2020 was a tough year, to state the obvious. With all the death from the pandemic, COVID-caused isolation, civil unrest, and all the election strife, it's not surprising that the overall mental health of the country suffered greatly. In the short term, there was a massive increase in calls to suicide hotlines, as well to more drug overdoses. It's going to take years, or even decades, before we can fully understand the long-term effects of all this.
While none of that is good news, of course, there are always those who see a situation like that and can sense the opportunity, namely technology companies in the mental health space, as well as venture capitalists, with investments into the space exploding in the first three quarters of the year.
According to The State of Healthcare Report Q3'2020 report from CB Insights, there was already $1.5 billion invested in mental health companies across 173 deals; that already surpassed the amount of funding in all of 2019, when there was $1 billion invested in 185 deals.
The space really spiked in Q1 of last year, with $579 million invested, resulting in two consecutive quarterly drops in terms of funding, even as the number of deals continued to increase. 
When the Q4 numbers come in, there's little doubt that 2020 will find up becoming a record year for mental health investments. Here are some of the mental health companies that raised funding last year:
(Vator will be holding it's annual Future of Mental and Behavioral Health event on May 19. Find out more here)
Description: "Daybreak Health is a modern mental health center made built for teens, with teens"
Amount raised: $125,000
Investors: Y Combinator, Vinaj Ventures & Innovation
Total funding: $125,000
Description: "Tens of millions of Americans seek mental health care every day, but the vast majority never get the care they need. Headway is solving this, and we’re doing it all through software."
Amount raised: $26 million
Investors: Thrive, GV, Accel, GFC, IA Ventures
Total funding: $32 million
Description: "Lyra Health, a provider of innovative mental health benefits for more than 2 million U.S. employees and dependents, is transforming mental health care by creating a frictionless experience for members, providers, and employers."
Amount raised: $75 million; $110 million; undisclosed amount
Investors: IVP, Meritech Capital Partners, Casdin Capital, Crown Venture Fund, Glynn Capital, Greylock Partners, Providence Ventures, Tenaya Capital, Venrock, Addition, Adams Street Partners, Howard Schultz, Casdin Capital, PLUS Capital, Cameron Diaz, Nicole Kidman, Paul George, Klay Thompson, Tony Gonzalez, Aaron Gordon, Nolan Arenado, Isaiah Thomas, and Khris Middleton
Total funding: $288.1 million
Modern Health
Description: "Comprehensive mental health care designed for your entire workforce. We’re a global platform built on evidence-based principles with therapists, coaches, and digital content accessible all in one app."
Amount raised: $51 million
Investors: Battery Ventures, Felicis Ventures, Kleiner Perkins, Founders Fund, 01 Advisors, Afore Capital, and Frederic Kerrest.
Total funding: $95 million
Modern Health is a Bay Area-based mental health platform for employers that aims to help guide employees to the right level of care. Modern Health raised $51 million in Series C investment led by Battery Ventures. The company has now raised $95 million altogether. Read more 
Koa Health
Description: "Our digital wellbeing and therapeutics solutions combine the latest clinical research and breakthrough technologies to deliver mental health support that is accessible, personalised and effective across a range of conditions"
Amount raised: $16.5 million
Investors: Ancora Finance Group and Wellington Partners
Total funding: $16.5 million
MindLabs
Description: "The platform, initially available as a mobile app launching next year, will combine live video from professionals in therapy, psychology and mindfulness with an online community and analytics allowing users to track their current levels of stress or relaxation. By allowing people to track progress using a range of sensors, including EEG, the app aims to help them rewire their minds through neuroplasticity, enabling strengthening of the neural pathways associated with being in a calm mental state."
Amount raised: £1.4 million
Investors: Cazoo, Zoopla, Urban and Carwow.
Total funding: £1.4 million 
Ginger
Description: "On-demand mental health support, day or night. Chat with a trained behavioral health coach within seconds, and meet with a licensed therapist or psychiatrist via video within hours."
Amount raised: $50 million
Investors: Advance Venture Partners and Bessemer Venture Partners. Additional participants include Cigna Ventures and existing investors such as Jeff Weiner, Executive Chairman of LinkedIn, and Kaiser Permanente Ventures.
Total funding: Over $120 million
Description: "Tava Health is an online mental health company that partners with employers to provide convenient, accessible mental health resources to employees and their families by reducing costs, improving quality, and increasing access to therapy."
