Lyra Health
VC-backed mental health startups have received more than $1.9 billion so far in 2021.
The COVID-19 pandemic has heightened the need for improved digital health offerings. It s encouraging to see exceptional founders tackle this problem which has been ignored for too long, Check Warner, founder of Ada Ventures, told Insider.
Mental health startups are being backed by investors at record levels as demand for their services soared throughout the pandemic.
VC-backed mental health startups have received more than $1.9 billion so far in 2021, already more than the record $1.8 billion raised in 2020, according to Dealroom data. The industry has been buoyed by the twin factors of a number of mega deals as well as a larger macro trend towards digital health options for dealing with mental health issues.
This Week in Apps: App Store advertising expands, Google Play plans for safety, Epic v. Apple trial begins
Welcome back to This Week in Apps, the weekly TechCrunch series that recaps the latest in mobile OS news, mobile applications and the overall app economy.
The app industry continues to grow, with a record 218 billion downloads and $143 billion in global consumer spend in 2020. Consumers last year also spent 3.5 trillion minutes using apps on Android devices alone. And in the U.S., app usage surged ahead of the time spent watching live TV. Currently, the average American watches 3.7 hours of live TV per day, but now spends four hours per day on their mobile devices.
Vida, which treats mental and physical conditions together, stood out to GA for many reasons, including its proven engagement, with revenue more than tripling since the start of 2020.
Vida Health Raises $110M to Expand Personalized Virtual Care Platform for Mental & Physical Health
What You Should Know:
– Vida Health, a personalized virtual care platform for physical and behavioral health, today announced it has raised $110M led by General Atlantic and global insurance giants Centene, and AXA Venture Partners. Returning investors include Ally Bridge Group, Yahoo founder Jerry Yang’s AME Cloud Ventures, Aspect Ventures, Canvas Ventures, Guidewell, NGP Capital, and Workday Ventures.
– Centene’s investment in Vida follows its successful 20-state deployment of Vida for its health insurance marketplace product, Ambetter, addressing members with chronic conditions. Many of the Centene members enrolled in Vida are being treated simultaneously for both physical ailments like diabetes, high blood pressure, and obesity and mental health ailments like depression, stress, and anxiety. The company will use this new funding to continue expanding