Talkspace Makes Public Debut on Nasdaq

Months after first announcing its intention to go public via a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), Talkspace (Nasdaq: TALK) officially opened for trading Wednesday. In doing so, it became the first and only pure-play virtual behavioral health company to go public thus far. Its stock closed at $9.19 on its first day […]

Pear Therapeutics to Go Public Via SPAC

Pear Therapeutics — which creates clinician-prescribed software to treat behavioral health conditions — is going public by way of a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC).  The developer of prescription digital therapeutics (PDTs) announced Tuesday that it has entered into a definitive business combination agreement with Thimble Point Acquisition Corp. (Nasdaq: THMA), a […]

Talkspace Acquisition Approved, Stock to Begin Trading June 23

Months after Hudson Executive Investment Corporation (Nasdaq: HECCU) announced its plan to acquire the virtual behavioral health provider Talkspace, shareholders of the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) otherwise known as HEIC have overwhelmingly voted to approve the deal. At a special shareholders meeting Thursday, 94% of votes were in approval of the merger. Affirmative votes […]

Brightline Hauls in $72M in Funding, Plans to Expand

Brightline — which provides virtual behavioral health assistance to children, teenagers and families — announced Wednesday that it has results from a new funding round and will be expanding its offerings. The Palo Alto, California-based company pulled in $72 million in a pre-emptive Series B funding round led by GV (formerly Google Ventures), along with […]

New Directions CEO: Behavioral Health’s Next Chapter Is Integrated, Data-Driven

Amid the COVID-19 emergency, many behavioral health stakeholders have touted the nation’s increased focus on behavioral health as a silver lining of the pandemic. Count Shana Hoffman, president and CEO of New Directions, among that group.  “Coming out of this, I think we’re going to really think differently as a country about behavioral health — […]

Lyra Expands Internationally with New Global Mental Health Offerings

Lyra Health — a startup that helps employers connect their workers with mental health services — is expanding internationally. Specifically, the company has announced that it is making new preventive care and mental health coaching offerings available across the globe. Headquartered in Burlingame, California, Lyra is a behavioral health unicorn with a reported valuation of […]

LifeStance Makes IPO Debut, Reaches Valuation of Nearly $7.9B

LifeStance Health Group (Nasdaq: LFST), which less than a month ago announced its intention to go public, officially opened for trading Thursday, closing its first day at $21.90 per share. The debut of the Scottsdale, Arizona-based outpatient mental health provider on the Nasdaq was positive, as its stock price rose from its initial public offering […]

Cerebral Reaches $1.2B Valuation After Raising $127M in New Funding

The digital mental health company Cerebral has raised $127 million in new funding, pushing its valuation to $1.23 billion, according to Bloomberg.  Billionaire Len Blavatnik’s Access Industries led the round, with Nami Park, an adviser to Access, joining the company’s board, the publication reported Thursday. Additional participants include Silver Lake Waterman, Artis Ventures, Bill Ackman […]

Will SPACs Become a Trend Among Behavioral Health Startups?

More than 400 companies across various industries held initial public offerings (IPOs) last year, the most since 2000, even amid the pandemic-led economic downturn. At the same time, many businesses chose to go public by merging with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), a maneuver that has gradually gained traction among startups, including the subscription-based […]

FDA Green Lights Cognoa’s Autism Diagnostic Device

As the health care system currently operates, it can take months or even years for children on the autism spectrum to get a diagnosis and begin applied behavioral analysis (ABA) therapy. Oftentimes, pediatricians are the first clinicians to see those children; however, few feel comfortable making the diagnosis themselves, instead referring children to autism specialists, […]