Amount raised: $3 million
Investors: Peterson Ventures
Total funding: $3 million
SilverCloud Health
Description: "SilverCloud Health is the trusted leader in digital behavioral health care, partnering with over 300 organizations to help them deliver virtual therapy focused on improved outcomes, access, and scale while reducing costs."
Amount raised: $16 million
Investors: MemorialCare Innovation Fund, LRVHealth, OSF Ventures, UnityPoint Health Ventures, Act Venture Capital, and B Capital Group
Total funding: More than $30 million
SonderMind
Description: "Therapy isn’t always easy. Finding it should be. Let us help you find a licensed therapist who accepts your insurance and is available to see you either in-person or online."
Amount raised: $27 million
Investors: General Catalyst, F-Prime Capital, Kickstart Seed Fund, Diōko Ventures, and Jonathan Bush
Total funding: $32.9 million 
Headspace
Description: "Headspace was officially launched in 2010 as an events company, but attendees wanted to take what they learned home with them. Andy, Rich, and a small team decided to make Andy’s techniques available online so more people could experience the benefits of meditation anytime, anywhere. And that blossomed into the Headspace you see today: guided meditations, animations, articles and videos, all in the distinct Headspace style."
Amount raised: $93 million; $47.7 million
Investors: blisce/, Waverley Capital Times Bridge, the Chernin Group, Spectrum Equity, Advancit Capital, and Pacific Western Bank.
Total funding: $215.9 million 
Unmind
Description: "Unmind is a workplace mental health platform. We empower employees to measure, understand, and improve their mental wellbeing."
Amount raised: $10 million
Investors: Felix Capital, Matt Truman, Michael Whitfield and Chris Bruce, and Christian Angermayer
Total funding: $16.2 million
Spring Health
Description: "Spring Health provides a single front-door approach to any type of care — including digital exercises, coaching, therapy, medication, or employee assistance program (EAP) services — leading to faster outcomes, higher engagement, and healthier, happier employees."
Amount raised: $22 million; $76 million
Investors: Northzone, Equinox Ventures, Able Partners, Rethink Impact, Work-Bench, RRE, Sempervirens, Warren Foundation, Tiger Global, GingerBread Capital, Operator Partners, True Capital, Kyle Lowry, and Breanna Stewart
Total funding: $105.5 million 
Blueprint
Description: "Measurement based mental healthcare made easy. Automatically track patient progress, make measurement-informed decisions, and get reimbursed for doing so with Blueprint"
Amount raised: $3.4 million
Investors: Bonfire Ventures, Lightbank and other angel investors
Total funding: $4.7 million 
Joon
Description: "Our vision is to create a new model for mental health care, designed specifically for youth and young adults, that integrates the benefits of one-on-one therapy sessions with a mobile app-based experience. Our approach is evidence-based, skills-focused and personalized for each individual client."
Amount raised: $3.5 million
Investors: Route 66 Ventures, PSL Ventures, Vulcan Capital and strategic angels
Total funding: $3.5 million 
Mantra Health
Description: "Reimagining mental health care for students. The first digital mental health program that integrates with universities like never before."
Amount raised: $3.2 million
Investors: Global Founders Capital, Western Technology Investment, Hof Capital, and angel investors
Total funding: $3.2 million
Big Health
Description: "Our digital therapeutics give you access to cognitive & behavioral techniques at any time, night or day — like having the world’s leading experts on call."
Amount raised: $39 million
Investors: Gilde Healthcare, Morningside Ventures, Kaiser Permanente Ventures, Octopus Ventures, and Samsung NEXT.
Total funding: $54.3 million
Description: "We are a biotechnology company pioneering mental health innovation. We are committed to developing more effective and potentially disease-modifying mental health treatments by researching both psychedelic and non-psychedelic compounds."
Amount raised: $125 million
Investors: Apeiron Investment Group, the family office of ATAI's founder Christian Angermayer, Peter Thiel, Catalio Capital Management, Future Ventures, Galaxy Investment Partners, Falcon Edge Capital and Pura Vida Pro
Total funding: $192.1 million
Description: "Behavioral health support for kids and teens, right from home. Get support for tough behavior, big feelings, school difficulties, and other common family challenges. All without having to get out of sweatpants."
