Silicon Valley elites spend millions in quest for smarter babies

Silicon Valley tech executives are paying thousands of dollars in a quest to breed America’s smartest babies, according to a new report.

As reported by Wall Street Journal, tech futurists and parents are spending up to $50,000 for a new genetic testing service, aiming to screen embryos for IQ.

Jennifer Donnelly, the matchmaker who charges up to $500,000 for perfect matchmaking of intelligent partners.

While talking to Wall Street Journal, Jennifer shed light on the significant rise in money that tech moguls pay for making pairs with smart partners to get “smart offspring.”

Different start-ups including Nucleus Genomics and Herasight have started to publicly offer IQ evaluations based on genetic tests, helping people to choose smart embryos for in vitro fertilization.

Elon Musk also expressed his eagerness in the idea of smart babies.

In the Bay Area, the testing is costing high according to surging popularity. At Nucleus and Herasight, the price is around $6,000 and $50,000 respectively.

According to the National Institutes of Health, Polygenic embryo screening (PES) is a service that screens embryos for complex conditions, traits and risks, disorders, and intelligence quotient and is currently available commercially.

Given the popularity, the critics have come to force, critiquing the ethics and pricing of such testing, benefiting those who can only afford it.