• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, January 4, 2019

Verily, Alphabet’s research organization for life sciences, just raised $1 billion in a funding round led by Silver Lake.

Previously known as Google Life Sciences, Verily was originally a division of Google X before becoming an independent subsidiary of Alphabet. The unit’s projects have included everything from research-focus wearables and smart lenses to glucose monitoring technology.

Andrew Conrad, Verily CEO, said the new funds will help his team expand beyond their core strategic focus areas through both partnerships and acquisitions.

One new investor in the round included Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan.

Per the new investment, Ruth Porat, CFO, Alphabet, and Egon Durban, managing partner and managing director of Silver Lake, have been nominated to join Verily’s board of directors.

To tackle big problems in the fields of health and biology, Verily dabbles in everything from data organization and analytics to product engineering.

Alphabet, Google’s parent company, formed a new holding company intended to finalize the evolution of its reorganization as its subsidiaries move further away from search and advertising. 

In 2017, Alphabet assumed the final portion of a “non-controlling” investment in Verily from Temasek, a Singapore-based investment firm. The firm paid $800 million in cash, according to an 10-K filing.

Dubbed the Study Watch, Verily unveiled a watch in 2017 that boasts physiological and environmental sensors designed to measure signals from cardiovascular and movement disorders. The device can also examine electrocardiogram, heart rate, electrodermal activity and inertial movements.

Google officially separated from Verily, Nest, Waymo and other such units in late 2017.