Alchemist is a venture-backed accelerator focused on accelerating the development of seed-stage ventures that monetize from enterprises (not consumers). CB Insights rated Alchemist the top accelerator in 2016 based on the median funding rates of its grads (YC was #2). The accelerator’s primary screening criteria is on teams, prioritizing having distinctive technical co-founders. The organization provides seed investment into companies it admits (typically $36K), and provides founders a structured path to traction, fundraising, mentorship, and community throughout a 6-month program. The company's backers include many of the top corporate and VC funds in the Valley -- including Khosla Ventures, DFJ, Cisco, GE, next47(Siemens), and Salesforce, among others—the accelerator seeds around 75 enterprise-monetizing ventures/year. Notable alumni include LaunchDarkly, Rigetti Quantum Computing, mPharma, Matternet, and Mightyhive.

Alchemist Accelerator

Formed in 2019, The Allston Venture Fund is an investment collaborative focused on providing funding to high-potential, high-impact ventures led by Harvard students.  The fund is backed by Bain Capital, General Catalyst, GETTYLAB, Highland Capital, Polaris Partners and Underscore.

Allston Venture Fund

AmFam Institute Impact Fund is a venture fund arm of American Family Insurance.

American Family Insurance Institute for Corporate and Social Impact

SixThirty is a global venture capital fund that operates a go-to-market program for B2B FinTech, InsurTech & Cybser Security startups.  SixThirty invests in and helps grow between 8 - 12 early-stage (generally Seed - Series A) companies each year, providing funding, mentorship, and connections. Learn more about the SixThirty investment process at https://sixthirty.co/apply/. SixThirty's mission is to find the most innovative ideas in enterprise financial technology, insurance technology, and cyber security across the globe, and work with like-minded corporate investors and partners to mentor and grow them into great businesses.

SixThirty

Techstars is a global platform that provides investment and innovation. Through the Techstars Worldwide Entrepreneur Network, founders and their teams connect with other entrepreneurs, experts, mentors, alumni, investors, community leaders, and corporate partners who will help their companies grow. Techstars operates four divisions: Techstars Mentorship-Driven Accelerator Program supercharges success and Techstars Startup Programs inspire, educate, and connect entrepreneurs. Techstars Venture Capital Fund invests in innovative and disruptive companies. Techstars Corporate Innovation Partnerships help brands create products and services. Techstars' accelerator portfolio includes more than 1,000 companies with a market cap of $8.1 billion.

Techstars

Visible Ventures invests in bold, diverse teams that are building superior consumer experiences and the technologies that power them. Visible Ventures has offices in Boston and New York City.

Visible Ventures

Alumni Ventures Group provides high-quality, diversified venture portfolios to individual investors who previously haven't had access to VC. It helps accredited alums from top entrepreneurial schools invest together in the ventures of fellow alums. The firm backs companies with an alumni connection and an institutional lead investor with expertise in the space. AVG also offers focused funds that allow any accredited investor access to a venture portfolio, diversified by type, sector, stage, and geography. Beth Obermiller, Michael Madden, and Mike Collins co-founded the firm in Manchester, New Hampshire in 2013.

Alumni Ventures

Mentors Fund invests in and mentors capital efficient startups.

Mentors Fund

Flare Capital Partners provides capital for early-stage and emerging healthcare technology companies. The firm invests across the United States, recognizing that healthcare technology innovation is occurring in many cities around the country.

Flare Capital Partners

The Yard Ventures is an investment firm with broad professional, investing, and entrepreneurial experience. It is part of the Alumni Ventures Group.

The Yard Ventures

A Social Entrepreneurship Bootcamp accelerator

Bonbillo LLC

Headwater Ventures investing in the modernization of health + care.

Headwater Ventures

Equity League is an investment network focused on creating more opportunities for Black and LatinX founders.

Equity League

Inception Health is the hub for the Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin health network’s digital health services. Inception facilitates innovation by working effectively within the walls of an academic medical center, as well as collaborating with technology companies from outside our enterprise.

Inception Health

BrightEdge is the American Cancer Society’s donor-funded, philanthropic impact fund. The fund is led by a board comprised of the Society’s leaders and a management team with expertise in investment and venture capital. BrightEdge operates under a charitable fund model that invests in for-profit companies developing novel cancer-focused therapies and technologies. The fund relies on the expertise of the Society’s medical and science professionals to evaluate the mission value of its investments. The fund’s goal is to accelerate delivery of promising cancer-related solutions through capital investment, market awareness and a shared commitment to eradicate cancer.

BrightEdge Fund

Celtic House Asia Partners

Vincere Health

Vincere Health is a Techstars-backed health tech company founded at the Harvard Innovation Labs in 2019. They use a combination of intelligent, frequent incentives, objectively verified health data, and health coaching to drive behavior change to solve healthcare's biggest challenges - starting with smoking cessation.

<div>Vincere Health’s solution helps individuals stop smoking by offering financial rewards and accountability. The app-based solution uses connected technologies, such as a breath monitor for detecting toxic byproducts from cigarettes, and provides access to text-based coaching. Coaches provide cognitive behavioral-based counseling to help individuals develop a plan and achieve set goals by offering financial rewards. The company was selected as one of the 10 startups to join Amazon Web Services’ healthcare accelerator focused on health equity.</div>

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

Mental Health Tech

Vincere Health Raises USD1.75M in Funding

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 Vincere Health’s solution helps individuals stop smoking by offering financial rewards and accountability. The app-based solution uses connected technologies, such as a breath monitor for detecting toxic byproducts from cigarettes, and provides access to text-based coaching. Coaches provide cognitive behavioral-based counseling to help individuals develop a plan and achieve set goals by offering financial rewards. The company was selected as one of the 10 startups to join Amazon Web Services’ healthcare accelerator focused on health equity.
 
 
 
 
 The company operates on a B2B2C model where it works with health plans to provide its service to plan subscribers. 
 
 
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 In October 2022, the company raised USD 1.75 million in an oversubscribed strategic funding round led by Inception Health, and participation from new and existing investors. The company did not disclose the planned use of the funds. 
 
 
 
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<div>
 
 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

<div>
 
 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
 </a>
 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

Vincere Health

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