StartersHub is an early stage venture capital fund

StartersHub

Turkey's leading mobile application developer and one of the fastest-growing IT company according to Deloitte Fast 50, Teknasyon, has achieved great success by reaching out to 1.5 billion people in 55 different languages and ​172 countries with dozens of mobile applications since their establishment in 2013. Besides developing hyper-growth mobile apps, Teknasyon is also an infrastructure and content provider. In addition to building successful products, the company provides additional support with B2C and B2B tools on the way to an early-stage startup’s global growth as an investor. Teknasyon is not a regular investor, which also opens the kitchen to all these startups to reach millions of new users worldwide. That means supporting startups with the tools developed on their own technologies such as advanced reporting & insights, commercial positioning/design, full integration with internal marketing tools, and 360-degree marketing production & management. Developing their vision with Facebook, Google, and leading telco operators’ collaboration from day one and creating a value-added ecosystem with the startups let Teknasyon enhance their services. In entertainment, wellness, photo/video, productivity, shopping, sports, and mobile gaming, portfolio companies always pursue global growth.

Teknasyon

Atlantic Labs is a European first round investor, headquartered in Berlin. We believe entrepreneurs shape the future, and work hard to support ambitious founders throughout their entire entrepreneurial journey.  Since 2013, we have led over 150 first round investments – backing category creators such as Soundcloud, GetYourGuide, Clue, Vimcar, Zenjob, Choco and Wandelbots. Emerging technologies excite us as much as startups tackling social challenges. Recent investments have focused on decarbonisation, artificial intelligence, and industrial automation.

Atlantic Labs

Vela Partners is the world's first product-led and AI-powered venture capital firm.

Vela Partners

Sarus Select Capital manages investments and provides investment advisory services.

Sarus Select Capital

Meditopia

Founded in 2017, Meditopia is one of the world’s leading global mental wellbeing platforms and the #1 App globally for non-English speaking countries. With over 30 million members in over 120 countries, Meditopia's content has been localized by experts in 12 different languages. A platform with a strong focus on coaching and meditation, Meditopia was founded with the clear mission to provide mental health practices anytime, anywhere for everyone around the world. The platform, available on iOS, Android and web and present in over 120 countries, offers content for meditation, sleep, and motivation in different formats including audio, music, texts and, most recently art. This content has been exclusively developed by mental health and wellbeing professionals including psychologists, mental health coaches, sleep experts, etc, from across the globe, localizing the materials to address the specific needs of individuals from different cultures and backgrounds, and unique daily challenges. Meditopia has achieved impressive growth in numbers of users and, most importantly, in satisfaction and trustworthiness consistently rating above 4.8* in over 500.000 reviews in all app stores.  In 2021, Meditopia launched “Meditopia For Work,” a series of tailored mental health solutions for companies. Working already with over 80 businesses worldwide, Meditopia For Work provides services ranging from one-to-one coaching sessions with employees, to comprehensive support to the HR and people’s departments in tracking, measuring and understanding the state of mental wellness of their companies and developing mental health programs tailored to their specific needs.

Germany-based Meditopia is a mental wellness company that specializes in mindfulness and meditation applications. It offers a platform with a wide array of mindfulness and relaxation content that addresses various aspects of mental well-being such as stress, anxiety, and sleep.&nbsp;

A new industry proving that digital connectivity and mental health can co-exist.

Digital Wellness

Mental health tech firm Meditopia scores $15 million in Series A round

Germany-based Meditopia is a mental wellness company that specializes in mindfulness and meditation applications. It offers a platform with a wide array of mindfulness and relaxation content that addresses various aspects of mental well-being such as stress, anxiety, and sleep.&nbsp;Meditopia's offerings include daily meditations, sleep stories, articles, music, and nature sounds designed to help users achieve better mental health outcomes. The platform features a library with <a href="https://meditopia.com/en/">over 1,000</a> content pieces that cater to a diverse range of emotional needs. These are delivered in <a href="https://meditopia.com/en/">12 languages</a>, catering primarily to non-English speaking users worldwide. Additionally, it provides access to certified experts to get 1-to-1 support for personal needs and provides tailored mental health solutions for corporate clients through its Meditopia for Work program.Meditopia operates on a subscription-based model. It provides premium subscription packages for businesses for a minimum of five employees <a href="https://www.meditopia.com/en/business-buynow/">at</a> a monthly rate of USD 17.50 and an annual rate of USD 210 (as of September 2024). Key customers and partnershipsAs of April 2024, Meditopia served over <a href="https://help.meditopia.com/en/about-us/">35 million members across more than 75 countries</a>. As of April 2024, the company also offered its services to <a href="https://meditopia.com/en/forwork/">100</a>+ corporations. Some of its <a href="https://meditopia.com/en/partnership/">corporate clients</a> are leading companies such as Nike, Vodafone, Getir, Unilever, Allianz, and MercerMarsh Benefits.&nbsp;In September 2022, the company <a href="https://insurance-edge.net/2022/09/26/yulife-teams-up-with-meditopia-on-wellbeing-initiative/">partnered</a> with YuLife to provide mental health support services. This partnership assisted YuLife in advancing its mission to bring about a significant change in the insurance industry, with a key focus on mental well-being.