Amount raised: $20 million
Investors: Threshold Ventures, Oak HC/FT, Blue Shield of California, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Boston Children’s Hospital, SemperVirens VC, Rock Health, and City Light Capital
Total funding: $25 million 
Synthesis
Description: "Synthesis offers safe, legal, medically supervised psychedelic retreats in Amsterdam. We make the psychedelic experience accessible for curious individuals who want to utilize moderate-to-high doses of truffles to catalyze creative breakthroughs, explore consciousness, find meaning, improve confidence, and search for a mystical experience"
Amount raised: $2.75 million
Investors: Novamind Ventures
Total funding: $2.75 million
Coa
Description: "Your emotional fitness is as important as your physical fitness. Strengthening your mental health is an ongoing pursuit. Coa is a new online learning experience here to help you along your emotional fitness journey."
Amount raised: $3 million
Investors: Crosslink Ventures, RedSea Ventures, Alpaca VC, Neil Parikh, several angel investors, and Kevin Love
Total funding: $3 million
Cerebral
Description: "Expert Help For Your Emotional Health Help for anxiety & depression. Online provider visits, care counseling, and prescriptions delivered to your door."
Amount raised: $35 million
Investors: Oak HC/FT, Westcap, Liquid 2 Ventures, Gaingels, Air Angels, and others.
Total funding: $35 million
Description: "As a Public Benefit Corporation (PBC), we are committed to improving mental health care for those who need it most. We remain unwavering in our service of people with treatment-resistant depression and related mental health issues."
Amount raised: $2 million
Investors: General Catalyst, What If Ventures, 20|20 Fund, Jeffrey Leiden, Alice Zhang, and a number of other prominent healthcare executives
Total funding: $2.2 million
Description: "We started Mindler with the vision that everyone should have the chance to see a psychologist, regardless of where you live or what your circumstances are. Our model is based on digital technology and leading-edge psychological expertise in order to increase access to effective treatment for mental health problems and ensure that people get the best possible help when they need it."
Amount raised: €8 million
Investors: Ventech, Schibsted Growth, BackInBlack, Luminar Venture, and Kichi Invest
Total funding: $13.2 million
Description: "From diabetes to depression, sleep to stress and just about everything in between, our platform treats the whole person — and a whole population — by bringing together the best of technology and the human touch of therapists and coaches"
Amount raised: $25 million
Investors: Ally Bridge Group, AME Cloud Ventures, Aspect Ventures, Canvas Ventures, NGP Capital, Webb Investment Network, and Workday Ventures
Total funding: More than $80 million
Intellect
Description: "Redevelop your traits habits & behaviours. A new way to truly work on yourself. Built by psychologists, made for everyday people."
Amount raised: Undisclosed
Investors: Insignia Ventures Partners, Quek Siu Rui, Tim Lee and J.J. Chai
Total funding: Undisclosed
Shezlong
Description: "Talk to your therapist online privately anytime anywhere! Shezlong is the first online psychotherapy clinic in the Middle East"
Amount raised: Undisclosed
Investors: Asia Africa Investment Consulting
Total funding: $766,000
Meru
Description: "Meru Health is an online mental healthcare provider that helps people improve their mental health long-term by treating and preventing anxiety, depression, and burnout"
Amount raised: $8.1 million
Investors: Foundry Group, Slack and Bold Capital
Total funding: $13.3 million
Mindset Health
Description: "Mindset Health is the company behind Mindset (the app) and Nerva. Mindset Health creates evidence-based hypnotherapy apps for common chronic conditions, working closely with leading clinician-researchers to ensure products are responsibly designed, easy to integrate with treatment plans and provide exceptional value to users. Mindset Health's mission is to help millions of people improve their health with their mind, reducing dependence on costly, invasive and high-risk alternatives."
Amount raised: $1.1 million
Investors: Fifty Years, YC, Gelt VC, Giant Leap VC and angel investors across the U.S. and Australia
Total funding: $1.2 million
Mindstrong
Description: "We think the smartest people should be working on the hardest problems. We're dedicated to transforming mental health through innovations in virtual care, data measurement, and data science."
Amount raised: $100 million
Investors: General Catalyst, ARCH Venture Partners, Foresite Capital, 8VC, Optum Ventures, and What If Ventures
Total funding: $160 million
Amwell
Description: "We connect and enable providers, insurers, patients, and innovators to deliver greater access to more affordable, higher quality care."
Amount raised: $194 million
Investors: Allianz X and Takeda
Total funding: $811 million
(Image source: sciencemag.org)
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