Launchpad Digital Health partners with the best digital health entrepreneurs at an early stage to build companies that improve care, lower costs, and increase patient convenience.  We provide significant capital to our digital health companies. Investments from LDH are up to $1M in the seed round and $2-3M in the A&B rounds. LDH is looking for digital health companies ready to scale businesses focusing on healthy living, wellness, patient compliance, remote diagnostics and monitoring, electronic health and wellness records, data analytical tools and big data, and independent living support. The founders of Launchpad Digital Health have funded and operated a myriad of companies throughout the healthcare and technology sectors, including digital health companies, for the past two decades.

Launchpad Digital Health

National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency that supports research and education in science and engineering. It provides up to $1.5 million in non-dilutive funding to startups working in various areas of science and technology to support research and development (R&D) and mitigate technology risks for commercial success. This funding is part of America's Seed Fund, which is mandated by Congress through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. The NSF operates with a budget of approximately $7.8 billion and funds fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering.

National Science Foundation

National Institutes of Health is a biomedical research facility in the United States. It is affiliated with the United States Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research. It conducts its own scientific research through its Intramural Research Program (IRP) and provides major biomedical research funding to non-NIH research facilities through its Extramural Research Program. National Institutes of Health has 1,200 principal investigators and more than 4,000 postdoctoral fellows in basic, translational, and clinical research. It comprises 27 separate institutes and centers that conduct research in different disciplines of biomedical science. With scientific accomplishments such as the discovery of fluoride to prevent tooth decay, the use of lithium to manage bipolar disorder, the creation of vaccines against hepatitis, Haemophilus influenzae (HIB), and human papillomavirus, National Institutes of Health has many agencies under its control. National Institutes of Health was established in 1887. It is based in Bethesda, Maryland.

National Institutes of Health

Sober Grid

Sober Grid is digital health company focused on the chronic disease management of substance use disorders (SUD). Covering all chemical dependencies including but not limited to opioid use disorder (OUD), Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD), and Cocaine Use Disorder.  The application has been adopted in over 170 countries and has been used over 20 million times. The solution was developed in partnership with researchers from Harvard Medical School and University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine with support from the National Institutes of Health.  Researchers at UPenn Perelman School of Medicine found that the use of the Sober Grid app correlated with lower relapse rates.  At its core the app uses a unique community based approach for chronic disease management. While including proven concepts such as the use of contingency management when giving app members in app badges as rewards for their sobriety achievements.  The apps large user base and strong engagement metrics help provide large data sets that enable the Sober Grid predictive analytics to help predict an impending relapse risk. Depending on risk level a coach reaches out and delivers an intervention. Improving the overall  heath outcomes by reducing relapse rates with the combined use of AI and human connection.   - - Sober Grid Mobile App is a geo-social software application for iOS/Android smartphones. Sober Grid provides users with a GPS locator interface, direct messaging and newsfeed functionalities, certified and cost effective coaching with both regularly scheduled and crisis driven on demand access 24/7, daily educational and inspirational literature, daily quests for users to complete and maintain a consistent habit of focusing on getting healthier, and social supports in a single platform. Sober Grid allows users to find other sober people nearby: in their neighborhood, in an airport, on a cruise ship, and traveling for business or pleasure. Sober Grid provides an instant social network for sober people in recovery, a group that numbers more than 23 million in the United States alone.

<div>Sober Grid, founded by Beau Mann who overcame addiction with peer support, allows users struggling with addictions to connect with a global sober community for peer support. In June 2018, Sober Grid acquired Ascent, a coaching service to offer personalized 24/7 support to its members who need professional assistance to remain drug-free. Connections with peers are offered free of charge, but Sober Grid charges users for accessing certified coaches. Sober Grid is also working with the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard Medical School to leverage artificial intelligence capabilities to predict relapses.</div>

New technologies are opening up mental health services to previously overbooked and underserved populations.

Mental Health Tech

Remains of Sober Grid app founder identified in California

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 Sober Grid, founded by Beau Mann who overcame addiction with peer support, allows users struggling with addictions to connect with a global sober community for peer support. In June 2018, Sober Grid acquired Ascent, a coaching service to offer personalized 24/7 support to its members who need professional assistance to remain drug-free. Connections with peers are offered free of charge, but Sober Grid charges users for accessing certified coaches. Sober Grid is also working with the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard Medical School to leverage artificial intelligence capabilities to predict relapses.
 
