HelloBetter, a digital therapeutics startup for tackling mental health issues based in Hamburg and Berlin, has announced a 7 million euro extension to its Series A led by the Singapore-based global VC MassMutual Ventures. The VCs HealthCap, Sparrow Ventures, Hevella Capital und Expon Capital are also involved. This investment brings the total round size to 20 million euros. The new capital will be used to increase the commercialization of HelloBetter’s digital therapeutics products in Germany, as well as for further expanding in Europe and the United States.
HelloBetter has just taken an important step into the US market
HelloBetter was founded in 2015 under the name GET.ON Institut für Online Gesundheitstrainings GmbH (geton-institut.de) by internationally recognized experts and offers psychological online courses for the prevention and treatment of mental illness. In Germany, the startup has six of its eleven cognitive behavioral therapy programs available on prescription and recently hit the milestone of 10.000 patients.
Last year it expanded to the US. Bbecause of how competitive the market is it's targeting a niche with its “vaginismus plus” program — which treats people who find sex painful — rather than go to market with its most popular program in Germany, which is for “stress and burnout”. It's since obtained the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) “breakthrough device designation” This is the first step for full FDA approval for its online therapy program on “panic”. The startup now has five years to submit all the relevant data and information required for approval, which is essential to be eligible for description.
