Cigna and Kaiser Permanente have participated in a $50m series D round for Ginger, bringing the MIT spinout's total funding to more than $120m.

Ginger, a US-based on-demand mental healthcare provider spun out of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, yesterday obtained $50m in a series D round co-led by Advance Venture Partners and Bessemer Venture Partners.
Cigna Ventures and Kaiser Permanente Ventures, investment arms of health insurer Cigna and managed care consortium Kaiser Permanente, also took part, as did private investor Jeff Weiner and unnamed, existing backers.
Founded in 2011, Ginger has built a mobile app that gives users round-the-clock access to mental health resources, including behavioural health coaches, therapists and psychiatrists. Ginger partners with health plans and employers to deliver its offering.
The funding follows increased demand for Ginger’s service, with requests for its therapy and psychiatry services having risen by 265% compared to pre-pandemic averages.
David ibnAle, founding and managing partner of Advance Venture Partners, and Steve Kraus, partner at Bessemer Venture Partners, will join the board of directors.
Russell Glass, chief executive of Ginger, said: “Our mental healthcare system has long been inadequate. But in the midst of a worldwide pandemic and a tumultuous sociopolitical climate, we are facing uncharted territory.
“People are demanding better care, and the largest payers of healthcare are recognising the need to respond. Ginger is uniquely able to reverse the course of this crisis at scale.
“With this investment, we can accelerate our work to deliver incredible mental healthcare at a fraction of the cost to the hundreds of millions of people around the world who deserve it.”
Ginger has now secured more than $120m in funding altogether. WP Global Partners previously led a $35m series C round in September 2019 that featured Kaiser Permanente Ventures, City Light Capital, Nimble Ventures, Khosla Ventures, Kapor Capital and Weiner.
The spinout’s shareholders also include True Ventures and Romulus Capital.

Thierry Heles

Thierry Heles is the former editor-at-large of Global University Venturing and Global Corporate Venturing, and was the producer and host of the Beyond the Breakthrough podcast until December 2024.