Venture Funding For Mental Health Startups Hits Record High As Anxiety, Depression Skyrocket

getty

Intrepid investors started dabbling in mental healthcare over the past few years as part of a broader digital health funding boom, but many remained wary. Celebrity endorsements, like Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps’ campaign with virtual therapy startup Talkspace, started to chip away at the long standing stigma, while mindfulness apps like Calm offered meditation sessions at the click of a button.

Crazy indeed. There are now seven mental health unicorns in the U.S., up from two a year ago, buoyed by the flurry of digital health IPOs, SPAC deals and M&A activity. In 2020, mental health startup funding was 5.5 times the $275 million investors ponied up four years earlier, according toThere’s no slowdown in sight, with funding in the first quarter of 2021 topping $795 million as startups continue to jockey for post-pandemic market dominance.

The highwater mark was set pre-pandemic when the telepsychiatry and specialty pharmacy company Genoa Health sold to UnitedHealth Group for $2.5 billion in 2018. The next mental health startup to reach a billion dollar valuation was Calm in 2019. Lyra hit unicorn status in 2020 in a pandemic-fueled funding round, and Modern Health, BetterUp and Ginger joined the club in 2021. In January, Talkspace announced plans to go public in a SPAC deal valuing the company at $1.

Despite federal laws requiring mental health to be reimbursed at the same rates as physical illness, many people with insurance still face hurdles, from long wait times to denial of claims battles. Around one in four Americans don’t have access to in-network therapists,. Many mental health providers choose to operate out of insurance networks, since the reimbursement rates are so low.

United States Latest News, United States Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Ryan Reynolds Says His Three Daughters Inspired Him to Open Up About His Mental HealthRyan Reynolds has been more open about his struggles with mental health and anxiety recently and says his daughters inspired him to be more open.
Source: marieclaire - 🏆 102. / 63 Read more »

Ryan Reynolds Says His Three Daughters Inspired Him to Open Up About His Mental HealthRyan Reynolds has been more open about his struggles with mental health and anxiety recently and says his daughters inspired him to be more open.
Source: marieclaire - 🏆 102. / 63 Read more »

Ryan Reynolds Was Inspired by His 3 Daughters to Speak Out About His Mental HealthRyan Reynolds's daughters inspired him to speak out about mental health.
Source: POPSUGARMoms - 🏆 117. / 63 Read more »

Teletherapy: What to KnowMore research is needed, but it seems teletherapy can work just as well as in-person sessions.
Source: WebMD - 🏆 709. / 51 Read more »

Ryan Reynolds says his daughters inspired him to speak out about mental healthActor Ryan Reynolds said he opened up on his own mental health struggles to show his three daughters it's important to talk about your issues DailyMirror Women make you crazy. DailyMirror Oh for gods sake another one
Source: Mirror Celeb - 🏆 476. / 51 Read more »

Naomi Osaka Withdrawals from French Open and Raises Athlete Mental Health Awareness - V MagazineThe 23 year-old tennis champion pulled out of the French Open after being fined for skipping a press conference due to her mental health
Source: vmagazine - 🏆 110. / 63 Read more »