He is a clear example of a very good use case and a user [of mental health services like Ami], says Jin Oh, a partner at Goodwater Capital who led the firms investment in Ami. https://hivelife.com/intellect-mental-health-startup/. Our goal is to make mental healthcare as easy as checking the weather and as comfortable as talking to a friend.. The company has secured $13m of funding since its launch in . It currently has about three million registered users, in a total of 20 countries, with a strong commercial presence in Singapore, Hong Kong and Australia, said Chew. To address these stressors, the top coping strategies employed by startup founders are Exercise (54%), Mindfulness (40%), Peer Support (36%), and Family Support (32%). ThoughtFull World Pte Ltd, which operates as ThoughtFull, a Southeast Asian-based (SEA) healthtech startup with end-to-end mental healthcare services for all, announced today that it has raised US$1.1 million in a seed round. Any insights shared with employers are aggregated and anonymized. Find out more about how we use your personal data in our privacy policy and cookie policy. Ami offers its platform to startups, described as a target due to their relatively more stressful environments, as well as any company that prioritizes retaining top talent in the region. Singapore Association for Mental Health (SAMH) has been uplifting lives and promoting mental wellness for all since 1968. Singapore-based Intellect wants to lower barriers to mental health support in Asia. It is taking part in Y Combinators current batch, which will hold its demo day at the end of this month. Our flagship report on the mental health of startup founders in Singapore has shone a light on the mental health impact that starting up a company has on founders and their teams. The companys services, including self-directed mental wellness programs in 15 languages and online therapy sessions, are available through two channels: as an employee benefit and through Intellects consumer app. With support from Ami, employees can discuss anything on their minds, which can lower the perceived difficulty of seeking support. Ami will leverage technology to analyze these responses and offer an extremely frictionless experience for its users, Kim says, though conversation topics wouldnt be limited to any specialty. Ami, a rising mental health platform, is bringing companies on board. 8 top mental-health startups from SEA | by Ivan Kuznetsov - Medium Meta Makes First Asia Investment With Mental Health Startup's $3 Intellect, a Singapore-based startup that wants to lower barriers to mental health care in Asia, says it has reached more than one million users just six months after launching. In view of this, The Hive Southeast Asia, along with Penjana Kapital - a wholly owned subsidiary of Malaysias Ministry of Finance - through the latters Dana Penjana Nasional programme, is proud to partner with ThoughtFull to future proof the delivery of mental healthcare in Malaysia and beyond.. A 2020 academic review of stigma against mental illness in China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Korea and Thailand found that these illnesses were viewed as personal weakness and therefore were less socially acceptable, among other issues. Singapore mental health startup, ThoughtFull closes US$1.1mil seed . Over the next 12 months, Kim aims to expand Ami further into Asia, including Hong Kong and South Korea. Whilst 78% of startup founders agree that mental health is important in a high-functioning team, only 12% admitted to having a mental health advocate in their startups. On average, its mental health benefits solution sees about 20% to 45% engagement within three months after being adopted by companies with more than 5,000 employees. Mothercare X PanAsia Surgery: Will Varicose Veins Go Away After Pregnancy? By Jill Wong. 9:13 AM PDT April 27, 2023. Intellect, the Singapore-based mental health startup focused primarily on Asia-Pacific markets, announced today it has raised a $10 million Series A. Last December, Hong Kong billionaire Richard Lis insurance firm, FWD Insurance, announced a partnership with ThoughtFull, giving customers access to self-help tools and virtual therapy. The recent funding came to be one of the largest sums raised in a venture round for any Asian mental health startup, bringing the total capital procured since its founding in 2020 to US$23 million. Its focused on personalized end-to-end services, from preventative care to cure. Google also . While we do have those licenses and certifications, thats not the only thing that constitutes a good experience, Kim says. Since its inception in 2019, ThoughtFull has grown exponentially to serve users across 43 countries with a professional network spanning 14 locations. The report covers the key triggers of . Mental health startup TheShareCo launches mobile app in Singapore The Action Community for Entrepreneurship (ACE), the national advocate for Singapores startup ecosystem, is partnering with digital mental health platform Safe Space to virtually launch their whitepaper report on the Mental Health of Startup Founders in Singapore. It says studies so far have demonstrated improvements in mental well-being, stress levels and anxiety among its users. Based on their trial runs, Ami found on average at least 40% of employees used the platform after two months, while Kim