Ieso Digital Health talks through $20m

Ieso Digital Health, a UK-based online behavioural therapy platform, raised £15.5m ($20m) in funding on Tuesday co-led by Touchstone Innovations, the commercialisation firm spun out from Imperial College London.

VC firm Draper Esprit co-led the funding round. Touchstone provided £8m, including the conversion of a £2m loan made in May 2017, while Draper Esprit injected £7.5m.

The press release published by Touchstone stated the round also featured Ananda Social Venture Fund and assorted angel investors, though a separate version from Ieso said these additional, current investors are set to provide capital in a second close that would bring the total to £18m.

Ieso Digital Health operates an online platform to deliver a cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) service. The company is expecting to reach 16,700 mental health patients in the UK by the end of the year through a partnership with public healthcare system National Health Service.

The approach is particularly aimed at patients with busy schedules and an aversion to face-to-face therapy.

Ieso plans to use the funding to drive an expansion across the UK and to accelerate its market launch in the US, where it partnered the US state of Colorado’s social healthcare program  Health First Colorado in April 2017.

Touchstone first supported Ieso Digital Health in 2013, but details of Ieso’s previous rounds remain undisclosed.

Dan Clark, CEO of Ieso Digital Health, said: “Ieso is creating transformative change in mental health treatment.

“An estimated 60% of patients do not seek out mental health services, largely because of stigma and difficulty in accessing care. We’ve helped eliminate these barriers and are empowering patients by delivering therapy at a time that fits their lifestyles and through devices that are a part of their everyday lives.

“This new funding will allow us to continue scaling geographically and innovating our technology by applying artificial intelligence and machine learning to enhance therapist support and further improving patient access.”