Ginger jumps to $35m series C

Ginger, a US-based behavioural health app developer spun out from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), received $35m yesterday in a series C round led by private equity firm WP Global Partners.
The round included Kaiser Permanente Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of healthcare provider Kaiser Permanente, as well as City Light Capital, Nimble Ventures, Khosla Ventures, Kapor Capital and private investor Jeff Weiner.
Founded in 2011, Ginger has created an artificial intelligence-equipped platform that supports emotional and mental health by helping users maintain healthy behaviour.
Clients use Ginger’s mobile app to access 24/7 instant chat with professional behavioural coaches in addition to video appointments with therapists and, if needed, the option of checking in with a local clinician.
The company’s business model targets employers seeking effective mental healthcare for their teams. It claims 70% of users, when surveyed, indicated experiencing lesser symptoms of depression within 12 weeks of treatment.
Ginger was spun out of MIT Media Lab and its offering is based on PhD research by Anmol Madan, its co-founder and president.
The capital will fund continued work on Ginger’s clinical services and underlying data science technology. It said it has now raised $63m in total, including a $20m series B round in 2014 that likely included Kaiser Permanente Ventures – identified as an existing backer in the latest round – according to a regulatory filing.
Venture capital firm Khosla Ventures led the company’s $6.5m series A round in 2012, investing alongside True Ventures and Romulus Capital, after True Ventures led a $1.7m round in 2011 also backed by Kapor Capital, Romulus Capital and assorted angel investors.