says existing solutions in the mental health space rank in the low single digits in terms of employee adoption. It is for this reason that ACE has commissioned this study.. Monthly subscriptions for individuals start at $169 SGD ($127.5), based on a six-month term. Intellect offered two main product suites: a consumer app with self-guided programs based on cognitive behavioral therapy techniques, and a mental health benefits solution for employers with online therapy programs and telehealth services. News Summary: Intellect, a Singapore-headquartered mental health startup, has raised an additional US$10 million in a Series A extension led by Tiger Global. With the insights from the whitepaper, we have structured a startup package to ensure companies of all sizes have access to affordable mental healthcare Says Ms Antoinette Patterson, Founder and CEO of Safe Space. ThoughtFull gets $1.1M seed to make mental health support more Cofounder and CEO Justin Kim, a Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia alum from 2020, developed the idea for Ami alongside CTO Beknazar Abdikamalov. Hive Life Magazine is the leading voice for entrepreneurs and startups in the Asia Pacific. Now, four months after its beta launch, Ami has closed a $3 million seed round from investors including Metas New Product Experimentation (NPE) team, an experimental app division under the tech giant, marking the Facebook owners first early-stage startup investment in the Asia-Pacific region. Intellect, the mental health startup focused on APAC, raises $10M Mental wellness is essential to leading a healthy, balanced and happy life. Mental health startup Intellect gets $2.2M to expand across Asia Family offices back Singapore mental health start-up's $10m - Citywire Kim, who has also worked in business development at Bloomberg in Hong Kong, knows the risks of overwork all too well. The new funding will be used to expand into more Asian markets. The startup now claims more than 2.5 million app users, and 20 enterprise clients, including FoodPanda, Shopback, Carousell, Avery Dennison, Schroders and government agencies. SEA is home to one-fourth of the globes population, but it accounts for. After working at some of the fastest-growing startups in South Korea, Justin Kim, a Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia alum from 2020, launched his own startup that aims to make mental healthcare more accessible for the overworked and stressed-out workers in Asia. With its tech-empowered, end-to-end holistic approach, Intellect is poised to become a leader in offering access to mental healthcare across Asia, said Jay Chen, partner at New York-based Tiger Global. How Covid prompted Singapore startups to use tech in revolutionizing mental health support | CNN Business How Covid prompted Asian startups to use tech in revolutionizing mental. Copyright 2023 - The Wellness Insider. In Japan, long working hours are so pervasive that death by overworkcalled karoshi in Japanesehas been legally recognized as a cause of death since the 1980s. *. It isnt plug-and-play, so startups have to adapt to launch in each country. Next, local healthcare systems in Asia arent standardized from care, delivery and research models. Temasek's Sheares Healthcare Makes First Mental Health - Forbes Singapore Mental Health Startup Intellect Secures US$20 Million These coaches would largely be recommended through referrals, which Kim says could help ensure a certain level of quality. For startups that may require immediate help, please reach out to Safe Space at https://safespace.sg/corporate/. ACE and Safe Space are calling on all members within the startup ecosystem and their investors to show commitment and place greater importance on mental health. Another disconcerting finding was that although male founders were twice as likely to agree that running a startup had taken a toll on their mental health, they were twice as likely to confide in no one. If one influential person does it, then it catches on., Nahm points out that mental health practices like Buddhist meditation, which has been embraced by the West, originated from Asia. Singapore-based mental health app Intellect reaches one million users The pandemic increased demand for mental health services since it triggered mental health conditions and worsened existing ones. I agree that my submitted data is being collected and stored. Intellect, the Singapore-based mental health startup focused primarily on Asia-Pacific markets, announced today it has raised a $10 million Series A.The company's services, including self . Looking at Asia, a 2021 report from Singapores National Institute of Health estimated that the societal cost of six common mental health disorders was $1.2 billion per year, including employee absenteeism and loss of productivity. You may opt-out by. Kim hopes that as an increasing number of employees share Ami, reluctant users will be encouraged to try the servicesensuring a high engagement rate and retention. From left: Joan Low, ThoughtFull founder and CEO; and Khoo Ee Ping, chief corporate development officer of Sheares Healthcare. In many Asian cultures, there is still a lot of stigma around mental health issues, but that has changed over the last year and a half as people continue to cope with the emotional impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Chew said. The new round