ThoughtFull founder Joan Low
ThoughtFull, a Singapore-based startup providing digital mental health support, has closed an oversubscribed seed round at US$1.1 million.
The Hive Southeast Asia, Boston-based Flybridge, and Singapore’s Vulpes Investment Management, also joined.
ThoughtFull will utilise the for clinical research and product development, focusing on deep-tech developments. A portion of the funding will also be used to expand across Southeast Asia and grow the team.
The startup is already present in Malaysia and the Philippines, in addition to Singapore.
Launched in 2019, digital mental health startup leverages its proprietary architecture on its mobile apps, ThoughtFullChat and ThoughtFullChat, to connect users to accredited mental health professionals for daily conversations and personalised best-fit mental healthcare.
“We want to empower the community to take ownership of their mental health by making healthcare affordable and accessible to the masses,” ThoughtFull CEO and founder Joan Low told e27 in an interview.
Also read: How ThoughtFull aims to destigmatise mental health through daily chats with professionals
Leveraging insights-driven mental healthcare, ThoughtFull focuses on improving the management of stress, anxiety, and depression through end-to-end solutions across the preventive to curative spectrum — from self-serve tools, 1-on-1 bite-sized coaching, to insights-driven therapy.
Its partners range from employers, insurers to pharmaceuticals and academic institutions, serving users across 43 countries with a professional network spanning 14 locations, claims the startup.
As per Singapore Mental Health Study conducted in 2016, despite one in seven Singaporeans experiencing mental health hurdles at some point in their lives, only a quarter of those seeks treatment for it. Low believes that going digital will help eliminate the stigma hindering potential users from engaging with their mental health issues by securing privacy.
“Mental healthcare is one of the most important yet complex therapeutic areas in the world, requiring global insights but localised delivery,” said Prof. Jeff Bussgang, senior lecturer at Harvard Business School and general partner at Flybridge. “ThoughtFull brings us another step closer to providing equal, seamless access for all.”
Riding on the pandemic’s tailwinds, ThoughtFull boasts it taps into the mounting employer demand and has grown its enterprise business more than tenfold since inception.
“When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, anxiety levels skyrocketed, and businesses, including those of mental health professionals, were shut down overnight,” stated Syed Haizam Jamalullail, MD at The Hive Southeast Asia. “ThoughtFull’s work in not only bringing greater access to mental healthcare for all but also its role in digitising the mental health industry is fundamental to nations the world over.”
The company stated that it has partnered with Penjana Kapital — a wholly-owned subsidiary of Malaysia’s Ministry of Finance through the Dana Penjana Nasional programme — to future proof the delivery of mental healthcare in Malaysia and beyond.
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Image Credit: ThoughtFull
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