Lyra Health — a mental health care benefits provider — has raised $110 million in Series D funding, the company announced Tuesday.
Addition led the round, with funding also coming from Adams Street Partners and existing investors, such as former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, Casdin Capital, Glynn Capital, Greylock Partners, IVP, Meritech Capital Partners, Providence Ventures and Tenaya Capital.
The news comes less than six months after Lyra closed $75 million in Series C funding. It brings the Burlingame, California-based company’s total funding raised up to $292 million — and pushes its valuation above $1 billion, according to Lyra.
The coronavirus is in part to credit. It has helped drum up investor interest in digital behavioral health startups like Lyra, as statistics show the nation’s mental health is worsening amid the pandemic.
Lyra’s announcement is the second illustration of that interest this month. It comes just a few weeks after the virtual behavioral health care system Ginger announced that it had snagged $50 million in Series D funding.
“We were already seeing growing interest from investors before the pandemic,” a Lyra representative told Behavioral Health Business in an email. “But since COVID-19 hit, surging workforce mental health needs and heightened urgency among employers to find a better employee behavioral health solution likely spurred additional interest among investors this round.”
Lyra is a digital tech startup that provides mental health benefits for large employers such as Starbucks, Uber and Morgan Stanley. The company contracts with behavioral health organizations who, in return for a fee, provide psychotherapy and other services to Lyra’s members. Users are matched with providers through an online platform, which uses intelligent matching technology to send them to the most appropriate provider.
In addition to helping Lyra raise money, the COVID-19 emergency has also helped the company grow. It added more than 800,000 new members through a number of employer clients, bringing its total member population to more than 1.5 million.
Lyra will use its new funding to add more clients and providers to its network, as well as to invest in tech-enabled treatments, according to the press release.
One such investment will go toward expanding Lyra Blended Care, its relatively new teletherapy offering. It combines video therapy sessions led by clinicians with personalized digital tools and cognitive behavioral therapy exercises.
Peer-reviewed research published in July showed that the program helped speed up patients’ recovery from conditions such as depression and anxiety.
“We’d like to do even more with the platform, with tailored offerings to treat members with issues like alcohol use disorder and programs for couples and adolescents,” a Lyra representative told BHB. “The new financing will also allow us to invest in additional tools to further improve the care experience for clients and providers, and to ensure that clients receive culturally competent care.”
In addition to $110 million in new funding, Lyra also has a new member on its board of directors. Kerry Chandler — chief human resources officer at the entertainment giant Endeavor — recently joined the board, the company announced.
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