May - 2015 - Special issue > VC talk
Augmenting Healthcare With IT: A conversation with Krishna Yeshwant, General Partner, Google Ventures
Krishna Yeshwant
General Partner-Google Ventures
There are a handful of areas we have been interested in over the past few years. Areas like genetics and healthcare delivery are shifting towards making processes more fluid and accessible to patients. Although there is a huge amount of activity in these areas, many questions are still left unanswered. Sequencing the genome in clinical medicine has captured the interest of oncologists and other medical researchers. This research has given us the means to use information previously locked in the human genome.
We also spend a lot of time studying the US healthcare system and the changes in the way patients get medical attention and insurance companies reimburse medical professionals.
What are the bottlenecks in the innovation process?
Healthcare systems are already being streamlined using IT-based solutions today, and it appears that the two fields will go hand-in-hand for a long time. With healthcare generating a large amount of information and IT being necessary to organize and leverage this information, it is only natural that the two fields connected. For example, genetic sequencing is an information heavy task and with its help, one can identify how successful different therapies might be.
We also have an interest in wearable technology and apps, and we're exploring ideas in the sector that are being developed.
The care-delivery side is another growing area for investments. With the number of patients increasing at a faster rate than the number of physicians, we feel that patient care will become more virtual in the future. However, these are nascent areas and in some cases will take months or years to become fully developed.
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