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February 12, 2014 11:45 am GMT
Remember Watson? Yes, the artificially intelligent, question-answering computer system developed by IBM that trounced two former champions on Jeopardy like they were a couple of kindergartners. That Watson. (He blends right in.) While IBM has since looked expectantly to Watson to become its next cash cow, it appears the brainy computer is still looking for regular work. So, in January, IBM created the Watson Group, a new business unit “dedicated to the development and commercialization of cloud-delivered cognitive innovations” — or the “Put Watson To Work Fund.” The company said at the time that it would invest $1 billion in the Watson Group, $100 million of which would be made available for venture investments. With bring-Watson-to-market projects flush with capital, IBM’s big plans for its Jeopardy-winning computer have begun to take shape in the form of a new character: Dr. Watson. Today, further evidence of Watson’s future in healthcare arrived in the form of the Watson Group’s first venture investment, which saw it take the lead in the $22.1 million Series C financing of social health management startup, Welltok. Since emerging in 2009, Denver-based WellTok has been on a mission to provide businesses with better ways to incentivize their employees to actually participate (and engage with) in company wellness plans. The startup offers a suite of Web and mobile social media-based solutions, as well as a social health management platform, to help health plans “consumerize” their services. In other words, by leveraging the ease-of-use, accessibility and cross-platform functionality now available in so many consumer-facing products, Welltok wants to help providers, and companies themselves, improve the user experience of their health plans and the health of their employees. For Watson Group and IBM, the interest in Welltok is simple: Healthcare and healthcare applications are where they believe Watson can potentially have the biggest impact. In part, IBM is betting that the computer system’s technology could herald a new era of predictive analytics in healthcare. In other words, by instantaneously scanning millions of studies and academic records, for example, Watson’s technology could allow doctors to quickly find better treatment options for their patients. The investment is also meant to support the Watson Group’s existing partnership with Welltok, through which the two companies are building a new Watson-enabled application called “CafWell Concierge.” The application will expand on Welltok’s health optimization platform and flagship product, CafeWell, both allows company health manager to more easily
Original Link: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/cTbbwViuHdE/
IBMs Watson Group Makes First Startup Investment In Social Health Management Pioneer, Welltok
Remember Watson? Yes, the artificially intelligent, question-answering computer system developed by IBM that trounced two former champions on Jeopardy like they were a couple of kindergartners. That Watson. (He blends right in.) While IBM has since looked expectantly to Watson to become its next cash cow, it appears the brainy computer is still looking for regular work. So, in January, IBM created the Watson Group, a new business unit “dedicated to the development and commercialization of cloud-delivered cognitive innovations” — or the “Put Watson To Work Fund.” The company said at the time that it would invest $1 billion in the Watson Group, $100 million of which would be made available for venture investments. With bring-Watson-to-market projects flush with capital, IBM’s big plans for its Jeopardy-winning computer have begun to take shape in the form of a new character: Dr. Watson. Today, further evidence of Watson’s future in healthcare arrived in the form of the Watson Group’s first venture investment, which saw it take the lead in the $22.1 million Series C financing of social health management startup, Welltok. Since emerging in 2009, Denver-based WellTok has been on a mission to provide businesses with better ways to incentivize their employees to actually participate (and engage with) in company wellness plans. The startup offers a suite of Web and mobile social media-based solutions, as well as a social health management platform, to help health plans “consumerize” their services. In other words, by leveraging the ease-of-use, accessibility and cross-platform functionality now available in so many consumer-facing products, Welltok wants to help providers, and companies themselves, improve the user experience of their health plans and the health of their employees. For Watson Group and IBM, the interest in Welltok is simple: Healthcare and healthcare applications are where they believe Watson can potentially have the biggest impact. In part, IBM is betting that the computer system’s technology could herald a new era of predictive analytics in healthcare. In other words, by instantaneously scanning millions of studies and academic records, for example, Watson’s technology could allow doctors to quickly find better treatment options for their patients. The investment is also meant to support the Watson Group’s existing partnership with Welltok, through which the two companies are building a new Watson-enabled application called “CafWell Concierge.” The application will expand on Welltok’s health optimization platform and flagship product, CafeWell, both allows company health manager to more easilyOriginal Link: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/cTbbwViuHdE/
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