Healthtech startup Headversity has acquired Omaha, Nebraska-based Health Improvement Solutions (HIS) for an undisclosed amount. The deal closed in early September.
Headversity, based in Calgary, plans to integrate HIS’ health and wellness program, planning evaluation, and related services, into Headversity’s platform.
“Employers are learning there are no out-of-the-box solutions when it comes to mental health,” said Dr. Ryan Todd, CEO and co-founder of Headversity.
“With the acquisition of HIS and its integration into our platform, we’ll have the tools to assess risks and opportunities upfront and help organizations build bespoke programs that fit their needs with our technology,” Todd said.
Headversity provides mental health training to employees at firms like Shell, First Group America, and OMERS.
For its part, HIS offers solutions designed for organizations across a variety of industries to improve employee health and productivity. Core to HIS’ offering are a health risk assessment methodology and Well-Being Index (WBI) that the startup claims helps organizations assess the risk factors and chronic conditions faced by their employee populations.
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Headversity said the acquisition introduces a health risk assessment methodology into its platform. HIS helps companies evaluate employee health, wellbeing, presenteeism, productivity, and other health-related areas. HIS also offers behavior change support services.
Shamaila Butt, a Headversity spokesperson, told BetaKit that it will take six to nine months to integrate HIS into the Calgary startup’s platform. Headversity does not intend to retain all of HIS’ staff, but did not disclose the number of employees who will be let go.
According to Butt, the acquisition will help Headversity expand in the US, especially with mid-market industrial clients, who she described as a core client base of HIS.
Todd, a psychiatrist, founded Headversity in 2017 when he started working with Alberta Health Services, and noticed that prospective patients had to wait “three to six, sometimes nine months” just to see him for an initial assessment.
“I wanted to try and reduce that waitlist and get ahead of the issue and not just react to it. That’s literally where the name [Headversity] came from, to get ahead of adversity,” Todd recalled.
Since its 2019 launch, the startup claims to have seen an eightfold increase in revenue, and served users in over 22 countries through its app.
Headversity raised two seed rounds respectively of $1 million CAD in 2019 and $2.25 million CAD in 2020. The startup secured $12.5 million CAD in Series A financing in January to fuel the growth of its workforce training software across the United States.
Dr. Joseph Leutzinger founded HIS in 2005. He has also served as director of health promotions at Union Pacific Railroad.
Feature image courtesy of Headversity.
