Brightline — a virtual pediatric behavioral health care startup — has raised $20 million in Series A funding, the company announced Wednesday.
Threshold Ventures and previous investor Oak HC/FT led the funding round. Blue Shield of California, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Boston Children’s Hospital, SemperVirens VC, Rock Health and City Light Capital also contributed.
In total, the company has raised $25 million to date, according to Forbes.
Palo Alto, California-based Brightline provides virtual behavioral health treatment and collaborative care to children. Its services include behavior therapy, psychiatry, speech-language therapy, coaching support and more. For parents, Brightline also provides coaching, training and other services to make for a family-focused approach.
Founded in 2019, Brightline only started caring for patients in June of this year, rolling out its services in northern California four months ahead of schedule due to coronavirus-related demand. Now, two months later, it is already expanding those services.
Brightline is now serving children and families across the entire state of California, “with additional states coming soon,” according to a press release announcing the funding news.
The newly raised money will help Brightline expand its team, geographic reach, treatment programs and telehealth capabilities. It will also allow the startup to enhance its technology and innovations.
Achieving those goals is especially important amid the pandemic, Brightline CEO and co-founder Naomi Allen stressed in the press release.
“Bringing strong new investors and strategic partners into the Brightline family allows us to continue innovating on our breakthrough model of integrated clinical teams, coaching support for parents, and care through telehealth and our mobile app for families when they need it most,” Allen said.
She was inspired to start the company with Giovanni Colell, a psychiatrist, after struggling to find appropriate behavioral health treatment for her son.
Allen’s struggle is representative of a bigger problem. While utilization and investment in adult behavioral health solutions have spiked as of late, the pediatric market has been “woefully overlooked,” according to Emily Melton, co-founder and managing partner at Threshold Ventures.
Melton joined Brightline’s board of directors following Threshold’s investment into the company.
“The need for a comprehensive solution-based approach was substantial before the pandemic and has only been exacerbated by the current crisis,” Melton said in the press release. “Brightline’s cross-disciplinary team is uniquely capable of delivering science-backed behavioral and mental health care for children leveraging virtual solutions that are equally accessible and effective. Brightline has the right solution for this unique time—recognizing that mental health is a family affair.”
Meanwhile, Andrew Dreyfus, president and CEO for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts and Jeff Semenchuk, Chief Innovation Officer at Blue Shield of California, joined Brightline as board observers.
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