Google launches Calico, an anti-aging company led by an Apple executive

The "California Life Company" will apply Google's 10x thinking to healthcare.

Google is taking another moonshot and getting into healthcare research, and they're doing it with the help of an extremely high-ranking Apple employee.
Today Google announced it's launching "Calico," a company focused on "health and well-being, in particular the challenge of aging and associated diseases." The initiative will be a long term "moonshot" project involving healthcare and biotechnology (Google basically wants to stop you from dying).
Since the company just launched, there aren't many details yet. The most interesting news is that the man running it is Art Levinson, the current chairman of both Genentech, another biotech company, and Apple. Yes, that Apple. Tim Cook even has a quote in the press release:

For too many of our friends and family, life has been cut short or the quality of their life is too often lacking. Art is one of the crazy ones who thinks it doesn’t have to be this way. There is no one better suited to lead this mission and I am excited to see the results.

Levinson will keep his Chairman roles at Genetech and Apple while running Calico. That latter position he took after the death of Steve Jobs. According the Levinson, who just started up a Google+ page, "Calico" is an abbreviation for the "California Life Company."
As healthcare and technology become more and more intertwined, expect more crossover projects like this. Larry Ellison, the CEO of Oracle, recently started his own anti-aging company called "The Ellison Medical Foundation." There are a lot of very rich people out there that are getting older, and while it may seem like science fiction, "stopping death" is getting more and more money thrown at it. Google's Larry Page also invests in a research program through the Voice Health Institute, which is trying to solve his unknown vocal cord condition.
Some people will be alarmed by anything involving "Google" and "medicine" after Larry Page's flippant comments around HIPAA, but for now Calico seems to just be a research company. Plus, it's hard to decry anyone trying to cure diseases and help us all live longer.

Ajeet Kumar
PGDM
1st Year