Digital emotional support startup Circles has raised $16.5 million in Series A funding.
Zeev Ventures led the round with participation from Lior Ron, Head of Uber Freight, NFX, Flint Capital and Sir Ronald Cohen.
The New York-based company was founded in 2020 by Irad Eichler and Dan Landa. The subscription platform was designed to help connect individuals experiencing emotional challenges with peer support groups made up of people going through similar situations.
When a user signs up for the service they are prompted to answer a number of questions, which are used to match them to the appropriate support group.
Each online support group is made up for six to eight people and led by a professional therapist. Examples of groups include grief circles, divorce circles and narcissistic relationship circles. Clients pay $79 a month for the services. In addition to the weekly group video meetings, participants can also message and chat at any time. Users are also able to tap into personalized content and resources.
The company plans to use the new money to grow its R&D efforts to improve matching algorithms.
In August of 2021 Circles announced that it raised $8 million in a seed funding round led by NFX and Flint Capital, which was aimed at platform expansion. This new infusion of cash brings the company’s total raise to roughly $24.5 million.
Investors have poured billions of dollars into the digital mental health industry. In fact, Rock Health reported that digital mental health companies raised $5.1 billion in venture dollars in 2021.
Circles isn’t the only digital peer support group on the market. Digital mental health company Meru Health, which landed $38 million in Series B funding in 2021, incorporates peer support to its overall mental health treatment program. Additionally, ShareWell, which provides peer support virtually, launched in October of 2021.