brings Intellects total raised since its launch in 2020 (when TechCrunch first profiled the company) to $13 million and also included angel investors like Shopback co-founder and CEO Henry Chan; Cathay Innovations Rajive Keshup; former Headspace VP of Engineering Neel Palrecha; Forge co-founder Samvit Ramadurgam; Peak co-founder Sagi Shorrer; Snap Inc. Director of Southeast Asia Anubhav Nayyar; and Tinder and Match Group general manager of Southeast Asia Gaurav Girotra. Members can take the first step forward by signing up for the Startup Mental Wellness Pledge a statement that affirms that your startup is committed to implementing a practical and effective mental wellness policy. We started this company with the clear intention of building this for pan-Asia, he says. Singapore-based Intellect has raised an additional $10 million in a Series A extension led by Tiger Global, doubling the total for the investment round to $20 million, which will be used to. Aligned with its core mission of enabling timely, personalized end-to-end mental healthcare access, the company has partnered with corporates, insurers and academic institutions to not only bring the service to a wider audience, but to drive its product validation through clinical research. Founder and chief executive officer Theodoric Chew told TechCrunch that Intellects usage rate is higher than traditional EAP helpline solutions. Singapore-based Intellect announced today (January 25) that it has closed a Series A round, in which it raised US$10 million. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Share your body positivity story with the community here. The startup is participating in 10 clinical studies in collaboration with academic institutions, including the National University of Singapore, Kings College London, University of Queensland and the Singapore General Hospital, and says some of them have already shown that Intellect improves stress, anxiety and depression among users. Coping with . Headspace and Ginger are merging to form Headspace Health, Mental health startups are raising spirits and venture capital. Known as. Our goal is play a leading role in solving the regions mental health crisis and were truly excited to be at the forefront of driving this change.. Singapore-founded mental health startup, Intellect, secures US$20 million, after raising an additional US$10 million in an extended Series A funding round led by Tiger Global. Sheares previously led the $30 million Series C funding round of Singapore-based senior caregiving provider Homage, which was featured on last years Forbes Asia 100 to Watch list. When asked how Ami selects its practitioners, Kim noted that his startup would emphasize the power of relatability in choosing coaches who are native to each location, and include practitioners with a wide range of backgrounds, ranging from licensed clinical psychologists to career coaches. The average person in South Korea, for example, worked 1,908 hours in 2020, the fourth-most among developed countries, according to data compiled by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Joining Meta in the funding round are existing investors Goodwater Capital (which has backed Kakao, Coupang and Viva Republica), Strong Ventures, January Capital and Collaborative Fund. Fueling the startups expansion is its partnerships with insurance firms. We interviewed over 150 startup founders and have assembled the most comprehensive 360 degree view of mental health in startups. Distinguished panelists include Mr Edward Chia, Member of Parliament for HollandBukit Timah GRC, Ms Antoinette Patterson, Co-Founder & CEO of Safe Space, Ms Ngo Lee Yian, Executive Director of Singapore Association for Mental Health and Mr Jeff Yeo, Co-Founder of Big Tiny. Intellect is currently collaborating in 10 studies with institutions like the National University of Singapore, Kings College London, University of Queensland and the Singapore General Hospital. Singapore-based Intellect has raised an additional $10 million in a Series A extension led by Tiger Global, doubling the total for the investment round to $20 million, which will be used to support the mental health startups expansion plans across the Asia-Pacific region. Intellects mission is normalize mental health and shift the culture towards more open conversations about personal wellbeing, ultimately removing the stigma attached, Chew, 26, who dropped out of Raffles Institution, one of Singapores top junior colleges, a decade ago after battling anxiety, said in a statement. A survey conducted by Intellect at the height of the pandemic last year showed 84% of workers across the Asia Pacific said they experienced high levels of exhaustion and 88% were disengaged from work. The company draws from the best in research, data, and healthcare in the US with an ability to localize and provide personalized mental healthcare in Asia. Effectively breaking stigma in Asian communities, it has served more than 3 million people from over 60 countries, with the help of expert therapists and coaches who are based in over 20 countries, and currently offers its service support in 15 languages. Subscribe to our newsletter to get hand-picked features every fortnight. Thoughtfull Thoughts Thoughtfull's. Yet reaching out for mental health support remains an issue in Asia, where the very concept of mental illness is repeatedly