A Defining Moment for Digital Behavioral Health- FOUR MARKET TRENDS. Presentation by Megan Zweig, Rock Health, for mHealth Israel, March 24, 2021. 2020 was the biggest year yet for digital behavioral health companies, exceeding the previous record set in 2018 in deal count, funding, and average deal size.
TREND #1:
Investors are supporting early- and latestage innovation, though an increasing amount of capital is being put to work in later-stage deals to ensure mature products can scale to meet urgent demand.
Though most behavioral health funding has gone to larger, later-stage rounds, most deals have been early-stage. While the average deal size for early-stage deals has held relatively constant, the average deal size for later-stage deals has doubled in size over the past five years.
TREND #2:
There’s room for both generalist and specialist models to meet high and diverse behavioral health demand.
Amwell is the top-funded company supporting behavioral health and other conditions; Lyra is the top-funded startup exclusively focused on behavioral health. “Generalist" companies led the pack in 2020 with $1.6B in funding, while $804.3M was raised by startups exclusively focused on behavioral health (“specialists”). Five “generalist” companies have gone public; in 2021, TalkSpace will be the first company exclusively focused on behavioral health to go public,
TREND #3:
Consolidation for clinical and digital capabilities has sped up and will likely continue.
There were nine digital behavioral health M&A deals in 2020, far exceeding the amount from any previous year.
TREND #4:
The relatively low flow of capital to SUDs and developmental disorders compared to mental health signals an opportunity for
innovators and investors.
Startups exclusively focused on mental health have seen more funding and deals than those focused on substance use disorders and developmental disorders.
3. TREND #1:
Investors are supporting early- and late-
stage innovation, though an increasing
amount of capital is being put to work in
later-stage deals to ensure mature
products can scale to meet urgent demand
12. TREND #4:
The relatively low flow of capital to SUDs
and developmental disorders compared to
mental health signals an opportunity for
innovators and investors