Google Health Care Investments Expand To Insurance Startup Oscar And Neuroscientist Hire
The Internet company is making a $32.5 million investment in Oscar Health Insurance Corp., a new company that wants to compete with established providers by using data and technology to modernize the insurance business. Google also hires the director of the National Institute of Mental Health to join a team researching mental illness.
The Wall Street Journal:
Google Backs Startup Oscar Health Insurance
Insurance startup Oscar Health Insurance Corp. has a powerful new ally in its uphill battle to win customers from entrenched insurance giants: Google Inc. Google Capital, the Internet company’s growth-equity fund, has invested $32.5 million in Oscar, the startup’s CEO said in an interview. The deal values two-year-old Oscar at $1.75 billion, up from a valuation of $1.5 billion when it last took funding in April, said a person familiar with the transaction. (MacMillan, 9/15)
The San Jose Mercury News:
Google Hires Top Neuroscientist To Lead Mental Health Project
After visiting Silicon Valley this summer for a tour of tech companies including Apple, Google and IBM, the director of the National Institute of Mental Health is coming back — this time to work. Google’s life-sciences division, now its own subsidiary of parent company Alphabet, said Tuesday that it has hired Thomas Insel, a neuroscientist and psychiatrist who since 2002 has run the branch of the Maryland-based National Institutes of Health that works on understanding and treating mental disorders. (9/15)
In other industry news, Dentsply will acquire Sirona Dental Systems for $5.5 billion, and UAW and Fiat Chrysler reach a tentative contract deal -
The New York Times' DealBook:
Dentsply To Acquire Sirona Dental For $5.5 Billion
Two of the biggest makers of dental products said on Tuesday that they had agreed to combine, betting on bigger scale to take advantage of growing demand for dentistry work. Dentsply said it would acquire Sirona Dental Systems for $5.5 billion in what the two companies called a merger of equals that would create a dental health giant with a combined market value of about $13.3 billion. (de la Merced, 9/15)
The Associated Press:
Fiat Chrysler, UAW Reach Tentative Contract Deal
A tentative contract agreement reached Tuesday between the United Auto Workers and Fiat Chrysler addresses pay and health care issues, but neither side would give specifics about the pact. ... At a hastily called news conference after the deal was announced early Tuesday evening, Williams said the agreement meets the union's goals but still keeps Fiat Chrysler competitive with other automakers. He told reporters he had three goals for the contract: giving entry-level workers a path to higher pay, rewarding members for sacrifices they made while Fiat Chrysler struggled financially, and dealing with escalating health care costs. (9/16)