General Catalyst is a venture capital firm that provides early-stage and growth equity investments. The company provides ongoing momentum that accelerates ideas, careers, and companies toward standout success.

General Catalyst

Y Combinator is a startup accelerator that invests in a large number of startups twice a year. It created a new model for funding startups. Twice a year, the company invests a small amount of money ($150k) in a large number of startups. The startup accelerator works intensively with the companies for three months, to get them into the best possible shape and refine their pitch to investors. Each cycle culminates in Demo Day when the startups present their companies to a carefully selected, invite-only audience.

Y Combinator

Refactor is a seed-stage VC firm investing in bio, climate, and hard tech startups run by Zal Bilimoria. Zal was a partner at a16z and PM for a decade at Google, Netflix, and LinkedIn. He led the seed rounds of Solugen, Astranis, and many other hard tech startups. He is the only decision maker at the firm, writing $1-2M checks in pre-seed and seed rounds.

Refactor

Menlo Ventures provides capital for multi-stage consumer, enterprise, and life sciences technology companies. Since 1976, the firm’s market-driven analysis has led to the identification of opportunities and successful investments in innovative markets. Notable areas of investment include Marketplaces (Uber, Rover.com, Poshmark); Consumer Services (Tumblr, Betterment, Roku, Siri); Dev/Ops (Harness, Edge Delta, Fire hydrant); SaaS (Carta, ScoutRFP, Qualia, Benchling, Everlaw); Fintech (Betterment, Bluevine, Chime); Cybersecurity (Cavium, IronPort, BitSight, Abnormal, StackRox); and Life Sciences Technology (Synthego, Cofactor Genomics, Recursion Pharmaceuticals, 3T Biosciences). Menlo’s portfolio includes more than 70 public companies, and more than 100 mergers and acquisitions, with $5 billion under management. The firm is currently investing in Menlo Ventures XV, a $500 million early-stage fund, as well as its $500 million Inflection Fund, which targets early-growth investments.

Menlo Ventures

Warby Parker is a lifestyle brand that offers designer eyewear at a revolutionary price operating as a socially conscious business. Approximately one billion people don't have access to affordable glasses. Glasses can increase one's income by 20%, enable students to see a blackboard, and offer dignity to those with poor eyesight. Warby Parker works with experienced non-profit partners to ensure that each sale of our frames will give someone in need access to affordable glasses.

Warby Parker

Harry's is a developer of an online platform used to sell shaving equipment and accessories for men. It designs and manufactures its own line of razors and replacement blades, as well as other shaving consumables, and offers its products a-la-carte via its online store or through a subscription model that enables consumers to meet their grooming essentials needs online.

Harry's

PillPack is a full-service pharmacy that sorts medication by dose and offers door-to-door delivery. They fill, sort, and deliver all medications in personalized packets based on when you need to take them. Their service helps you take the right meds at the right time, every time.

PillPack

Allbirds is an apparel and fashion company that specializes in manufacturing eco-friendly wool shoes. It is dedicated to making the most sustainable footwear using premium natural materials, designed for the to and fro of everyday life. The company is driven by a mission to prove that comfort, good design, and sustainability don’t have to be mutually exclusive. Its commitment to making better shoes in a better way is fueled by a belief that the shoe industry needs to focus less on flash and more on thoughtfulness. Allbirds is based in San Francisco and was founded in 2015.

Allbirds

Carbon Health is a tech-enabled healthcare company that delivers virtual care experience. It offers primary care services through a mobile application that enables users to follow up on a treatment plan, manage prescriptions, and see lab reports all through one app. Carbon Health has created a coronavirus assessment tool and also set up covid-19 testing in California. The company was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

Carbon Health

Lambda School is a combination of a school and an investment fund. Lambda School's mission is to find untapped or underutilized talent, and train that talent for the most in-demand jobs in the world. Lambda School is pioneering a new model of higher education in which the school invests in the students, instead of the other way around.

Lambda School

Operator Partners invests in early-stage technology companies and founders. The firm was founded in 2020 and is headquartered in New York, United States.

Operator Partners

Founded in 2001, Tiger Global Management, LLC (“Tiger Global”) is a New York-based investment firm pursuing a long-term approach to investing in leading, global public and private companies that leverage technological innovation. Tiger Global’s public equity business includes fundamentally oriented long/short, long-focused and crossover strategies, targeting investments in high-quality, public growth companies. The private equity business invests in early through late stage companies that pursue innovative approaches to new and existing industries, building on over 20 years of experience investing in hundreds of businesses in more than 30 countries with more than 90 portfolio company IPOs. With a strong track record investing across sectors and stages, Tiger Global aims to be a thought partner to companies and their management teams across their lifecycle in public and private markets. The Firm’s mission is to generate world-class returns for its investors and to do so in a way that makes its employees, partners and portfolio companies proud.

