GV, the corporate venturing subsidiary of internet technology group Alphabet, has led a $30m series C round for Verana Health, the US-based creator of a life science product development platform.
GE Ventures, the corporate venture capital vehicle for industrial product maker General Electric, also took part in the round, along with investment firm Lagunita Biosciences, VC firm Biomatics Capital and private investor Brook Byers.
Verana has built a platform that utilises regulatory-grade datasets from the world’s largest clinical ophthalmology database to help life sciences technology developers create new drugs or devices. It will use the cash to enhance the product and hire more medical informatics and technology staff.
The company was initially founded as a patient monitoring software spinout from Stanford University called DigiSight Technologies, and officially pivoted to its new focus and name with the latest funding. It has also hired Miki Kapoor as president and chief executive.
The round follows $7.8m received in a 2015 series B round backed by GE Ventures, Lagunita Biosciences, Biosys Capital and Waycross Ventures, when Verana was still known as DigiSight. It has not revealed details of its earlier funding.
GV general partner Krishna Yeshwant said: “Verana Health generates highly differentiated, deep clinical insights for ophthalmology, creating significant new opportunities for patients, physicians and the pharmaceutical industry at-large.
“With the strong technical backgrounds and healthcare expertise of the executive team, the company is well positioned to transform the way data is leveraged to further innovation in eye care and other healthcare sectors.”