Google venture arm leads $100M investment in analytics co.
The venture fund arm of Google parent company Alphabet led a $100 million funding round into for clinical data analytics company Verana Health.
GV, formerly known as Google Ventures, was the lead investor, with other new investors participating in the round, including Bain Capital Ventures, Casdin Capital and Define Ventures. Other existing investors also participated, according to a press release.
Verana aims to assemble the largest clinical databases in medicine, aggregating regulatory grade datasets through partnerships with the American Academy of Ophthalmology IRIS Registry and the American Academy of Neurology. Using de-identified HER data, Verana curates and analyzes the information for medical research and patient care in ophthalmic and neurologic diseases.
“Verana Health is building the team and technology to unlock deep clinical insights that support the development of new treatments while increasing our understanding of how these treatments can benefit patients more broadly,” Krishna Yeshwant, MD, general partner at GV, said in the announcement. “Under the leadership of its strong management team, Verana continues to redefine how we approach medical research.”
GV has been an active investor in the healthcare space for several years, backing consumer, enterprise, life science and health technology companies. Notably, GV was an investor in One Medical, a membership-based primary care provider that recently launched an initial public offering on the Nasdaq.
Verana plans to expand to other healthcare areas in the future and integrate imaging, genomic and claims data sources.
In addition to announcing the new financing, Verana Health acquired PYA Analytics (PYAA), a Knoxville, Tennessee-based large-scale architecture solutions company. The company was founded by scientists and engineers from the largest multi-program science and technology lab in the U.S., Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Under terms of the acquisition, the PYAA team will stay in Knoxville, with Verana hiring more staff to the business in the future, according to the announcement. It will also scale at its headquarters in San Francisco and New York office.
Amy joined TriMed Media as a Senior Writer for HealthExec after covering home care for three years. When not writing about all things healthcare, she fulfills her lifelong dream of becoming a pirate by sailing in regattas and enjoying rum. Fun fact: she sailed 333 miles across Lake Michigan in the Chicago Yacht Club "Race to Mackinac."