Genalyte hires Facebook and Google exec Kevin Lo as company president

Khosla-backed one drop blood test startup Genalyte has hired former Facebook exec Kevin Lo as president of the company.

Lo comes to Genalyte after leading “connectivity efforts” at Facebook “for the four billion people not online, and the 1.5B under-served who use the Internet at ‘2G’ speeds,” according to his LinkedIn profile. Before that, Lo worked for Google where he headed up Google Fiber.

So why jump into medicine after working on connecting the world? “We are at a critical juncture where technology and innovation are driving fundamental changes within our healthcare industry,” said Lo. “Genalyte is poised to lead a revolution in real time diagnostics—one that creates better treatment and patient outcomes.”

Genalyte leverages lab-on-a-chip technology it says can run through up to 128 different tests on a single finger prick of blood in under 15 minutes using what it calls its Maverick Detection Platform.

The San Diego-based startup’s proprietary silicon chip contains arrays of photonic microring sensors to detect diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and has so far raised nearly $92 million in venture funding.

The startup hopes to use this technology in an outpatient setting, pending FDA approval.

“We are thrilled to welcome Kevin to our leadership team at a moment of incredible momentum for the company,” Genalyte CEO Cary Gunn said in a statement. “Kevin’s unique expertise and experience working with some of the world’s most groundbreaking companies will help guide Genalyte as the company begins this next important chapter in diagnostic innovation.”