Mountain View, California: Google has launched a new company called Calico (short for California Life Company), that will "focus on health and well-being, in particular the challenge of aging and associated diseases," as Page put it on Google+.
The Internet search giant said Wednesday that the company will be headed by Arthur Levinson, the current chairman and former CEO of biotechnology company Genentech and the chairman of Apple Inc. He will stay in his current positions.
The tech giant said Calico will provide technological assistance to help deal with increasingly elderly population.
Page hinted that one of the illnesses Calico's small team, based near Google's headquarters in San Francisco, will look at is cancer.
"Art and I are excited about tackling aging and illness," Page said. "These issues affect us all -- from the decreased mobility and mental agility that comes with age, to life-threatening diseases that exact a terrible physical and emotional toll on individuals and families."
Levinson himself said: “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.”
Google's latest venture shows the efforts the company is putting in getting away from its traditional internet business. It has branched out into mobile phones and hi-tech glasses and is also developing a self-driving car.
