Verily, the US-based life sciences subsidiary of internet and technology group Alphabet, is expanding its investment activities to include more startups following a $1bn investment, according to TechCrunch.
Partner Space, Verily’s investment and collaboration scheme, is set to increase the number of startups it hosts from between six and eight companies to up to 15 companies, Andy Harrison, head of business and corporate development and ventures lead at Verily, told TechCrunch.
The initiative typically invests in series A or B rounds and offers portfolio companies the opportunity to work in its San Francisco campus in a move to foster collaboration.
The only two startups to have publicly disclosed their participation in Partner Space are Freenome, which combines machine learning, computer science and biology to develop disease screening and diagnostic technology, and Culture Robotics, which is creating tools to automate the fermentation process.
Verily raised $1bn earlier this month, in a round led by private equity firm Silver Lake, that included Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and two undisclosed investment management firms.
Andrew Conrad, Verily’s CEO, said at the time of the investment: “We are taking external funding to increase flexibility and optionality as we expand on our core strategic focus areas.”