After recently launching in June led by former Facebook and Genentech CFO David Ebersman, mental health-based startup Lyra Health has raised a $35 million in Series A funding led by Greylock Partners and existing investor Venrock. The investment round also includes funding from existing investor Castlight Health, and new investors Providence Health & Services, Breyer Capital and Origin Capital Management. The company will utilize the funding to make its technology available to a select group of enterprise and health plan customers in the first quarter of 2016 and anticipates full commercial availability in 2017, as well as expanding its technology and clinical teams.
Approximately 50 million Americans suffer from behavioral health conditions like depression, anxiety, or substance abuse, and the current health care system is failing the vast majority of them. The result is unnecessary suffering for patients and their families — and billions in avoidable costs.
To solve this pain point, Lyra Health works with employers, health plans, and providers to improve behavioral health outcomes. Combining innovative technology with a human touch, Lyra Health will identify, engage, and coordinate care for people with behavioral health issues; guide and match patients with the right providers and treatments; and rigorously assess treatment outcomes to understand what works so that patients get the best available care for mental health conditions and substance abuse.
“Lyra Health is tackling a massive and challenging problem. This company will have a huge impact on both the quality of life for people suffering with mental health issues, and the bottom line for employers.” said James Slavet, Partner at Greylock Partners and Board member for Lyra Health. “Lyra’s founding team is uniquely positioned to fix a broken mental health care system in a way that helps millions of Americans — and lowers overall health care costs for the organizations and plans that care for them.”
The United States spends $100 billion per year treating mental health conditions and substance abuse, and an additional $400 billion on indirect costs associated with these conditions. The United States economy also loses an estimated $200 billion per year due to disability, absenteeism, and presenteeism related to these conditions. Improving treatment outcomes for mental health conditions will lower overall medical spend and improve employee productivity.
