Mental health startups had a stellar year last year with global investment in them jumping 139 percent to $5.5 billion, according to the 2021 State of Digital Health report from CB Insights. A majority of those deals were early stage.
That phenomenon was repeated in the newest funding news that came last week from New York-based Mantra Health that announced its $22M series A funding round. The company, which helps students tackle mental health, also announced the launch of its digital mental health program for college students with long-term mental health issues.
VMG Partners led the round, with contributions from Alumni Ventures, Elements Health Ventures, New Market Venture Partners, and 14W. Additionally, Baleon Capital, Canaan Partners, City Light Capital, Global Founders Capital, and Western Tech Investments – all return investors – contributed to the round.
Mantra will use the funding from this round to develop a diverse provider network for its digital mental health clinic. A majority of Mantra providers identify as or LGBTQ+ or BIPOC to provide culturally competent care, the press release said.
The funds will help to develop Mantra’s clinical infrastructure and quadruple the team in the next twelve months, according to the news release. Mantra plans to reach a wide range of young adults, from those severely mentally ill to those with subacute illness. In addition, some of the funding from this round will go towards the Mantra College Mental Health Provider Diversity Scholarship, which started in June 2021. The scholarship supports graduate students with marginalized identities who are working towards a degree in the mental health fields.
“We’re at the point of no return when it comes to mental health advocacy, and we immediately need support systems to address the rising mental health crisis among young adults,” said Ally Tam, partner at VMG Partners. “Mantra Health has emerged as the preferred provider for universities/colleges given their collaborative and tailored approach to delivering quality mental health for young adults and their unique campus lives. They’re a prime example of how specialization enables digital health companies to provide the best care possible through new forms of care and delivery models.”
Mantra offers a digital mental health clinic — including both therapy and psychiatry – for young adults that is affordable, culturally competent, and high-quality. In Fall 2020, Mantra released its Higher Education solution where Mantra partnered with colleges and universities to offer their mental health services to students. It was well received by college campus counseling centers due to its collaborative, evidence-based, quality approach to boosting students’ access to care and improved outcomes.
“What sets Mantra apart is how focused they are on being an extension of your service. That feels unique in this space,” said Dr. David Walden, director of Hamilton College’s counseling center, which has used Mantra for almost a year and a half. “Most products you purchase are predicated on the idea of ‘this is what we offer’, but Mantra’s offering is predicated on ‘what do you offer, and how can we partner with you’. It feels like a real partnership.”
Mantra’s program currently is aimed at both public and private colleges and universities. Customers include an array of campuses, from Massachusetts Institute of Technology to Miami Dade College to Penn State. To date, all colleges using Mantra’s program renewed their partnership, according to Mantra’s press release announcing their series A funding. Their telehealth psychiatry and therapy services are available to students nationally.
“Mantra’s platform is very easy to use. The key thing with any collaboration platform is that it be intuitive. Clinicians have to navigate a variety of EMR platforms each day, and a system that requires multiple menus or steps to get where you want to go can be challenging,” Walden said. “We’ve found that the platform allows fairly seamless communication between clinicians on our staff and clinicians working for Mantra. All of the information is easily accessible and out in the open, which makes it easy to provide continuity of care. Clinicians can message each other and their clients, and can share information quickly and effectively.”
Other companies, such as TimelyMD occupy the space, but do not have the focus on behavior health like Mantra does, according to an email with Ed Gaussen, CEO and co-founder of Mantra Health. Some digital mental health clinics have also raised large funding rounds, but do not have a specialized care model tailored to young adults, Gaussen commented.
“Our mission is to become the category leader in young adult behavioral health. We work with schools of all shapes and sizes,” Gaussen said. “[Much] of our revenue comes from partnerships with Higher Ed institutions. Most of our patients are college students who receive sponsored care sessions by their school.”
Photo: Getty Images
