The Booming Mindtech

June 5, 2020

The advocacy group Mental Health America says it has seen a big increase in anxiety and depression since the coronavirus pandemic began. The pandemic and ensuing lockdown have triggered increased loneliness and isolation while also making in-person help harder to access. On the other hand, the pandemic has also put a spotlight on health and wellbeing, including mental health. COVID-19 has normalized discussions around health-related topics at a bigger scale.

More than 211,000 people took one of Mental Health America's anonymous online screenings in May. Almost four times more people used those online tools in May than in January. Roughly 88,000 of those screenings showed signs of anxiety or depression, the group said. More than 21,000 reported thinking about suicide or self-harm.

Years of underfunding in the space have finally caught up. Mindtech startups focused on preventative measures (ie, sleep, breathing, wellness), provider platforms, diagnostics, telehealth, and digital therapy have finally caught the attention of VCs.

More than 20 of the world’s largest co-working firms, suffering a threat to their business from the pandemic, have agreed to coordinate in a way that would have been unheard of before the crisis.

The firms, which include Industrious and Convene, have formed a new umbrella organization known as the Workplace Operator Readiness Council.

The co-working industry has previously favored density and social interactions. The industry is now in the middle of a debate regarding its existence and safety. The group is an effort to combat that image. Partnering with health startups such as Eden Health, it would release a playbook this week detailing specific steps they have agreed to take to make workplaces safer, including contact tracing, decontamination, and social distancing.

One notable absentee from the group is WeWork, the largest co-working firm in the U.S. A WeWork spokesperson said in an email that the company opted against joining the council.

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MindTech Companies:

Blueprint (formerly known as HelloJoy) is a Chicago, IL-based behavioral health company whose software allows mental health clinicians to efficiently practice measurement-based care (MBC). Blueprint was founded in 2011 by Danny Freed and is located in Chicago, Illinois.

Headspace is a meditation app focusing on mindfulness and mental training. Headspace is committed to advancing the field of mindfulness through clinically validated research, with one of the largest research pipelines of any digital health and wellness company. Headspace operates a B2B business (Headspace for Work) to offer its mindfulness products and services to companies to help them build healthier, more productive cultures and higher-performing organizations.

Ginger is reinventing mental healthcare by coupling data science and virtual delivery to provide immediate, personal support for anyone. Care from the company's on-demand mental health system is delivered through the Ginger app, available on iOS and Android, where members can conveniently connect with Ginger’s team of behavioral health coaches - 24/7, 365 days a year. For those in need of additional support, a psychotherapist or psychiatrist can be added to their care team. Over half a million people have access to Ginger through leading employers, health plans, and other partners.

Sentio Solutions builds Feel, an emotion-sensing wristband together with an app, that provides real-time monitoring and personalized interventions for individuals with anxiety or depression. Sentio’s solution for Augmented Mental Health uses a combination of evidence-based behavioral techniques (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Mindfulness, Positive Psychology) and the company’s proprietary emotion recognition technology.

Funding & Deal Highlights:

North America’s largest vacation rental management platform Vacasa, announces a $108M strategic investment round. The financing was led by existing investor Silver Lake with participation from other existing investors including Riverwood Capital and Level Equity.

PAIRIN, a technology partner to today’s leading workforce programs, governments and education systems, announces the close of $2.1M, the first tranche of its Series A investment round that will be used to support the continued growth of the company and its My Journey platform. The round was led by social impact investor New Markets Venture Partners, along with New U Venture Partners, JFFLabs, and return investors Village Capital, ZOMA Foundation, and Independent Spectrum, LLC participating.

Mobile banking startup Varo Money raises an additional $241M in Series D funding. The investment was co-led by new investor Gallatin Point Capital and existing investor The Rise Fund, co-founded by TPG. Varo promises an easily accessible bank account with no monthly fees or minimum balance, plus high-interest savings, and modern mobile experience. Though it doesn’t have any brick-and-mortar branches, customers can access their money through a network of more than 55,000 fee-free ATMs worldwide.

Prescient, a digital design-build company leveraging precision off-site manufacturing to industrialize multi-unit housing construction, announces it has received a $90M financing commitment from Eldridge, a holding company with a unique network of businesses across finance, technology, real estate, and entertainment. Eldridge previously led the Series E-1 capital raise in July 2018.

Data discovery startup 1touch.io Inc. raises $14M in a Series A funding round led by National Grid Partners (NGP), the investment arm of utility company National Grid PLC, and Jerusalem Venture Partners (JVP).

Prilenia Therapeutics B.V., a Naarden, Netherlands- and Herzliya, Israel-based clinical-stage biotech company focused on developing novel treatments for neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental disorders, raises $62.5M in a Series A financing.

Zip confirmed on Tuesday that it has now acquired American payment installment company QuadPay, as it seeks to grow its share of the world's largest retail market.

Hippo, the high-growth company that’s transforming home insurance and ownership, announces that it has entered into a definitive agreement, pending regulatory approval, to acquire Spinnaker Insurance Company, a national property and casualty insurer licensed in 50 states.

Engineering and environmental services firm, Enercon Services, Inc., announces its acquisition of Critical Engineering Group, Inc. The acquisition brings expanded capabilities to ENERCON’s existing services and positions them for increased reach within the data center and mission-critical communications sector.

Pavlov Media, one of the largest US private providers of broadband services to student housing and multi-family real estate owners, announces the acquisition of IPTV software provider Singularity.

Visual Labs, Inc. announces that it has acquired FastRedaction, a product developed by Intrinsics Imaging, Inc. The purchase allows Visual Labs to provide a fully-integrated, cloud-based, and CJIS-compliant redaction solution as part of its evidence management platform. The FastRedaction software leverages artificial intelligence and allows users to automatically blur faces, track objects, and redact audio. The software is available to Visual Labs smartphone body and dash camera customers, as well as other organizations seeking a highly-automated redaction solution.

Turkey Hill LLC, a leading manufacturer and distributor of branded ice cream and refrigerated drinks, announces that it has acquired an ice cream and novelty production facility in Searcy, Arkansas from Yarnell Ice Cream, LLC, a subsidiary of Schulze & Burch Biscuit Company.

Since last week, PrivCo has added:
1081 Profiles | 96 M&A Deals | 141 Funding Activities
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