Psychological well being know-how funding soared final 12 months, with corporations bringing in $5.5 billion globally throughout 324 offers, in line with CBInsights’ State of Psychological Well being Tech 2021 Report.
That quantities to a 139% climb from 2020, when startups scooped up $2.3 billion throughout 258 offers.
“Because the pandemic continued to exacerbate psychological well being points (corresponding to nervousness and melancholy), there was progress in demand and investor curiosity in digital instruments that enhanced psychological healthcare supply,” the report’s authors wrote.
U.S. psychological well being corporations continued to outpace different areas, bringing in $4.5 billion in funding final 12 months. European startups raised $651 million, whereas Asian corporations scored $289 million.
However the report notes there’s nonetheless room for progress: Some 68% of final 12 months’s offers have been early-stage. Among the largest early offers from the fourth quarter embody Alto Neuroscience, Magnus Medical, Daybreak Well being, Mantra Well being, Limbix and firsthand.
“Notably, early-stage deal share has declined by 9 proportion factors since 2019. Because the sector matures, and these early-stage corporations advance by later phases and discover product-market match, extra progress might spur extra funding,” the authors wrote.
The sector additionally noticed a rise of mega-rounds, funding rounds value $100 million or extra. The report counted 15 mega-rounds in contrast with solely 4 in 2020. All these big rounds went to U.S.-based corporations in This autumn.
Among the largest final quarter embody BetterUp and Cerebral, which each scored $300 million, Elemy, which introduced in $219 million, and Workit Well being with $118 million.
General, CBInsights discovered 43 exits within the psychological well being house, together with 35 M&As, 5 SPACs and three IPOs. There have been solely 23 exits in 2020.
M&A offers, which drove nearly all of exits, elevated 75% year-over-year.
“This mirrored the consolidation pattern seen throughout the broader digital well being sector in 2021,” the authors wrote. “This pattern might proceed by 2022 as dominant gamers emerge in a extremely fragmented market.”