Tiger Global Management

Interplay is a startup ecosystem where ideas scale. Our mission is to accelerate humankind’s potential by streamlining the journey of the entrepreneur.  Our ecosystem consists of five business lines that fall under three divisions: Capital, Studio, and Platform. Capital: Our venture capital arm invests in early stage, technology-enabled businesses in North America. We back startups that have demonstrated quantifiable financial and operational fundamentals, including a scaling customer base, early product-market fit and real revenue growth. Separately, our family office provides members full-service portfolio construction and investment management, with an emphasis on alternative assets via direct and fund investments. Additionally, members receive advisory-services for estate planning, philanthropic engagement, emergency planning, and tax optimization. Studio: We cofound and incubate companies. When we cofound a company, we’re typically starting from scratch – taking our own ideas and building them out of our foundry. Through our incubator, we support the growth of other teams by providing mentorship, enabling them to scale their company. Platform: Our platform consists of five service companies that provide core operating business solutions, including accounting, marketing, legal, professional development and outsourcing. In addition to the above services, we create educational content to help founders turn their vision into reality. Our two flagship pieces of content are a podcast that focuses on integral startup lessons for founders and a book about the rules of fundraising. We also manage a number of startup communities, including the largest entrepreneurship community associated with Columbia University called the Columbia Venture Community. To learn more visit our website and engage with us at interplay.vc/engage.

Interplay

Good Friends help founders develop strong foundations for their businesses. Good Friends is a venture capital firm that was started in 2019 by the founders of Warby Parker, Harry's, and Allbirds. Good Friends invests in early-stage businesses with a consumer lens.

Good Friends

Four Acres is a pre-seed and seed stage venture capital fund focused on software-first technology companies with a competitive moat. It seeks entrepreneurs with a technical background, business acumen, laser-like focus, and unrivaled hustle. It offers post-investment support and services that address the most pressing needs of early-stage founders, giving them the tools and relationships they need to scale their businesses.

Four Acres Capital

Ophelia

Ophelia offers medication and support for quitting opioids. They are a diverse collection of hearts and minds - doctors, scientists, techies, and citizens - on a mission to offer the best of medicine without the baggage of rehab. They are driven by science, committed to privacy, and bound to the client's right to make their own choices. They believe in recommendations, not orders. It was founded in 2019 and is based in New York, New York.

Ophelia is a telepsychiatry platform for treating opioid use disorder (OUD). The company provides online therapy and medication-assisted treatment (MAT) to reduce opioid cravings and withdrawal symptoms. The company offers an alternative to traditional rehab for treating OUD and claims to be a less costly option in comparison to monthly visits to a doctor and the cost of medication, which can range between USD 800 and USD 900.&nbsp;

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

Mental Health Tech

Thriveworks, Ophelia Team Up for Mental Health, OUD Support

Ophelia is a telepsychiatry platform for treating opioid use disorder (OUD). The company provides online therapy and medication-assisted treatment (MAT) to reduce opioid cravings and withdrawal symptoms. The company offers an alternative to traditional rehab for treating OUD and claims to be a less costly option in comparison to monthly visits to a doctor and the cost of medication, which can range between USD 800 and USD 900.&nbsp;Ophelia’s monthly subscription, costing USD 195 per month out of pocket, covers MAT, care team support, and virtual clinician visits via audio and video calls. Members can speak to their physician on a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly basis.&nbsp;Key customers and partnershipsOphelia has established partnerships with several major health insurers to expand access to its virtual OUD care. In March 2024, the company announced it was in-network for Highmark Wholecare's Medicaid and Dual Special Needs Plan members in Pennsylvania, covering 360,000 additional patients. This built on Ophelia's existing relationship with Highmark Health since 2021, which provided coverage for 2.9 million commercial members.

Boulder Care is a telehealth provider that offers virtual addiction treatment for substance use disorders, primarily focusing on opioid and alcohol use disorders. The company provides medical care, medication management, peer recovery coaching, and case management services through a mobile app, allowing patients to connect with a multidisciplinary care team, including physicians, nurse practitioners, peer recovery specialists, and social services support. Boulder Care's treatment approach includes medication-assisted treatment (MAT), prescribing medications such as buprenorphine-naloxone (Suboxone) for opioid use disorder and naltrexone, acamprosate, and others for alcohol use disorder. The company also delivers naloxone doses to patients to help reverse opioid overdoses.The company has implemented value-based payment arrangements with insurers, tying its financial success to patient outcomes. As of May 2024, Boulder Care had served over 12,000 patients across multiple states, with a concentration in Washington, Oregon, and Ohio. The company reports retention rates of 70%–80% of patients remaining in treatment after six months, significantly above the national average. Boulder Care had also expanded its services to include treatment for adolescents as of January 2024.Key customers and partnershipsBoulder Care has established partnerships with numerous health plans and employers to provide access to its services, including Elevance Health, UnitedHealth Community Plan, and Centene.

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.
 
</div>

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.

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. The program utilizes a wearable device that monitors heart rate variability and provides real-time feedback, allowing patients to visualize the connection between their mental and physical health.In March 2024, Meru Health introduced a 100% fees-at-risk pricing model for healthcare payers and employers, guaranteeing outcomes, access, and engagement. This value-based care approach aims to incentivize enrollment, quality care delivery, cost management, and medical cost savings.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 partnershipsMeru Health partners with major health insurance providers, including Humana, Aetna, and Moda Health. In January 2022, the company joined Evernorth's national behavioral health provider network, making its services available to Cigna health plan customers accessing benefits through their employer or individual and family plans.Meru Health also works with employer groups to provide mental healthcare for employees. 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.

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

Ophelia

About EDGE

Contact Us

Resources

Area of Focus

Technology Research Made Effortless