Google Parent Alphabet to Invest $375 Million in Health Insurer Oscar

Alphabet plans to invest $375 million (roughly Rs. 2,600 crores) in Oscar Health, helping it expand to more markets and business segments, including Medicare Advantage in 2020, the health insurance startup said on Tuesday.

The investment comes months after Oscar Health raised $165 million (roughly Rs. 1,150 crores) in a funding round. Among the participants of that funding, CapitalG and Verily Life Sciences were financed by Alphabet.

Alphabet would now own roughly 10 percent of the privately held Oscar, which offers technology-driven services for individual consumers, according to a Wired.com report.

Alphabet was "thrilled" to invest further to help Oscar in its next phase of growth, a company spokeswoman said.

Oscar Health was founded in 2012 by Mario Schlosser, Kevin Nazemi, who is no longer a part of the company, and Josh Kushner, brother of President Donald Trump's adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner.

© Thomson Reuters 2018