Digital Eating Disorder Treatment Company Equip Health Lands $58M Series B

Equip Health Inc., a digital eating disorder treatment startup, announced Wednesday it closed a $58 million Series B funding round. 

This latest investment will allow the company to expand Equip Health’s eating disorder treatment offerings nationwide, launch new product offerings in 2022, and broaden insurance coverage reach, including with Medicaid payers.

Total funding for the San Diego-based company has reached $75 million. In this round, the company added several new investors.

Los Angeles-based The Chernin Group led the funding round, according to a news release. New York-based investment firm Tiger Global Management and Cambridge, Massachusetts-based General Catalyst joined as new investors.

Katie Couric Media — the firm of the famous American journalist and writer of the same name — and American soccer champion Alex Morgan also invested in the round.

“As someone who wrestled with bulimia as a young adult — and now as the parent of a child who struggled with anorexia — I understand how pervasive, disruptive, and debilitating eating disorders are,” Couric said in the release.

Couric will also now be an advisor to Equip Health. Jesse Jacobs, co-founder and partner at The Chernin Group, will join Equip’s board of directors along with Mary Ann Tocio, who is a board member of One Medical and the former president and COO of Bright Horizons.

Existing investors F-Prime Capital, Optum Ventures, and .406 Ventures also participated in the round, the release states.

“Treatment for eating disorders is grossly inequitable,” Kristina Saffran, CEO and co-founder of Equip, said in the release. “Equip’s mission is to ensure that every single person has access to treatment that works. That starts with shifting the conversation around what eating disorders are and who they impact.”

Launched in 2020, the company has expanded its reach to over 40 states and is in-network with 10 major commercial health insurance plans as well as the Medicaid plan provider Partnership HealthPlan. Saffran founded the company with clinical psychologist Dr. Erin Parks in 2019.

Equip bases its clinical approach on family-based treatment. The approach recognizes eating disorders as brain disorders that require comprehensive support to fully heal. The company claims that 71% of patients report a reduction in symptoms and about two-thirds report improvements in mood after eight weeks. In that time, 96% of parents report feeling more confident in caring for their child with an eating disorder, according to the release.

The coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated eating disorders in the U.S. One review by Yale Medicine finds that calls to eating disorder helplines have increased by 70%.

“Eating disorders are a major societal issue that need immediate attention, more funding from private and public sources, and more solutions for patients and families,” Jacobs said in the release. “We believe Kristina, Erin, and Equip are at the forefront of helping to democratize accessible, effective eating disorder care at scale through a digital-first solution.”