Google spins off life sciences to become own company under Alphabet with Andy Conrad as chief exec
Google’s life sciences team is about to become a standalone company. Formerly part of the tech giant’s secretive research organisation Google X, the company has now confirmed speculation that it’s to be spun off into a company of its own under Alphabet.
Co-founder Sergey Brin wrote in a blog post today that the goal would remain unchanged despite the change in structure:
They’ll continue to work with other life sciences companies to move new technologies from early stage R&D to clinical testing — and, hopefully — transform the way we detect, prevent, and manage disease.
The team has previously developed glucose-monitoring contact lenses for diabetics. Their work may seem somewhat opaque, but the stated goal is to develop more “proactive” healthcare, with everything from engineers to oncologists working together.
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Andy Conrad, who was head of Google X Life Sciences, will be taking on the role as chief executive of the new company.
This spin-off has been rumoured since the announcement of Google’s restructuring into Alphabet, but the official announcement wasn’t made until today.