Rippl, a mental health company focused on seniors with dementia, launches with $32M

The company provides 24/7 care, including access to therapy and in-home monitoring

As of 2020, there were over 55 million people worldwide living with dementia. Someone in the world develops dementia every 3 seconds and the number of people affected is expected to almost double every 20 years, reaching 78 million in 2030 and 139 million in 2050.

This is not only a fast growing problem, but an expensive one as well: the total national cost of care for dementia patients is projected to be $321 billion this year. These patients cost Medicare 2.5 times more than seniors without a cognitive impairment as they are 3.5 times more likely to visit the emergency room and 3 times more likely to be admitted to the hospital.

Rippl, a mental health company focused on caring for seniors with dementia and other neurocognitive conditions, has come up with a new solution, what it calls "wrap-around mental health care" for this population. 

Founded by Kris Engskov, former President of Starbucks Coffee U.S., and President of Aegis Living, Rippl offers 24/7 support and personalized mental health care for seniors with mental health challenges, including Alzheimer’s and other dementias eitger on the phone, online, or in their homes.

The company launched this week with $32 million in a seed funding round led by ARCH Venture Partners and General Catalyst, along with GV, F-Prime Capital, and Mass General Brigham Ventures.

Rippl provides its patients with specialized 24/7 mental and behavioral health care; care navigation & coordination; therapy for patients, their  family, and their caregivers; comprehensive medication management; access to support groups, education and tools to improve quality of life; and at-home monitoring to better predict needs.

The company gives its clinicians technology to enable personalized care coordination and data management tools to care for members.

Rippl says it will use its seed funding to build technology, and open a Washington state-based clinical support center to launch pilot networks in two regions, beginning in Seattle. It will also be hiring and train a team of clinicians, which includes Nurse Practitioners, Physician Assistants, Social Workers, and Care Coordinators.

While the company hires licensed clinicians across the country, it prefers to have clinicians who have  license for states on the West Coast, including Washington, Oregon, California, Colorado, Arizona, or Idaho, as this is where its initial growth is focused. 

"Mental health care for seniors is broken," Engskov said in a statement.