Google (GOOGL 0.55%) is headed into health care. The company announced today that it has created Calico, a company that will focus its research on aging and its associated diseases.
At the CEO reins will be biotech all-star and Apple (AAPL 1.27%) Chairman Art Levinson. While the company will fall under Google's auspices, Levinson also joins the ranks as a founding investor.
Google co-founder and CEO Larry Page is excited about the prospects this venture offers:
Illness and aging affect all our families. With some longer term, moonshot thinking around health care and biotechnology, I believe we can improve millions of lives. It's impossible to imagine anyone better than Art -- one of the leading scientists, entrepreneurs and CEOs of our generation -- to take this new venture forward.
Commenting on his newest position, Levinson noted: "I've devoted much of my life to science and technology, with the goal of improving human health. Larry's focus on outsized improvements has inspired me, and I'm tremendously excited about what's next."
Apple's Tim Cook reflected that "[t]here is no one better suited to lead this mission and I am excited to see the results."
On Larry Page's Google Plus page, the CEO seemed to speak directly to worried investors when he asked readers to "please remember that new investments like this are very small by comparison to our core business."
