Mental health provider Thriveworks has acquired AI-powered behavioral health company Synchronous Health.

The acquisition enables Thriveworks to expand its technology base and operate enterprise relationships with large partners, the company’s top executive told Behavioral Health Business.

“There were two boxes that we wanted to check,” Thriveworks CEO Dan Frogel told BHB. “[Synchronous] stands for access to more diverse and enterprise relationships, health system relationships, to get ourselves in the thick of the primary and the physical and mental health intersection.”

The company named Frogel its CEO in April. At the time, he told BHB that he aimed to increase partnerships with large groups and payers. 

Thriveworks is now executing that mission.

Nashville, Tennessee-based Synchronous Health pairs AI technology with telehealth behavioral health appointments, partnering with health systems, payers, employers and education systems. Synchronous currently has exclusive agreements with the Adventist Health System, Tufts Health System and the Medical University of South Carolina.

The most common reason patients seek care with a behavioral health provider, Frogel said, is due to a physical health physician referral. Enterprise relationships with health systems allow physical health physicians to seamlessly refer and make appointments with behavioral health clinicians within our own system, a benefit lacking in direct-to-consumer models.

Both Thriveworks and Synchronous will continue operating relatively independently in the immediate future, but Thriveworks will have access to Synchronous’s assets from “Day 1,” Frogel said.

While expanding its enterprise agreements, Thriveworks will continue to grow its direct-to-consumer business.

The company’s agreements with these physical health organizations also bring Thriveworks closer to its goal of integrating physical health and mental health, Frogel said.

Lynchburg, Virginia-based Thriveworks offers therapy and psychiatry services through in-person and virtual modalities. The provider operates more than 340 facilities in 49 states and Washington, D.C., and employs over 2,200 clinicians.

Newly acquired Synchronous offers patients care in between sessions through an AI coaching bot called Karla. Thriveworks patients will not have access to Karla immediately following the acquisition, Frogel said, but the company will explore the technology’s capabilities and potentially make it available for Thriveworks patients in the future.

“From a speed-to-market perspective, being able to inherit a high-functioning, high-quality app makes [is] a lot faster,” Frogel said. “I do not yet believe that technology will replace what we do, but it will certainly augment and get us to the goals that we want, and maybe even get us to those goals even faster for our clients.”

The deal is Thriveworks’ first acquisition, and more may be on the way after the company fully integrates with Synchronous. Frogel said he always has his “ear to the ground” for future opportunities, including looking to expand capabilities or services the provider does not currently provide as well as expanding its core business model.

“The first few months of my tenure [was spent] ensuring that our foundation is strong, that we are ready for explosive growth,” he said.

Growth must also be measured and responsible, Frogel said, and be executed while maintaining clinical quality.

The acquisition follows several new partnerships for Thriveworks. Thriveworks inked two deals with substance use disorder (SUD) providers in recent months, first with opioid use disorder (OUD) provider Ophelia and outpatient addiction treatment provider Eleanor Health.