Two Chairs raises $21M to continue to build out its mental health clinics

The company will be opening its largest clinic yet, in San Jose, sometime next month

The mental health space is becoming more and more enticing to investors; in the second quarter of this year, mental health and wellness companies raised $321 million, a 41 percent increase from the $227 million invested in the same quarter last year. That included a $60 million round for Quartet and a $50 million round for Talkspace. 

One mental health company that is making a quick impression is Two Chairs, which operates its own mental health clinics around the Bay Area, deploying a client-therapist matching system to pair the right patient with the right therapist. The company, which raised a $7 million round of funding from Maveron, Goldcrest, and Amplo earlier this year, announced on Thursday that it raised another round, this time a $21 million Series B funding round.

The new round was led by Amplo, along with Goldcrest and Maveron also participating, bringing its total funding raised to $31 million.

"All three firms have been exceptional partners in helping us to realize our vision, and we’re so excited to deepen our relationship with them. We are more dedicated than ever to rebuilding our nation’s mental health system by innovating at the intersection of healthcare delivery and technology, and providing mental health services that keeps the in-person experience at the center," Alex Katz, founder and CEO of Two Chairs, wrote in a blog post announcing the new funding. 

Founded in 2017, Two Chairs deploys with a client-therapist matching system, which seeks to enhance the relationship between doctor and patient, as well as its own therapy clinics, along  with software that enables it to measure and personalize care and to track patient results. 

In addition, every Two Chairs client has access to a care coordination team dedicated to providing concierge support with insurance, billing, and other problems they may encounter.

"Two years ago, Two Chairs opened its first clinic in downtown San Francisco. Motivated by my personal experience seeing loved ones struggle with our mental health system, that clinic was the first step to achieving our mission: Creating a world where everyone has access to exceptional mental healthcare," wrote Katz.

Two Chairs has opened five clinics so far in the Bay Area, including three in San Francisco and one in Oakland and one in Redwood City, helping over two thousand clients; it is set to open its largest clinic yet, which will be located in San Jose, in just a few weeks.

The company will use the new funding in three areas, the first being to "deepen our investment in technology," which "means building products and experiences that improve in-person care—not replace it," wrote Katz.

Specifically, Two Chairs will work on enhancing booking, client support and clinical programs.

"Decades of clinical research has shown that success in therapy depends on the strength of alliance, or therapeutic relationship between client and clinician. However, finding the right fit is traditionally a black box. From demographic preferences to modality, matching your unique needs to the right clinician can be difficult," he wrote.

"At Two Chairs, we’ve made this process easy. Our unique matching system combines in-person clinical expertise with data science and in-house software to find our clients the best match, and in turn, ensure the best care. This round helps us to scale our engineering and technology efforts to create the first clinical system that seamlessly integrates modern data science with clinical expertise. "

The second way the funding will be deployed is to accelerate clinic growth, which means expanding services to communities outside of the Bay Area for the first time.

"Our community has invited us into their social and professional spaces, from coffee shops to workplaces to local businesses and social clubs, to share our approach to care and mental health education. Our funding enables us not only to expand our presence within this community and open more clinics in the Bay Area, but also beyond in new communities around the country," said Katz.

Finally, Two Chairs will use the funding to "continue building a world-class team," which means growing beyond its current focus on individual psychotherapy and more investments in its group therapy program, as well as new clinical programs.

"We believe that our deep commitment to clinical rigor sets us apart. We know that our ability to achieve our mission will be enabled by a seamless partnership between the clinical and technology worlds. Though our backgrounds may be different, we’re united by our collective personal experiences with our mental health care system and the desire to make it better."

This article has been updated to accurately reflect Two Chairs' total funding to date