Headspace

Headspace is a digital wellness company that delivers meditation programs through a smartphone app. The company was founded by Andy Puddicombe, a former Buddhist monk, and Richard Pierson, a marketing and brand development professional. In addition to meditation, Headspace offers stress management programs, mindfulness activities, and sleep therapy solutions. Headspace also operates a  business-to-business (B2B) focused “Headspace for Work” program with around 1,600 corporate customers as of January 2021, which has seen around 3x growth during 2020. Further, the company operates “Headspace for Health,” a program that develops US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved meditation tools to treat chronic diseases.

As of January 2023, the company has over 100 million users across 190 countries, with its brands “Headspace for Work” and “Ginger” being used by over 4,000 enterprises including Starbucks, Adobe, Delta Air Lines, Mattel, and Paramount. The company also partners with a health plans, such as Cigna, to provide its services.

In January 2022, the company acquired Sayana , an AI-powered mental health provider which helps employees manage stress and anxiety, improve sleep and increase productivity. The acquisition was carried out to expand Headspace's services to provide personalized self-care to its users.

In June 2022, the company launched a new training program for senior leaders and managers to support mental well-being in the workplace.

In September 2022, the company acquired fellow mindfulness platform Shine for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition enhanced Headspace Health’s offerings by supporting inclusiveness and diversity while also growing Headspace’s member base. Select content from Shine was earmarked to be added to Headspace Health’s content library.

In November 2022, the company launched a new platform that combines its product offerings with mental health platform Ginger’s an entity it merged with in August 2021 . The platform combines Headspace Health’s meditation and mindfulness services with Ginger’s on-demand coaching, therapy, and psychiatry services, to offer enterprise clients an integrated solution for supporting their employees.

In January 2023, the company expanded its geographical reach to offer coaching, therapy, and employee assistance-related services to UK headquartered enterprise clients. The company stated it plans on continuing this international expansion into other countries throughout 2023 but did not mentioned specifics.

Key customers and partnerships

In June 2023, the company extended its partnership with with employee benefit management platform provider Virgin Pulse to integrate its platform with Virgin Pulse’s platform. This integration enables employees enrolled in Virgin Pulse’s health benefit offerings to access the full suite of Headspace’s offerings as a part of Virgin Pulse’s Homebase for Health platform.

Most recently, in March 2024, Headspace partnered with Meta to launch "Headspace XR," available for an upfront fee of USD 30. Headspace XR provides guided mindfulness and meditation exercises led by the same instructors familiar to regular Headspace users. The exercises cover activities such as breathing techniques, body scans, and mood tracking. Additionally, it incorporates a social element, including interactive metaverse-style gaming in vivid environments.

Funding and financials

In July 2023, the company raised USD 105 million in debt funding from Oxford Finance. The funding was set aside to develop and enhance the company's platform, with a focus on its enterprise offerings, such as in-person clinical care capabilities, substance use disorder support, and next-generation EAP services.