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 Boulder Care is a telepsychiatry platform that connects patients who are opioid-addicted users to addiction specialists, care coordinators, and peer coaches. Patients can get personalized plans via video and text messaging and the app is intended to be used in conjunction with prescription medicines and lab tests.
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 In June 2022, the company raised USD 36 million in a Series B funding round. The funds were earmarked to triple the size of the company’s medical care team, expand its geographical footprint, and increase its value-based care treatment options through partnerships with health plans.
 
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Boulder Care

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 7 Cups provides an emotional-support platform with a network of volunteer listeners. Users can anonymously access either one-on-one chats or group chats 24/7, free of charge for issues such as depression, anxiety, relationships and those related to the LGBTQ+ community. It also teaches users skills such as meditation to improve their lives. If users want additional support, the company also provides access to an online therapy platform with a network of 180 licensed therapists for a subscription plan of USD 150 per month. 7 Cups is available for users above 13 years of age (users between 13 and 17 years old engage with listeners who are specifically trained in teenage interactions).
 
 
 Volunteer peer listeners get free training and support as well as flexible scheduling. Once a user requests a chat, it will be directed to available listeners and if the user requests a specific listener, he will be connected as soon as the listener accepts the demand. The service is anonymous and the listener has no access to the details of the user unless the information is disclosed to the listener by the user in their conversations. As of January 2022, 7 Cups has facilitated more than 51 million conversations, served 25 million individuals, and had 300,000 trained listeners. The listeners serve in 180 countries in 140 languages.
 
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7 Cups

wayForward provides technology-supported behavioral health and emotional wellness services for employers planning to make services available to their employees. It uses a screening procedure designed by neuropsychologists to triage and help employee members get clinically relevant mental healthcare. The company provides a self-guided app, text-based coaching, video visits, telepsychiatry, and if required, in-person visits or an on-site counselor. wayForward leverages its evidence-based approach and artificial intelligence in delivering its services and claims that it has been able to reduce anxiety symptoms by 48% and depression symptoms by 59%.The company raised USD 2 million in a seed round in June 2020, which brought total funding to USD 4.5 million. DarioHealth, a chronic disease management platform based in Israel, signed a definitive agreement to acquire 100% of wayForward in May 2021 for a total consideration of USD 30 million. As of May 2021, the wayForward had approximately 20,000 members and was available in North America, Australia, and Europe.

wayForward

Coa is a mental health company that conducts online classes led by licensed therapists for mental health users. The classes focus on conditions such as stress, anxiety, confidence and relationships. The company raised USD 3 million in a seed round in October 2020 from investors led by Crosslink Capital.

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 Meru Health is an online platform that connects patients experiencing stress, depression, anxiety, burnout, and other mental health issues to licensed therapists. The company was founded by Kristian Ranta in 2016 after his older brother died from suicide after battling depression. The platform offers a 12-week program and personalized text-based coaching services and virtual workshops. Meru also provides access to progress reports and anonymous peer support groups as well as sleep, nutrition, and mindfulness advice on top of vital tracking information—such as heart rate data.
 
 
 The company reported a 10x YoY growth in its customer base in 2020 and plans to serve 10 million users by 2027. The company also achieved 8x YoY growth in revenue in 2020 amid an increase in demand in mental health services brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 In September 2022, Meru Health and clinical trial platform Curebase 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/13230">
 announced a partnership
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 to carry out a three-year clinical trial to measure the effectiveness of Meru Health’s 12-week digital depression treatment targeting primary care patients. The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health’s Small Business Innovation Research program. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Fundings and financials
 
 
 In May 2022, the company secured a USD 2 million grant from the National Institute of Mental Health to measure the effectiveness of its 12-week program for treating primary care patients. The study will follow 300 patients across the US with symptoms of major depression for a period of three years.
 
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Meru Health

Online peer-to-peer platform and support system that connects mental health communities.

Mobile-based apps and FDA-approved software that incorporate evidenced-based cognitive behavioral therapy to prevent, treat, or manage mental and behavioral conditions in conjunction with or as a replacement for traditional medication.

Products for behavioral health and mental health tracking, measurement-based care, and real-time remote monitoring of patients.

Subscription or membership-based platforms and apps to connect therapists, psychiatrists or behavioral health coaches with patients.

Offers virtual offerings for mental health consultations

Mental healthcare services offer personalized care tailored to a user's needs and treatment progression

There are mental health providers offering services specifically to help LGBTQ+ or BIPOC individuals

Several mental health technology providers offer therapy services rendered by AI/ML technology

Sober Grid

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