India’s AI-based mental health platform Wysa gets $5.5m in Series A

Wysa, an artificial intelligence-based mental health platform, announced raising $5.5 million as part of its Series A financing round that will be used to support its existing offerings.

The funding round, led by Boston-based digital health investor W Health Ventures and backed by Google Assistant Investment Program, pi Ventures, and Kae Capital, will also help finance the expansion of Wysa’s sales team and therapist network.

The startup raised pre-Series A funding in 2019, led by pi Ventures, with Kae Capital and others participating as a part of this round. With the latest infusion, the Boston and Bengaluru-based startup has raised close to $9 million in funding so far.

Established in 2015, Wysa offers an AI-driven mental health support platform for individuals and companies that want to include mental health in their benefits programs.

Wysa helps in dealing with stress, depression, and anxiety with the help of an “emotionally intelligent” bot, which uses evidence-based cognitive-behavioral techniques (CBT), meditation, breathing and mindfulness exercises, as well as micro-actions to help users build mental resilience skills. 

For employers, Wysa offers a workplace solution that caters to the full spectrum of mental health needs. This solution embeds into existing company benefits, such as Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) or external health care provider networks, and can be customized by geography or cohort. 

The company currently has facilitated over 100 million conversations in 65 countries across the globe. It works with 20 enterprise partners and 7 million employees worldwide, with partners that include Accenture Global, Aetna International, NHS, L’Oreal, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, and the Ministry of Health in Singapore. 

“When organisations roll out Wysa, what surprises them is the insight they get about usage, while still maintaining employee privacy. For example, most people start with group meditations or sleep routines, and about 30-40% need help with negative thoughts and emotions,” said Wysa co-founder and CEO Jo Aggarwal. 

Wysa’s internal data shows that 60% of the working population falls into the “missing middle” of mental health. People struggle with negative thoughts, anxiety, isolation, or sleep issues, but they want to work on improving their situation themselves rather than seeking clinical support.