A digital therapy platform making mental health care more accessible has raised £16.5 million.
HelloSelf aims to empower people to take control of their mental health, enabling users to build their own psychological toolkits.
The platform provides personalised one-to-one therapy over encrypted video, enabling people with psychological difficulties – both individuals and their families – to access clinical help.
Via HelloSelf, the NHS can also pair specific needs of service users with therapists who specialise in treating those needs using the platform’s AI-powered matching tools.
It can be accessed through self-referrals, as well as via referrals from GPs, clinicians, insurers and employers. It also looks after hundreds of thousands of employees through its employer programme.
The firm was founded in 2019 by Charlie Wells after he survived a rare and usually fatal form of brain haemorrhage. The round was led by Octopus Ventures and joined by Omers, Mantaray and Oxford Capital.
“HelloSelf is about giving everyone access to the personalised psychological advice they need,” he said. “We want to help make every self better. I’m delighted that Octopus has joined the mission.
“There are over 1.2 billion people who are underserved globally so with this investment and the trust of our network we can accelerate HelloSelf’s impact across the UK and beyond.”
The money will be used to grow HelloSelf’s network of trusted therapists, members and partners across the UK and Europe.
Kamran Adle, principal at Octopus Ventures, added: “Having known Charlie and the team for almost three years now, we’ve long been supporters of HelloSelf’s mission to help people be the best version of themselves by improving their mental wellbeing.
“Seeing this combined with the £117.9 billion cost of mental health on the UK health service, we recognised that HelloSelf has a fantastic opportunity to capture the market and drive true positive change.”
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