Is Google parent Alphabet pivoting toward healthcare? 3 notes

Jessica Kim Cohen -

Alphabet, Google's parent company, is increasingly hiring from and investing in the biotechnology, healthcare and life sciences, according to CNBC.com.

Here are three notes on the Mountain View, Calif.-based company.

1. Two of Alphabet's subsidiaries recently hired healthcare industry veterans.

Calico, a biotech company, named Arthur D. Levinson, PhD, its new CEO. Dr. Levinson is the former CEO of Genentech and an Apple chairman.

Verily, a life sciences research company, hired Tom Insel, MD, and Jessica Mega, MD. Dr. Insel is the former head of the National Institute of Mental Health and Dr. Mega is a cardiologist, who previously worked at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.

2. Alphabet itself is searching for computational biologists, robotics experts and academic researchers. Its subsidiary Sidewalk Labs, which uses technology to solve urban issues, is searching for a chief health officer and head of community health.

3. Verily has partnered with a variety of large drug companies, including GlaxoSmithKline , Johnson & Johnson and Sanofi. GV and CapitalG, both of Alphabet's venture arms, have also heavily invested in the health sector. In April 2016, GV led the Series B funding round for behavioral health startup Quartet Health.

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