into the fundamental drivers of aging.”
According to Continue, CBF can be improved through simple interventions that help maintain brain health and delay aging. Regular exercise, especially aerobic and resistance training, supports brain blood vessels, while inversions temporarily boost blood flow. Foods that include nitrate-rich greens, berries, fatty fish, and supplements like Omega-3s, CoQ10, and resveratrol can help keep CBF high.
However, Phillips adds: “The gravity theory ignores decades of proven science and asks people to believe in a simple story instead of the complex biological reality,” Phillips adds. He goes on to add: “In essence, Deepinder Goyal is wasting his time, money and resources on already dead concepts and in the process, wasting ours too.”
First Published: Nov 20, 2025, 16:42
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