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.In November 2022, the company launched a new platform that combines its product offerings with mental health platform Ginger’s <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/5119">an entity it merged with in August 2021 </a>. 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 September 2022, the company <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/12918">acquired fellow mindfulness platform Shine </a>for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition enhanced Headspace Health’s offerings and also helped grow Headspace’s member base. Select content from Shine was earmarked to be added to Headspace Health’s content library.In January 2023, the company <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/16052">expanded its geographical reach </a>to offer coaching, therapy, and employee assistance-related services to UK headquartered enterprise clients.&nbsp;Key customers and partnershipsAs of September 2024, 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 health plans, such as Cigna, to provide its services.In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/36071">November 2024</a>, Headspace partnered with Hyatt, to help hotel guests improve their sleep quality while traveling. The collaboration featured a five-episode "Science Behind Sleep" video series filmed at Park Hyatt Aviara Resort, offering research-based tips for managing sleep struggles.In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/30378">June 2024</a>, Headspace partnered with Uwill, a mental health platform for colleges and students, to integrate Headspace's wellness services into Uwill's existing portal. The collaborative effort allowed Uwill's Urise program to incorporate Headspace's services, primarily meditation, yoga, and mindfulness offerings.In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/27330">March 2024</a>, Headspace partnered with Meta to launch "Headspace XR," available for an upfront fee of USD 30. Headspace XR provided guided mindfulness and meditation exercises led by the same instructors familiar to regular Headspace users. The exercises covered activities such as breathing techniques, body scans, and mood tracking. Additionally, it incorporated a social element, including interactive metaverse-style gaming in vivid environments.In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/19771">June 2023</a>, the company extended its partnership with with employee benefit management platform provider Virgin Pulse to integrate its platform with Virgin Pulse’s platform. The integration enabled 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.

Headspace

Calm is a digital wellness company which offers guided meditations to make people happy as well as mindfulness and sleep programs through a smartphone app. Its audio content is designed to strengthen mental fitness and address mental health challenges such as stress, anxiety, insomnia, and depression. The company started out as a website in 2011 where users were trained to stare at a screen and listen to waves on a beach for two minutes without touching their mouse. In February 2013, more content was added and the company launched a mobile app.&nbsp;In October 2022, the company launched a new clinical mental health offering called “Calm Health,” marking its expansion into the mental health space. The new solution provides condition-specific programs designed to bridge mental and physical care and includes tools for communication with providers and medication tracking. This solution was created for the company by Ripple Health, which was acquired by Calm in February 2022.As of 2024, Calm reported over 100 million downloads and more than 1.5 million five-star reviews. The app is available on iOS, Android, and desktop platforms. Calm operates on a freemium model with paid subscriptions unlocking full access to features. In 2023, an annual subscription cost USD 69.99, with monthly and lifetime options also available for USD 5.83 and USD 399.99, respectively. Key customers and partnershipsCalm offers content in English, Spanish, French, and German and operates Calm Business, a business-to-business (B2B) covering over 10 million employees across 3,500+ organizations as of September 2024.Calm gained significant traction in 2020 during the Covid-19 lockdowns. It became the most downloaded digital wellness app during April 2020 with 3.9 million downloads worldwide, including 1.6 million downloads in the US. Kaiser Permanente, a large managed care service provider, provided Calm free for its 12.4 million members in May 2019. Calm also partnered with CNN on the 2020 US presidential election day to play the sound of rain hitting leaves on air, a marketing effort that went viral on social media. As of September 2024, the app had 150 million+ downloads.As of December 2022, the company has partnered with over 20 brands to collaborate and provide its services through sales partnerships. These brands include Xbox, Amazon, YouTube, Adidas, Fitbit, and American Express.&nbsp;In October 2022, Calm partnered with <a href="https://news.adidas.com/partnerships/adidas-and-calm-unite-to-progress-sports-performance-through-mental-wellbeing/s/48baf8f2-f856-4313-91cf-71bf7238faea">Adidas</a> to progress sport performances through mental well-being. Another partnership is with <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/20/lyra-partners-with-calm-to-bring-meditation-to-mental-health-service.html">Lyra Health</a> to combat stress and burnout and support resilience-building in the workplace.

