Victoria-based Cognito Health has secured $2 million CAD in seed funding for its all-in-one virtual mental healthcare platform.
“We’re not just envisioning a future where effective mental health treatment is available in a timely and affordable manner, we’re actively building it.”
– Armon Arani, Cognito CEO
The all-equity seed round closed last November and was funded by StandUp Ventures, Graphite Ventures, Spring Impact Capital, Simplex Ventures, and Garage Capital, which led the company’s pre-seed financing.
Currently only available in British Columbia (BC), Cognito’s platform aims to provide users with a single access point for immediate mental health treatment, combining cognitive behavioural therapy and support with medication access and an integrated care team. Cognito focuses on the treatment of anxiety, depression, and insomnia for $129 per month and ADHD for $169 per month.
“Cognito’s approach blends human and digital support in a scalable, patient-centric delivery model that can help address the mental health access issues of today,” Spring Impact Capital managing partner Graham Day said in a statement. “As impact investors, we are excited to work with Cognito on their measurement of outcomes as they expand access to tens of thousands of Canadians who need support.”
Cognito co-founder and CEO Armon Arani said the startup plans to use this capital to hire staff, invest in its software, and support operations in Ontario. This round brings Cognito’s total funding to $3.8 million.
Arani founded the startup in 2021 alongside former CEO Jason Cridge, psychologist Jillian Roberts, consulting physician Dr. Marlene Muller, and medical director Dr. Francois Muller. According to his LinkedIn, Cridge departed the CEO role in December 2022 and now leads a chain of pharmacies in British Columbia.
RELATED: Cognito Health secures $1.1 million for cross-Canada expansion of its mental health offering
In March 2022, Cognito closed $1.1 million in pre-seed funding with backing from Shopify co-founder Scott Lake and Tiny co-founder Andrew Wilkinson. Cognito said it planned to use that funding for cross-Canada expansion, but two years later, its platform is still only available in BC. Cognito plans to expand its mental health services across Canada this year.
The firm has doubled its team and provided treatment to 470 percent more clients since its last funding round, Arani told BetaKit.
Cognito says it was chosen by British Columbia’s Vancouver Island Health Authority as a mental health treatment partner for Vancouver Island in 2022. Through the partnership, Island Health refers patients to Cognito and fully covers their costs. Arani said Cognito is looking to add more partnerships like it in the future.
In a statement, Arani called expanding services across Canada a “leap forward” for mental health care accessibility.
“We’re not just envisioning a future where effective mental health treatment is available in a timely and affordable manner, we’re actively building it,” Arani said.
Feature image courtesy Cognito.
