Verily, Alphabet's life sciences arm, is looking to untangle itself from Google to prepare for a future outside its parent company and a potential IPO, according to a Sept. 21 Insider report.
Verily was created in 2015 inside Google X's research group. Alphabet's holding option gave Verily an opportunity to gain some freedom and separate itself from Google's operations.
Five things to know:
- Verily is planning to gain independence from Google's technology in a project known internally as Flywheel, according to the report. Verily and Google are working together on the project.
- Many of Verily's products rely on Google's cloud. Verily is focused on transitioning from Google's internal cloud to a public version available to other businesses.
- Flywheel was launched in early 2021 and the company is looking to complete a new version of the infrastructure by 2022. Verily is trying to get the spinoff to a point where it's fully utilizing public tools and services.
- The company is looking to diversify product offerings, such as telehealth. Verily's independence would give the company the freedom to make these decisions on its own. Verily also has to often reassure potential partners it won't share their data with Google, according to the report.
- Verily CEO Andy Conrad, PhD, who launched the project when it was still part of Google X, has talked to employees about a potential push toward an IPO, Insider reported.