Dive Brief:
- Bill Maris, president and CEO of Google Ventures, said the company has "moved away from seed -stage investing," adding the sector is "overheated." The organization invested in 39 companies this year.
- However, the company remains committed to health and life sciences ventures and recently filed a patent on a wearable that draws blood without a needle, mostly likely for monitoring blood glucose in diabetics.
- Google Ventures invested 31% of deployed capital into the health and life sciences sector over 2015, a bit down from 36% in 2014.
Dive Insight:
There are two additional Google teams developing ways to monitor blood glucose - one via a smart contact lens and another using a disposable glucose monitor the size of a bandage, according to the Silicon Valley Business Journal.
Google Ventures invested in 39 companies this year, mostly in the health and life sciences sector and Maris said he wouldn't be surprised "if we invest $200 million to $250 million over the next 12 to 24 months [into healthcare and life sciences]." The firm may invest up to $1 billion in the sector over the next five years.
The company recently led an $8 million investment round for PatientPing, which alerts doctors when their patients are admitted to another hospital's emergency department, as previously reported in Healthcare Dive.
Google Ventures has not made any public statements about its wearable that can monitor blood glucose or where it is in the development process. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one-third of U.S. adults will likely have diabetes by 2050, as reported in the Silicon Valley Business Journal.