Google Cloud and Amwell Partner to Transform and Expand Access to Virtual Care

SUNNYVALE, Calif. and BOSTON, Aug. 24, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Google Cloud and Amwell® today announced that they have entered into a multi-year, strategic partnership to deliver transformative telehealth solutions across the global healthcare ecosystem. Together, the companies will endeavor to expand access to virtual care, improve patient and clinician experiences, and leverage their unique capabilities to deliver new, differentiated healthcare solutions—across the continuum of care.

The pandemic has resulted in historic telehealth utilization, making it a priority and, in many cases, a preference for patients, providers, and health plans. With this partnership, Google Cloud and Amwell see an opportunity to improve patient and clinician telehealth experiences through technologies that can automate waiting room and checkout; provide automated language translation services; advance population health by making it easier for more patients to receive care; and assist payers and providers in routine tasks, by intelligently triaging cases and reducing clinician burnout.

The partnership involves the following key components:

• Google Cloud selects Amwell as its preferred global telehealth platform partner, and Amwell selects Google Cloud as its preferred global cloud platform partner and will migrate its video performance capabilities onto Google Cloud's superior cloud platform for both new and existing customers around the globe.
• Both companies will engage in a strategic technology collaboration to bring the best of their technologies to enrich the telehealth experience, including focus on development work using Google Cloud artificial-intelligence and machine-learning technologies to assist patients and front-line workers with intake, inquiries, and triage; natural language and translation services for non-native speakers; G Suite tools like Meet to improve collaboration among healthcare staff and with their patients; and sophisticated data analytics tools to aid in remote home health monitoring by providers and insurers.
• The partnership aims to make the healthcare experience much simpler and more continuously accessible to underserved populations. The companies will seek to enable the healthcare industry to serve seniors and patients with chronic illnesses in new ways, without compromising on care quality or user trust.
• Both companies will engage in go-to-market strategy alignment and execution to expand access to virtual care delivery into their mutual customer accounts, leveraging the global presence of Google Cloud.
• Products and services under the partnership follow security and privacy as core principles and adhere to strict guidance regarding data access and usage, including industry regulations regarding patient health information, such as HIPAA.
• Google Cloud will invest $100 million into Amwell to evolve and scale its telehealth portfolio to serve the needs of providers, insurers, and patients within current and new markets. Google Cloud's investment will be a concurrent private placement at a purchase price that will be the same as the price to the public in Amwell's IPO and will be contingent upon the closing of its IPO.

"This is a critical partnership for the healthcare industry and has the potential to dramatically transform the telehealth space through the use of modern cloud technologies," said Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud. "We are thrilled that together we can bring groundbreaking digital health solutions to so many providers, patients, and health plans across the globe. Our joint work will drive innovation in health in a new and powerful way."

"We chose Google Cloud as our strategic partner because of their phenomenal people, superior products, and open approach to partnering," said Ido Schoenberg, MD, Chairman and CEO of Amwell. "Together, we will be able to offer an incredible array of integrated capabilities and help millions of people around the world access better care. Our collaborative work could literally democratize healthcare."

This press release does not constitute an offer of any securities for sale. Amwell was advised on this transaction by Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz and Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP.

About Amwell

Amwell is a leading telehealth platform in the United States and globally, connecting and enabling providers, insurers, patients, and innovators to deliver greater access to more affordable, higher quality care. Amwell believes that digital care delivery will transform healthcare. The Company offers a single, comprehensive platform to support all telehealth needs from urgent to acute and post-acute care, as well as chronic care management and healthy living. With over a decade of experience, Amwell powers telehealth solutions for over 2,000 hospitals and 55 health plan partners with over 36,000 employers, covering over 80 million lives. For more information please visit https://business.amwell.com/. 

American Well, Amwell, and The Exchange are registered trademarks or trademarks of American Well Corporation in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks used herein are the property of their respective owners.

About Google Cloud

Google Cloud provides organizations with leading infrastructure, platform capabilities and industry solutions. We deliver enterprise-grade cloud solutions that leverage Google's cutting-edge technology to help companies operate more efficiently and adapt to changing needs, giving customers a foundation for the future. Customers in more than 150 countries turn to Google Cloud as their trusted partner to solve their most critical business problems.

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SOURCE Amwell