undermined. Employees could literally open their phone, click a buttonthey dont have to make an appointment weeks in advanceand talk to a trained mental health professional about your day-to-day stresses, says Kim in a video interview. Intellect co-founder and CEOTheodoric Chew mentioned Intellects mission is to normalise mental health and shift the culture towards more open conversations about personal wellbeing, ultimately removing the stigma attached., Intellect Co-Founders Theodoric Chew & Anurag Chutani from intellect.co. Its fun, quick and free. That drives a differentiated approach in how we build our platform which caters from the smallest of daily struggles through self-guided programs, all the way to clinical therapy for chronic issues.. From individuals, to companies, insurers and governments, all these different types of people and organizations are today prioritizing mental healthcare on an individual and organizational level in an extremely rapid manner.. With a proven track record, Intellect existing clients accounts for many renowned names, including Merck, Philips, Foodpanda, Singtel, Omnicom Media Group, and others spanning different industries. (So thats why foreign companies rarely make big entries in the space). All Rights Reserved. It enables us to be in greater control of our thoughts and emotions, while equipping us to better handle challenges and nurture stronger relationships. Singapore's Mental Health Startup Intellect Raises $10 Million In Syed Haizam Jamalullail, Managing Director of The Hive Southeast Asia shared that, When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, anxiety levels skyrocketed and businesses, including those of mental health professionals, were shut down overnight. I write about startups and financial inclusion. The startup claims its user base spans 95 provinces, towns and cities worldwide, while its provider network spans 57 such locations across Asia. Its conversion rate and retention rate are both 100%. The pre-Series A brings the four-year-old startups total funding to $5.1 million. In spite of these strategies, the report found that many founders lack practical strategies for managing stress, and are perhaps unaware that therapy is accessible online, where therapists are increasingly offering more flexible hours for sessions. How we think, feel and act is influenced by our mental health. Providing stigma-free and accessible mental health support across the globe, Intellect, a mental health startup established in Singapore, expanded its Series A funding round to raise a total of US$20 million, after procuring an additional US$10 million, led by Tiger Global. In Malaysia, ThoughtFull partnered with AIA last May to include mental health support in its corporate solutions portfolio, so employees subscribed to its plan could access one-on-one therapy. Our investors and stakeholders are a reflection of ThoughtFulls ability to draw on global insights to drive local applications.. What we hope to do is to make the narrative around mental health a lot more proactive for individuals who want to adopt a healthier lifestyle.. In January, Intellect secured $10 million in a Series A funding round, which it will use to rapidly scale across the region. Singapore mental health startup Intellect raises US$10M to extend S'pore mental health startup Intellect raises US$10M in Series A round to fuel Asia expansion. As part of the virtual launch, ACE and Safe Space hosted a panel discussion earlier this morning, focusing on Rethinking Mental Wellness in Workplaces. Safe Space - Mental Health of Startup Founders in Singapore As a VC sitting in the heart of digital healthcare innovation in Boston, we are very excited to invest in ThoughtFull. By comparison, the average person in the U.S. worked 1,767 hours in the same year. Metas first investment in the Asia-Pacific region was Ami, in its seed funding round last May. As a startup ourselves, we understand the challenges faced by our fellow startup founders to upkeep their mental health whilst building a business. ThoughtFull marks Sheares first investment in mental healthcare in Asia. We are excited to partner with the Intellect team as it builds a flexible, responsive and modern system for a critical component of healthcare., Theodoric Chew, cofounder and CEO of Intellect, a. The following month, corporate mental health and wellness platform MindFi scored $2 . We are fortunate Intellect is able to not just defend, but heavily double down on our work to change how mental healthcare is done for all of Asia Pacific. The latest investment will be channeled into ThoughtFulls continued growth trajectory, clinical research, and product development, including a focus on deep tech developments. And I think itll be at an accelerated pace.. The startup now has more than 3 million app users and 20 corporate clients, including FoodPanda, Shopback, Carousell, Avery Dennison, Schroders, and government agencies. Joan Low (pic above), Founder and CEO of ThoughtFull said: Even before the pandemic, ThoughtFull has always set out to change the conversation around mental health from awareness to action. London's Sturgeon Capital launches $35M fund aimed at emerging startups in Central Asia. Widespread emotional burnout, brought on by overwork and exacerbated by the pandemic, has forced employers to accept that mental health cannot be ignored in the