Google Parent Alphabet to Invest $375 Million in Oscar Health

 L-R: Oscar co-founders Mario Schlosser, Kevin Nazemi and Joshua Kushner.

Alphabet Inc. is putting $375 million into health insurance start-up Oscar Health, the latest healthcare investment from Google’s parent company.

Oscar which has been selling health plans under the Affordable Care Act since 2013  plans to use the funds to help fuel its entrance into the lucrative market for privately administered health insurance plans for seniors, known as Medicare Advantage, in 2020, Chief Executive Mario Schlosser said in a statement. Salar Kamangar, the former CEO of YouTube, will join Oscar’s board, the company said.
The investment comes months after Oscar Health raised $165 million 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.

August 16, 2018