Verily Looks To Enter Asian Markets With $800M Investment From Singapore Investment Firm
Verily announced a partnership with Singapore-based investment company Temasek that will help facilitate commercial entrance into Asian markets for Verily’s healthcare solutions. The $800-million deal will provide Verily with venture capital and Temasek’s insight into Asian economies in return for a minority stake in the company and a seat on Verily’s operating board.
Founded in 1974, Temasek’s net portfolio is valued at approximately $180 billion and covers a wide range of industries, including telecommunications, transportation, energy, and life sciences. Temasek has recently taken an interest in North American tech companies and established an office in New York in 2014 and another in San Francisco in 2016. According to a press release, the San Francisco office is expected to expand the firm’s reach to tech companies in Silicon Valley, where Verily is headquartered.
“Temasek has a history of thoughtful and enduring capital investments, including in life sciences and healthcare, and this commitment to a long-term collaboration with Verily is a meaningful affirmation of our strategy,” said Andrew Conrad, CEO of Verily, in a press statement. “With substantial network and insights into the economies in Asia, Temasek will provide valuable guidance as we look to ex-US markets with our development partners.”
A significant portion — 23 percent — of Temasek’s portfolio is in China, a market Google pulled back from in 2010 following issues with cybersecurity and government censorship. According to Bloomberg, Temasek’s investment reflects Alphabet CEO Larry Page’s decision to run each of Google’s subsidiaries as independent companies, with varied autonomy and influence from its parent company.
Alphabet also recently made a move to hire more than 50 software developers in China, which may signal its desire to rebuild its presence in the world’s second largest economy, reported CNBC.
Until now, Verily has financed its operations through advertising revenue from Google, as well as through licensing deals and partnerships with top names in healthcare, said Bloomberg. Verily and Novartis are co-developing smart contact lenses, and Verily’s partnership with Nikon is combining machine-learning with advanced retinal imaging. A joint venture with J&J subsidiary Ethicon is currently developing a surgical robot, and another with GSK is working on bioelectronics.
Insiders familiar with operations at Verily recently revealed that company’s smaller projects established through partnerships with more experienced healthcare names tended to be more successful than their splashier “moonshot” projects.
According to the company’s online corporate profile, Temasek’s principal interests include transforming economies, growing the middle class, supporting start ups (or “emerging champions”), and supporting community growth through education, healthcare, and research.