workplace. Launched in 2020, the startup offers a modern-day solution, making mental healthcare and wellbeing support accessible and inclusive for everyone in Asia. Our coaches are going to be able to empathize with you, at least in my personal experience, much more than certain traditional clinical solutions might be able to offer, says Kim, who was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) in 2019. Ami raised $1 million in pre-seed funding from venture capital firms Goodwater Capital (which has backed Kakao, Coupang and Viva Republica), Strong Ventures (Miso and Korbit, South Koreas first cryptocurrency exchange), January Capital and Collaborative Fund. Last July, it raised $20 million in a Series A funding round led by Tiger Global. What we hope to do is to make the narrative around mental health a lot more proactive for individuals who want to adopt a healthier lifestyle, says Kim in a video interview from his home in Singapore. Looking at Asia, a 2021 report from Singapore's National Institute of Health estimated that the societal cost of six common mental health disorders was $1.2 billion per year, including. What we consider to be very, very important is the percentage of employees who actually use our solutions, and continue to use our solutions over time., This is a BETA experience. What is Mental Wellness. During the registration process, users fill out a form detailing what stresses them out most often, and based on their responses, they will be paired with a practitioner who specializes in those issues. The round, which Intellect claims is the largest Series A ever raised by a mental health startup in Asia, was led by HOF Capital. The report found that the four common themes of difficulty faced by startup founders are Uncertainty, Managing Relationships, Working Alone, and Slow Progress, with top stressors being Challenging Business Environment (62%), Company Cash Flow Issues (35%), and Long Working Hours (34%). Existing investors Insignia Ventures Partners and HOF Capital also participated. Its SEA-based and available in Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines. Mental health app Intellects founder and CEO Theodoric Chew. If you do not want us and our partners to use cookies and personal data for these additional purposes, click 'Reject all'. Kim says that an antidote to the stigma is reframing mental health as mental wellness, which everyone, and not just the mentally ill, can benefit from. While SEAs stigma around mental health and the high cost of services are the main reasons mental health services arent the norm, this hasnt stopped Thoughtfull from explosive growth. This brings Intellect's total Series A capital raise to US . $1.1M in one of the largest seed rounds in the mental health space, one-on-one coaching, insight-driven therapy and self-guided tools, The latest is Thoughtfull, a Singapore-based mental health startup that raised. Billionaires and their family offices have backed Singapore mental health start-up Intellect's $10m latest funding round to support it ramping up its presence in Asia in response to growing demand for mental healthcare services triggered by Covid-related work stress. It plans to use its fresh capital to further scale its business across Asia, develop its product offerings, and conduct further clinical research. Intellect currently covers 12 countries and 11 languages. The extension round was further backed by existing investors including Insignia Ventures Partners and HOF Capital, and new venture capitalists, namely K3 Ventures, JAFCO Asia, and Singtel Innov8, as well as others. MindFi is another Singapore-based start-up that has seen a boom in demand, as COVID-19 drew greater attention to mental health issues and also spurred the digitisation of healthcare. For more technology news and the latest updates, follow usonFacebook, Twitter or LinkedIn, Get and download a digital copy of Digerati50 2020-2021, PIKOM launches industry internship program to bridge skills gap, MyDIGITAL and World Bank kickstarts discussions on GovTech transformation, MCMC To Take Stern Action And Regulate Digital Content To Tackle Online Harms, Malaysia Centre for 4IR to accelerate nations digital economy and green energy transition, China-ASEAN Exchange Week and Forum paves road to better cooperation in higher education, An Expanding Gig Economy: We Have Little Choice But To Deal With The Growing Pains, Connectivity as key: Innovating without borders, Transitioning from Intellectual Property to innovation perpetuity, Pikom signals caution in economic outlook for Malaysia in 2023, Celebrating women's contributions, addressing gender disparities for greater participation in tech, Developers generated US$1.1 tril through AppStore ecosystem in 2022, Paywatch and KB Bukopin Partner to Launch Bank-Backed EWA Service, Catcha Digital appoints Shireen Chia Yin Ting as Independent Non-Executive Director, SC seeks to transform agri sector via fintech, alternative financing, After-sales 3D diagnostic tool lands APU Grand Champion prize at HILTI IT global competition 2023, CelcomDigi launches 5G Booster with introductory offer, MAE app will enforce Secure2u for transaction approval starting July, HPs Zbook Firefly G10 delivers for the demanding professional, Acer Malaysia Launches Two Series Of PCs For Under US$900, YES expects over 3,000 to join exclusive GeForce NOW beta.