Alphabet pushes into healthtech with AI-powered app Verily Me

Alphabet's life sciences unit, Verily, has announced the launch of an artificial intelligence (AI) powered health app called Verily Me.

The app, rolled out last Friday, lets users easily access and share health records with clinicians across healthcare systems. The Verily Me app is in beta and available now in the Apple and Google Play app stores.

Verily Me features

• Ask Violet: Acts as a private AI companion that can answer a user's personal questions in a protected setting.

• Food tracking and nutrition guide: Users can simply upload images of their meals and get personalised, real-time feedback along with nutrition tips.

• Alphabet's database: The app is built on Alphabet's software platform.
  

The development follows a push by the US government to boost tech innovation in the health sector.

The Trump administration has encouraged tech companies to expand the suite of healthcare tools available to citizens, according to Bloomberg.

“We created Verily Me to meet the consumer need for a simpler, more personalised healthcare solution,” said Vindell Washington, chief clinical officer at Verily.

“Verily Me identifies care gaps and provides more personalized treatment recommendations, an important step towards our commitment to equipping individuals with the tools they need to better manage their health," he added.

After a summit last month between tech leaders and Trump, Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai said the Trump administration is investing a lot in AI and termed the 'AI Action Plan', unveiled in July by the White House, as a "great start".

Alphabet, Apple and Amazon are among the tech majors that have pledged to invest and support US health systems, making medical data more visible and organised.

In July, the Trump administration announced a voluntary deal to boost data-sharing and expand consumer health apps.

The development comes after Google and app developer Flo Health agreed to a $56 million settlement in a class-action lawsuit that alleged they had violated the privacy of millions of Flo users by collecting menstrual health data for targeted advertising.

The case invoked the California Invasion of Privacy Act, which allows statutory penalties of $5,000 per violation. In a statement Google, however, said that no data was used for ads.

The broader picture

Alphabet reached $3 trillion in market capitalisation for the first time in September, riding on investor optimism over its advances in artificial intelligence and a favourable US antitrust ruling for Google. Concerns were raised about the tech giant being engaged in monopolistic practices in online search and advertising.

The company has been investing heavily in AI. Reuters reported in September that the Pichai-led company would spend about $75 billion this year to build out data centre capacity, doubling down on its generative AI bet.