- Dec 17, 2023
Mental health is vital for the complete wellbeing of an individual. It influences every aspect of life, be it decision making, actions and interactions with the society. A decline in mental health therefore adversely impacts one’s life and those around. The USA is currently facing a grim mental health scenario.
- Around 1 in 5 adults is battling with some kind of mental health condition.
- Over 160 million Americans live in areas that have acute shortage of health providers
Understanding the gravity of the situation, many mental health care startups have emerged, trying to bridge the gap in mental healthcare. The general awareness regarding mental health is also growing with more people talking about it and seeking help, further fueling the rise of startups.
Key Factors Driving the Mental Health Startup Growth
- Skyrocketing mental health deterioration due to the pandemic effect is directly impacting the rise of mental health startups
- Adoption of telehealth is making mental healthcare more accessible. In fact, availability of telehealth services for mental health rose from 39.4% in 2019 to 88.1% in 2022
- Increased awareness about mental health and its impact on one’s overall health has significantly lowered the stigma associated with it, prompting more people to seek help.
- Startups ability to solve the problem of shortage of clinicians to treat mental health. According Mental Health America, there is only one medical health practitioner for every 350 individuals
Leading Mental Health Startups in the US
Mental health startups are making remarkable progress in delivering mental health care in the US. With a variety of services like virtual reality therapy, coaching, mental wellness apps, chat-bots, and lots more, these startups are normalizing mental health care, making it accessible and affordable to thousands. Here is a list of 15 prominent startups making a world of difference in mental healthcare in the US
1. Modern Health
Founders: Alyson Watson & Erica Johnson
Location: San Fransisco, California
Founded year: 2017
Funding: $ 170 million post series D funding
Modern Health is a platform providing evidence based solutions for mental wellbeing of employees. It has an in-house network of certified mental health coaches and licensed therapists from around the world. Employees and their families can connect with them virtually to meet their mental healthcare needs.
2. Lyra Health
Founders: David Ebersman, Bob Kocher & Bryan Roberts
Location: Burlingame, California
Founded Year: 2015
Funding: $910 million, series F
Lyra Health is a leading mental healthcare solutions provider for employees and their families. It provides a digital platform for evidence based support for wide range of mental health issues. AI based provider matching, personalization of care programs, 24/7 access to in-house care teams are some of the highlights enhancing user experience.
3. Kintsugi
Founders: Grace Chang & Rima Seiilova-Olson
Location: Berkeley, California
Founded year: 2019
Funding: $30.9 million, series A
Kinstugi has developed revolutionary voice biomarker software that can pick up signs of depression and anxiety by screening speech.
- Kinstugi Voice is an API product based on this technology which can be used by employers, telehealth platforms, call centres, and remote patient monitoring to monitor mental health and provide timely intervention.
- Kinstugi app is also available for self care and monitoring where one can simply talk into it to receive insights.
4. Spring Health
Founders: April Koh & Adam Chekroud
Location: New York
Founded in: 2016
Funding: $366.5 million, series D
Spring Health offers personalized mental healthcare solutions for employees. Questioners are prepared to collect employee response which is used to personalize services using machine learning algorithms. Be it digital supports, therapy, coaching and even medication, all services are personalized to suit individual employee’s needs. The platform also serves for browsing and scheduling appointments with best suited provider and care navigation.
5. Meru Health
Founders: Kristian Ranta & Riku Lindholm
Location: San Mateo, California
Founded year: 2016
Funding: $53.3 million, Grant
Meru Health has a 12-week app based program for depression and anxiety, involving the use of a wearable device to monitor body’s response to stress. It includes weekly themed lessons and practices to help regulate emotions, improve sleep, and nutrition, access to a licensed therapist, and peer support. The program has impressive results with improvement in 73% of participants and 59% in remission.
6. Nue Life Health
Founders: Christina Getty, Demian bellumio , Juan Cappello, Katie Kiernan & Kazi Hassan
Location: Miami, Florida
Founded year: 2020
Funding: $ 28.2M, series A
Nue Life Health is psychedelics based telemedicine startup aimed at improving symptoms of depression, anxiety, and Post-Traumatic stress disorder (PSTD), etc. It offers Ketamine therapy to users, and monitors their symptoms using the Nue app. The app is now free for all individuals undergoing Ketamine therapy in the US, irrespective of whether they come under its own program.
