Healthtech startup ifeel is using AI to empower companies to better provide mental health care and wellbeing services for their employees. The Madrid-based startup has just secured €10 million to expand and make mental health support part of workplace culture.
Achieving a positive work-life balance isn’t an easy thing to do, but it’s something that is imperative to mental wellbeing and good mental health. Everybody, regardless of who they are, where they work, and where they’re from, needs to be considerate of their mental wellbeing. Given we spend a large quantity of time in the workplace, it makes sense that employers and workplaces should be supporting employees with mental wellbeing.
Indeed, as awareness of the importance of mental wellbeing becomes more widespread, it seems that, finally, more companies are implementing different tools and processes for their employees. At the same time, the mental health space is undergoing somewhat of a transformation. With healthcare providers and systems under sustained pressure, there has been a move towards digital health solutions that make mental health care more accessible to more people
One startup that has been pioneering the digital mental healthcare space since 2017 is ifeel. Now, the Madrid-based startup has raised new investment, bringing its AI-based approach to new heights and fueling the vision to prioritize mental wellbeing in the workplace.
The details:
- €10 million raised in Series A investment
- Led by UNIQA Ventures
- Nauta Capital and other investors have also participated
- The startup has now raised a total of €18 million
UNIQA Ventures: “A strong European player with a B2B2C mental health platform. Its tools make it possible to serve large clients with many end users at the same time while maintaining attractive commercial margins.”
Combining AI with psychological expertise
As employers look to address the mental health of their employees – in a move which is an important social need and is also proven to improve business outcomes – ifeel is filling a growing market need.
ifeel’s CEO Amir Kaplan: “Health requires a balance between what goes on at work and outside of it. For us, there is no strict division between professional and personal life; everything is personal. We firmly believe that work should not be a reason to interrupt taking care of our well-being. On the contrary: it should be a space where we are well and can thrive at different levels. From this point on, our goal is to help companies integrate this mindset into their corporate culture.”
The startup gives companies the ability to provide their employees with improved mental health care through digital channels. It combines data analytics and clinical research by psychologists on its platform to provide employees with a new way to manage their emotional wellbeing, from self-care to therapy sessions.
Leveraging over 10 million data points, the platform is able to, on one side, efficiently screen, triage and prioritise several users’ profiles and, on the other, customise their user experience through a blend of hundreds of clinical tools and AI-enhanced personalised recommendations.
Using the platform, users can access different resources depending on their needs and interests: articles on health-related topics, an emotions diary, audio guides, and tools to facilitate relaxation or meditation. They can also speak directly to professional psychologists or initiate an online therapy session through the service.
Born in Madrid in 2017, the startup has added companies like AXA Partners, SCOR SE, Glovo, Travelperk, Gympass, Thoughtworks, González Byass to its roster, supporting them with psychological prevention and intervention if necessary. It’s a market need that is only growing, and ifeel is now ready to expand with this latest funding. Ifeel is also backed by former Spain and FC Barcelona football star Andres Iniesta.
Currently, more than 600 psychologists offer therapy in the 23 countries where ifeel operates. The service, which is available in 21 languages, has already been used by more than 800,000 employees worldwide. In the past financial year, ifeel recorded a growth rate of 200%.
One of the latest tools built into the platform is its Monthly Check-up or Ryff’s Emotional Wellbeing Index developed in collaboration with University of Wisconsin-Madison, Professor Carol Ryff. The questionnaire based on Ryff’s psychological well-being scale uses 18 questions to gauge people’s emotional health. The results serve as a way for the individuals to see how their emotional health evolves month-to-month and use them in their discussion with their psychologist if they want.
The aggregated anonymous – confidentiality is guaranteed – data can be accessed by HR managers to better understand difficulties employees are experiencing in terms of the psychological wellbeing of the firm, helping them make the best decisions for overall employee wellbeing.
This additional funding will be used to expand the business into new markets, introduce new products, and increase sales capabilities. The company will continue to focus on large companies.