Calm

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 Simple Habit is a guided meditation service provider, which offers bite sized, five-minute long meditation sessions through an app targeting people with busy schedules. The company also offers mindfulness, sleep, and wellness programs. As of November 2020, Simple Habit offered over 2,000 sessions designed to help users sleep, reduce anxiety, and get over relationship issues. The content is organized by occasion, such as commuting, going to sleep or preparing for a meeting. 
 
 
 In June 2022 the company launched its Sleep Habit app, a virtual sleep clinic that helps users improve the quality of their sleep. The app uses clinically validated approaches to improve sleep quality and treat issues such as insomnia via methods such as cognitive behavioral therapy. 
 
 
 As of September 2022, Simple Habit claims to have a 7 million users between both of its apps. 
 
 
 
 
 In November 2018, Simple Habit raised USD 10 million in a Series A round led by Foundation Capital, bringing the company’s total funding to USD 12.6 million. The company used the funds to expand its library of guided meditation sessions and to add audio content led by therapists and executive coaches. As of late 2018, the app was reported to sign up as many as 30,000 new users per week. As of November 2020, Simple Habit reported having helped helped over five million people reduce burnout through its app’s services.
 
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Simple Habit

Insight Timer is a company which offers guided meditation, yoga, and sleep programs through a smartphone app. It also offers free interactive live sessions with teachers, performers, and therapists through the app and web. The company’s business-to-business (B2B) offering, “Circles for teams”, targets enterprise customers to help bring employees together to practice group meditations, chat with each other, and recommend content. In October 2020, Insight Timer began offering free, daily live yoga classes from instructors based on a pay-what-you-can model.Insight Timer's core offering is its extensive free content library, which includes over 140,000 guided meditations, talks, and music tracks from thousands of teachers and experts worldwide. The app features a customizable meditation timer, allowing users to set session lengths and choose from various ambient sounds and ending bells.The majority of the content is available for free, and users can sign up for a premium version priced at USD 9.99 per month or USD 59.99 per year, as of August 2024. Premium users get access to content such as Insight courses and the ability to download content. This subscription unlocks additional features such as offline listening, the ability to fast-forward and rewind meditations, and access to over 1,000 in-depth courses on various topics. The app also offers live events, including yoga classes and meditation sessions, as well as a community space where users can connect with like-minded individuals and join discussion groups.Insight Timer collaborates with meditation teachers, psychologists, neuroscientists, and experts from institutions such as Stanford, Harvard, and the University of Oxford to provide content for its platform and with musicians to offer ambient and relaxation music. Insight Timer has positioned itself as a platform that supports its content creators with a revenue-sharing model that distributes 50% of course income to teachers. As of 2022, the app reported having approximately 12,000 teachers and yoga instructors contributing content to its platform. As of November 2020, the app had a 16% 30-day retention rate, more than double the average retention rate of 7.7% for top 100 apps in Apple’s App Store.&nbsp; Key customers and partnershipsThe app had over 29 million users as of September 2024. In April 2021, Insight Timer partnered with <a href="https://www.vondereurope.com/magazine/brand-partnerships-insight-timer">Vonder</a> to provide curated content, including different wellness classes and weekly group meditations. The company had also partnered with <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/gisele-bundchen-partners-with-insight-timer-to-encourage-millions-to-meditate-for-free-301126987.html">Gisele Bündchen</a> in September 2020 to encourage people to meditate for free.

Insight Timer

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 Big Sky Health is the developer of the Oak Meditation breathing app. Oak Meditation offers guided and unguided meditations, sleep meditations, meditation timers, yogic exercises for breathing, animated instructions, and music tracks. The company is headed by Mike Maser, an entrepreneur who was diagnosed with stage IV cancer. Most of the companies services are offered free of charge with in-app purchases ranging from USD 5.99 to USD 38.99.
 
 
 
 
 In addition to Oak meditation, Big Sky also offers a fasting app called Zero and an alcohol moderation app called Less. In May 2020, Big Sky raised USD 8 million in Series A funding in a round led by Greycroft with participation from existing investors True Ventures and Trinity Ventures, bringing the company’s total funding to USD 12.2 million. Big Sky Health expects to use the funds to expand its staff and boost customer acquisition.
 
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Big Sky Health

Apps that provide relaxation, stress reduction and non-therapeutic mental health support via meditation-related techniques.

These apps aim to increase users’ body and brain functions including memory and attention to detail with microlearning, gamification, and journaling techniques.

Helps users analyze and address sleep disorders with wearable tech, music and sound therapy, and storytelling.

Apps that provide virtual training programs, track workouts, and provide guides for nutrition.

Companies that use GenAI as a core part of their product offering for Digital Wellness

Some digital wellness providers provider VR/AR experiences for meditations

Some companies offer personalized care/meditation plans, workout regimens, or treatments for sleep disorders

Offers app-based platforms that improve health and wellness

Wellness providers use GenAI to enhance their solutions

Meditopia

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