7. Iris Telehealth
Founders: Tarik Shaheen
Location: Austin, Texas
Founded year: 2013
Funding: $40 million, series B
Iris telehealth is a telepsychistry startup providing behavioral health solutions virtually to community mental health centers, hospitals, certified community behavioral health clinics, etc. It has been impactful with around 98% partner satisfaction.
8. Eleanor Health
Founders: Corbin Petro, David Whelan, Nzinga Harrison, Trevor Price & Srishti Mirchandani
Location: Waltham, Massachusetts
Founded year: 2019
Funding: $82 million, series C
Eleanor health provides personalized care to people suffering from addiction and provides personalized care to people suffering from addiction and mental illness virtually or in-person. It provides therapy, psychiatry, addiction treatment, peer support and care coordination.
9. Workit Health
Founders: Robin McIntosh & Lisa McLaughlin
Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan
Founded year: 2015
Funding: $138.2 million, series C
Workit is a telehealth platform that provides treatment and medication for substance and alcohol abuse recovery. It supports judgment free recovery at home, at minimal costs and high confidentiality.
10. Brightline
Founders: Giovanni Colella, Naomi Allen
Location: Palo Alto, California
Founded year: 2019
Funding: $212 million, series C
Brighthline is a telehealth platform helping small children and teens deal with behavioral and mental health issues. Along with virtual therapy and coaching sessions for children and teens, it also has sessions for parents and caregivers so that they can help their kids deal with their issues better.
11. SonderMind
Founders: Mark Frank & Sean Boyd
Location: Denver, Colorado
Founded year: 2014
Funding: $183 million, series C
Sondermind provides virtual and in person behavioral and mental care by matching therapists and psychiatrists based on the mental health needs and insurance coverage of an individual.
12. Headspace
Founders: Andy Puddicombe & Rich Pierson
Location: Santa Monica, California
Founded year: 2010
Funding: $178 million, debt financing
Headspace provides evidence-based mental health solutions through its app. It has tools for meditation and mindfulness that encourage building life-changing habits for better mental health, along with mental health coaching and therapy.
13. Calm
Founders: Micheal Acton Smith & Alex Tew
Location: San Francisco, California
Founded year: 2012
Funding: $219 million, series C
Calm is a popular app with a lot of resources for improving sleep quality. It offers guided meditation, sleep stories for adults, breathing exercises, soothing music, etc., that help to lower stress and promote better sleep. A lot of lessons on mindfulness are also available that help to relax the mind and improve overall mental well-being.
14. Mantra Health
Founders: Eouard Gaussen, Matt Kennedy & Ravi N Shah
Location: New york
Founded year: 2018
Funding: $32.2 million, series A
Mantra Health is a digital mental health startup for students. It partners with higher education institutions across the country to provide virtual mental health and wellness solutions to university and college students by providing a dedicated psychiatrist or therapist for campus counseling offices.
15. Woebot
Founder: Alison Darcy
Location: San Francisco, California
Founded Year: 2017
Funding: $ 123.3 Million
Woebot is an AI based Chabot that helps people manage their systems of stress, depression, and anxiety. It uses cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) techniques to converse with users and improve their overall mental well-being.
Growth Potential of Mental Health Startups
The global mental health market is forecasted to reach $537.97 billion by 2030, promising tremendous growth potential for mental health startups. Some of the trends in mental health care which startups can leverage are:
- Investor’s interest in youth mental health is increasing, by 2027 the technologies and startups in this space will be worth $26 billion
- Increased preference of telehealth for mental health services
- Integration of AI, machine learning, and NPL into mental health systems
- Growing focus on employee mental wellbeing in organizations
Conclusion
Mental health is finally getting the attention it deserves. As conversations around mental health increase, more and more individuals are seeking out help for their mental wellbeing. Mental health startups have played a significant role in bridging the gaps in mental healthcare. They have made it convenient and accessible. Personalization of care is the key to enhanced patient experience, and startups are leveraging the best of technology, AI and ML to make this possible. With the demand for mental health solutions on the rise, the startup ecosystem continues to thrive, steering thousands of lives towards mental wellness.
