Alphabet Life Sciences Unit Verily Gets $1bn Investment

Google life sciences spin-off Verily said it has raised $1 billion (£860m) in an investment round led by parent company Alphabet as it seeks to compete in an intensifying health tech market.

The investment follows Amazon’s announcement in July that it would buy primary care provider One Medical for $3.9bn.

Amazon, Apple, Microsoft and other tech giants are building up their involvement within the healthcare sector in deals such as Amazon’s One Medical acquisition and the investment could see the Alphabet unit engage in acquisitions of its own.

Executive reshuffle

Verily, which experimented with contact lenses for monitoring diabetes when it was still part of Google, said the funding would support the expansion of its businesses, including real-world evidence generation, healthcare data platforms, research and care and its underlying technology.

The company said it would consider further investments in strategic partnerships, business development outside the US and potential acquisitions.

It also announced an executive reshuffle, with founder and longtime chief executive Andy Conrad becoming executive chairman and current president Stephen Gillett being promoted to chief executive, with both changes effective as of January 2023.

Gillett joined Verily from Google in 2020.

Spin-off

The firm said the executive changes were part of its becoming more focused on developing its operations and becoming profitable.

Chief financial officer Deepak Ahuja is to leave Verily for “another opportunity”, departing at the end of September.

Verily, formerly Google Life Sciences, was initially part of the Google X research division and was spun off as an independent subsidiary of Google parent Alphabet in 2015.