Digital health pioneer closes Series A funding round and attracts new investors

HelloBetter raises six million Euros to build the category leader in digital mental health

• HelloBetter, a global leader in the field of e-mental health innovation, has closed a Series A funding round of six million euros to fuel growth in Germany, prepare further internationalisation and to continue to invest in developing its leading technology platform.
• HelloBetter offers online courses for the prevention and treatment of mental health conditions. No other digital mental health company worldwide has a comparable evidence-base i.e. more published clinical studies proving the effectiveness of its products.
• The company’s products are already covered by statutory health insurance in Germany – making them available free of charge to over 50 million people.

Berlin 27th October, 2021 – HelloBetter has closed a Series A funding round of six million Euros. The round was led by two new investors: venture capital firms HealthCap and Expon Capital. In addition, Sparrow Ventures, the growth equity investor of the Migros Group in Switzerland, as well as the existing investor Hevella Capital joined the round. HelloBetter will use the funds to further establish its solution in the standard of care within the framework of the German Digital Care Act (DVG). International expansion and developing the company’s technology platform are also on the agenda. In total, HelloBetter has raised over ten million euros in funding to date.

Under the DVG, doctors and therapists can prescribe digital health applications that have been approved by the German Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (Bfarm) to a total of 73 million people with statutory health insurance in Germany. HelloBetter expects Bfarm’s approval for several other therapy courses covering a broad spectrum of the most common mental health conditions.

“With HealthCap, Expon and Sparrow Ventures we now have backing from a consortium of experienced international investors. Together, we aim to build the European market leader in prescription digital therapeutics, helping to advance the mental health care system by providing highly effective solutions for prevention as well as treatment of mental health conditions. Our long-term goal is to make our products accessible to everyone worldwide,” says Hannes Klöpper, co-founder and CEO of HelloBetter.

“HelloBetter’s achievements to date are impressive: the traction across partnerships with renowned insurance companies, a broad range of clinical trials showing extensive, high quality scientific evidence as well as an experienced, first class founding team have fully convinced us. We firmly believe that HelloBetter will bring significant benefits to patients, treating physicians and payers in the coming years,” says HealthCap partner Staffan Lindstrand.

The digital health company was founded in 2015 and since then has been offering therapy courses for the prevention and treatment of mental health conditions, some of which have been covered by statutory health insurance in Germany. These courses consist of multimedia content, exercises, a broad range of behavioural strategies and tools as well as regular contact with a psychologist, empowering patients to live happier and healthier lives. Only last week, the digital therapy course HelloBetter Stress and Burnout has been approved by the German Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM) and since then offers universal access to effective psychological care on prescription to over 50 million adults with statutory health insurance in Germany – without waiting times. No other digital burnout product worldwide is reimbursed for so many patients and is thus available to them free of charge. Numerous scientific studies prove that HelloBetter Stress and Burnout is highly effective in reducing stress, exhaustion and depression – in fact, more so than any other therapy course worldwide. In a test of digital health applications conducted by renowned German consumer review organisation Stiftung Warentest, HelloBetter’s offer was recently rated ‘best in class’ ahead of six other comparable solutions.

In the last two years, the E-Mental Health pioneer has grown rapidly and was able to win numerous health insurance companies as partners and successfully established operations in Switzerland. In addition, more than 100 corporate clients now offer the company’s online courses to a total of 1.5 million employees. The effectiveness of HelloBetter’s psychological therapy courses has been assessed in over 30 randomised controlled trials. The results show that HelloBetter’s courses are highly effective in treating numerous mental health conditions and can achieve effects comparable to standard face to face therapy. The company is based in Berlin and Hamburg and employs more than 70 people.
 

About HealthCap
HealthCap is a European venture capital firm investing exclusively and globally in life sciences. The investment strategy focuses on treatments for diseases with high unmet medical need that have the potential to be transformative and change both medical practice as well as the lives of patients suffering from these conditions.

About Expon Capital
Expon Capital is a venture capital firm with a higher purpose, headquartered in Luxembourg, investing in European (as well as US and Israeli) private technology companies, from pre-Series A to late stage. Expon Capital backs Ambitious Teams with Bold Ideas and Exponential Genes to solve Hard, Valuable Problems for a Global Impact (addressing one or more of the 17 UN SDGs). Expon Capital looks for highly disruptive breakthroughs and deep tech (specifically in Energy, Health, Climate using AI, Big Data, Blockchain, Robotics, SaaS, Space).

About Sparrow Ventures
Sparrow Ventures is a Zurich-based venture builder and growth equity investor. With a unique organizational structure and an experienced team of business-driven experts, Sparrow Ventures focus lies on building and investing in companies in a multitude of relevant fields, in particular Food & Beverage, Fintech, Last-Mile, Digital Health, Sustainability & Circular Economy as well as Commerce & Shopping. Sparrow Ventures is an autonomous operating subsidiary of Migros – one of the largest retailers in Europe. www.sparrow-ventures.com