Genentech
Take Back the Record
On June 4, 2026, Genentech put 4,804 employees in formation along DNA Way and reclaimed the Guinness World Records title for the largest human DNA helix — 1,828 feet of double helix, assembled in a single take. Silverback ran the aerial capture and the record-compliance documentation the title depended on.
One take,
1,828 feet
A Guinness World Records title is won or lost on evidence. The adjudicator needed unbroken proof that 4,804 people held one continuous, correctly formed double helix down the length of DNA Way — a shape far too long to read from any single point on the ground. And there was no second attempt available: 4,804 employees, one window in the workday, one take.
DNA Way also funnels wind. Silverback planned the flight around it — two FAA Part 107 operators working inside SFO’s Class B airspace under LAANC authorization, a film permit cleared through the City of South San Francisco, and three fixed ground cameras with a dedicated spotter held as redundancy if conditions pushed the aircraft down. The shot list, altitude plan, and ground comms sequence were on paper months before anyone stood on the street.
The
objective
Guinness World Records approved 3,324 of the 48,295 record attempts submitted in 2024 — about one in fifteen. Genentech got theirs on the first take in 2026.
