Ginger and Headspace Finalize Merger, Creating $3B Behavioral Health Platform

Less than two months after announcing the deal, Ginger and Headspace have now officially merged to create a company valued at more than $3 billion.

The newly-combined Headspace Health brings together Ginger’s therapy, counseling and coaching services with Headspace’s mindfulness and meditation offerings.

The company will serve more than 100 million customers and over 2,700 enterprise clients including Starbucks, Adobe, Delta Air Lines and ViacomCBS.

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“The thesis going in was that we had a great culture fit and are very mission-aligned, and, so far, it’s played out,” Russ Glass — Ginger’s former CEO, who is the new CEO of Headspace Health — told Fierce Healthcare. “We are excited to start to bring the promise of the two companies together.”

With its $3 billion valuation, Headspace Health is one of a few pure play behavioral health providers to have reached unicorn status by crossing the billion-dollar threshold. Prior to the merger, Headspace raised $47.7 million in a June 2020 Series C round, while Ginger this March pulled in $100 million in Series E funding.

After the deal was announced in August, Glass talked about the growing demand for mental health services as a driver for the companies merging.

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“This is one of those mergers that is really all about growth,” Glass told Behavioral Health Business in August. “We’re not doing this because we see cost synergies or anything like that. This company will continue to grow quickly and focus on meeting the demand of all the people out there that have mental health needs right now.”

Effective immediately, Headspace Health is combining Ginger and Headspace for Work — which is Headspace’s employer wellness service — into a single offering. The new offering provides employees with 24/7 access to behavioral health coaching, therapy and psychiatry. Self-guided content and mental health workshops for employees are also available.

Along with news of the completed merger, Headspace Health announced the appointments of two directors to its board.

One of the new directors is Myrna Soto, who had been serving as a member of Ginger’s advisory board since earlier this year.

An information technology and cybersecurity industry veteran, Soto is the founder and CEO of Apogee Executive Advisors, a Hollywood, Florida-based management consulting firm. In addition to currently serving on several corporate boards, Soto has held positions with MGM Resorts International, Royal Caribbean Cruises, American Express and Norwegian Cruise Lines.

Soto has also been included in the Top 20 Most Influential Technology Latinos list by tech publication CNET.

“Headspace Health is on its way to becoming an iconic, global brand that is delivering mental health and wellness support to millions around the world,” Soto said in a Thursday press release announcing the deal closing. “I’m thrilled to join the Board of Directors and lend my technology and cybersecurity expertise as Headspace Health continues to scale its comprehensive digital mental health and wellbeing platform.”

Joining the Headspace Health board with Soto is Julia Cheek, who is the founder and CEO of Everly Health, an Austin, Texas-based diagnostics platform.

Cheek’s previous professional experiences include having been the vice president of corporate strategy for Moneygram International and the director of strategy and operations for the George W. Bush Presidential Center. This year, Cheek was named by Forbes as one of 10 Women to Watch in 2021.

Headspace Health’s board now has nine members with the addition of Cheek and Soto.

“It’s an honor to join the new Headspace Health Board of Directors at this critical moment in time when millions around the world are in desperate need of accessible, high-quality mental healthcare,” Cheek said in the press release. “Headspace Health is well-positioned to immediately address the supply/demand challenge both with technology and innovative alternatives to traditional therapy — like behavior health coaching and engaging content — at a scale that hasn’t existed in the market until now.”

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