It was announced on Wednesday that Apple chairman Art Levinson has joined with Google in an initiative to combat aging and age-related health issues.
Google announced that it will be backing a new health-focused company called Calico, to be lead by former Google board member and current Apple chairman Arthur D. Levinson.
The latest 'moonshot' from the Mountain View company, Calico will focus on age-related health issues. Levinson, a biochemist who became CEO and then chairman of biotechnology giant Genentech, will make a founding investment in the company and act as its CEO.
Levinson will continue his role at Apple, according to the announcement, and Apple chief Tim Cook voiced his excitement about the project.
"For too many of our friends and family, life has been cut short or the quality of their life is too often lacking," Cook said. "Art is one of the crazy ones who thinks it doesn’t have to be this way. There is no one better suited to lead this mission and I am excited to see the results."
Though the relationship between Apple and Google has seemingly turned adversarial in recent years as they lock horns in the consumer tech marketplace, the two competitors have been known to come down on the same side of social issues, most notably in 2008 when both companies openly opposed California's Proposition 8, a ballot initiative that banned same-sex marriage in the state.