Prime Highlights: 

Alphabet’s health-tech subsidiary, Verily, has sold its stop-loss insurance subsidiary, Granular Insurance Company, to Elevance Health. 

Granular was founded in 2020, initially called Coefficient Insurance, with backing from Swiss Re Group’s commercial insurance unit. The company specialized in medical stop-loss insurance and fronting reinsurance. 

Key Background: 

Alphabet’s Verily has confirmed its decision to sell its subsidiary, Granular Insurance Company, to Elevance Health, marking a strategic shift for the health-tech company. The sale which involves the disposal of Verily’s stop-loss insurance operations, a segment launched just five years ago in 2020. The terms of the deal have not been disclosed. 

Granular Insurance, originally named Coefficient Insurance Company, was established with financial backing from the Swiss Re Group’s commercial insurance unit. The company specialized in providing self-funded employers and captives with medical stop-loss insurance, fronting reinsurance, and other fronting solutions, utilizing proprietary technology. Despite the promising launch, Verily’s exit from the insurance sector underscores the company’s broader challenges in finding a sustainable and profitable niche within the healthcare industry. 

This move is part of a series of significant adjustments at Verily. In recent years, the health-tech subsidiary of Alphabet has undergone a major restructuring, which included workforce reductions, executive leadership changes, and a strategic overhaul. The company, initially launched as a moonshot project within Alphabet’s innovation lab, X (formerly Google X), has shifted its focus multiple times. It began by developing hardware like continuous glucose monitors, pivoted to pandemic response in 2020, and more recently, reoriented itself toward precision medicine in 2022. 

Verily’s shift to focus on new ventures is exemplified by its introduction of Lightpath, an artificial intelligence-powered chronic care solution introduced in 2023. The product is designed to support patients taking GLP-1 weight loss medications and other interventions through continuous glucose monitors. Despite raising over $1 billion and attracting high-profile talent, including former Apple executives, Verily continues to adapt its business model in search of a long-term, successful strategy within healthcare. The sale of Granular marks a significant step in this ongoing evolution.