Google’s co-founder Larry Page announced today that his company is forming a new healthcare and wellness company called Calico that will be focused on tackling aging and other associated diseases. The new venture is being formed with Apple Art Levinson.
The move is one of Page’s moonshot companies, and is geared towards tackling issues such as decreased mobility and mental agility. As Page explains in his Google+ post, Calico is an example he sees of technology being used to improve people’s lives, beyond simply being a social network or a photo sharing service.
And while this new venture involves Levinson, Page says that he will remain Chairman of Apple, as well as Genentech, and a director of Hoffmann-La Roche.
Apple CEO Tim Cook issued a statement about the news, saying: “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.”
Calico is certainly a personal issue for Page, given his health issues that he recently announced surrounding his vocal-cord nerve damage he experienced 14 years ago.
Levinson revealed more details about the formation of Calico in a Google+ post, saying that it was started during his tenure on Google’s board where he served with Page. Interestingly, Calico is an abbreviation for “California Life Company”. He also echoed Page’s sentiments over the launch of this company, saying that “with great people, a strong culture and vision and a healthy disregard for the impossible, we could make progress tackling these questions, and improving people’s lives.”
Calico has received investment from Google, and as Fortune’s Dan Primack notes, it’s coming from the company directly, not from Google Ventures.
➤ Google vs Death (TIME)
Photo credit: KIMIHIRO HOSHINO/AFP/Getty Images
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