Alphabet Inc.’s spun-off health science company Verily Life Sciences LLC has raised $1 billion in a round led by Alphabet to support the expansion of its businesses focused on precision health.

Founded in 2015 from Google X’s Life Sciences group, Verily aims to fulfill the promise of precision health. The company is focused on processing and using data from various sources, such as clinical, social, behavioral and the real world, to arrive at the best solutions for a person based on a comprehensive view of the evidence.

Using what it says is a data-driven, people-first approach to change how people manage their health and how healthcare is delivered, Verily uses data science and technology to deliver better health outcomes.

One of Verily’s highest-profile products is Baseline, a service designed to make it easier for individuals to participate in clinical research. Baseline has been used in various medical projects, including COVID-19 testing initiatives.

The new funding, announced Friday, will be used to support a variety of core initiatives. These include real-world evidence generation, healthcare data platforms, research and care, and the underlying technology that drives this work to improve healthcare outcomes for individuals. Verily noted that it would also consider further investment in strategic partnerships, global business development and potential acquisitions.

Alongside the funding announcement, Verily also said that company founder Andy Conrad will become executive chairman of the Verily Board and current President Stephen Gillett will be promoted to chief executive officer effective January 2023.

Gillett joined Google LLC in 2015, where he was an executive in residence at Google Ventures. He transferred to Google X, now called X, in 2016 and served as the CEO of Chronicle, Alphabet’s cybersecurity company. He joined Verily as chief operating officer in 2020.

“These new roles are the result of thoughtful succession planning led by Conrad and the board and in recognition of the skills and experience required to lead Verily as it becomes a more operationally and commercially focused company executing on its precision health strategy,” Verily said in a statement.

Including the new funding, Verily has raised $3.5 billion to date, according to Crunchbase, including rounds of $700 million in December 2020 and $1 billion in 2019. External investors include Temasek Holdings, Silver Lake and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan.

Photo: Verily