Verily, the life sciences division of Google parent company Alphabet has raised a $1 billion investment round led by private equity firm Silver Lake Partners. Other first time investors in the round include the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan. While the company did not disclose what exactly the giant cash infusion will go toward aside from business babble about “support[ing] growth in key strategic areas,” it did say that Alphabet CFO Ruth Porat and Silver Lake Managing Director Egon Durban will be nominated to join Verily’s operating board. “Adding a well-rounded group of seasoned investors, led by Silver Lake, will further prepare us to execute as healthcare continues the shift towards evidence generation and value-based reimbursement models,” Verily CEO Andrew Conrad said in a statement. The new capital infusion represents the second outside investment raised by the company after a $800 million capital equity investment in 2017 by Singapore-based investment firm Temasek. The lack of specifics is par for the course for Verily, which has cultivated a reputation for secrecy. The handful of Verily projects that have been announced include a partnership with Walgreens Boots Alliance to tackle chronic disease through improving medication adherence and using the pharmacy chain to pilot new digital solutions and a deal with pharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences to develop a molecular map to better address inflammatory diseases. According to reports from the Dayton Business Journal, Verily is also working on developing mental health and substance abuse resources as part of an effort to address the Opioid Epidemic. One Verily experiment which didn’t completely pan out was one of its earliest projects, a partnership with Novartis subsidiary Alcon on contact lenses which could detect glucose levels through the eye. “Verily’s unique capabilities, world-class partnerships and bold vision are enabling the company to tackle the most significant problems impacting global healthcare,” Silver Lake’s Durban said in a statement. “We look forward to working with Andy and the entire Verily team in their mission to use cutting-edge science and technology to change the paradigm of care delivery and improve clinical outcomes.” Photo: abluecup, Getty Images
Alphabet's life sciences arm Verily has raised $$1 billion in a funding round led by private equity company Silver Lake Partners. How the latest cash injection will be applied has not been announced by the notoriously secretive firm, but the CFO of Google's parent company Ruth Porat and the Managing Director of Silver Lake Partners Egon Durban will both join Verily's operating board. The biological science division is currently working in partnership with Walgreens Boots Alliance to investigate medication adherence and digital solutions for chronic diseases, as well as exploring mental health and substance abuse crises.