PsycApps, a UK-based developer of the evidence-based mental health game for teens and young adults, eQuoo, has scored £1.5 million in seed funding. The investment round was led by US-based Morningside Ventures (which backed Casana).
Funds utilisation
The fresh funds will enable PsycApps to grow its team and accelerate the development of its mental health platform to address the estimated 50% of teens and tweens who self-report struggling with one or more mental health issues.
Currently, the company is hiring a sales team, marketing experts and a game development team to bring the whole production in-house.
Silja Litvin, PsycApps Co-Founder and CEO, said, “After working in an NHS priory, I realised that my clients were reaching me way too late – often after six months on a waitlist and years after experiencing the first symptoms. I wanted to find a way to give them the skill set they needed before they needed it. If a student drops out of their course due to mental health issues, it will change their lives in a way that hurts them and society. With eQuoo we give young adults a tool that helps them grow mentally, stay mentally healthy and get help if they’re experiencing issues.”
Speaking on the investment, Stephen Bruso, Digital Health and BioTech Partner at Morningside Ventures, commented, “Digital health interventions will be critical in how our society addresses the second, ongoing pandemic of mental health issues. However, designing these interventions to maximize long-term engagement and outcomes will be critical to making a difference. Silja and her team have shown robust engagement and outcomes data in large clinical studies, and we are proud to partner with them to bring eQuoo to people in need everywhere.”
Female-founded gamified platform
PsycApps was founded by Silja Litvin and Vanessa Hirsch-Angus in 2015 in London. The founders have a background in private equity and insurance.
The company is targeting the UK education market, where secondary schools, colleges, and universities desperately need tools to help keep their students healthy, with many of their existing mental health care programs failing to live up to expectations. PsycApp’s platform offers an accessible, scalable, and sticky mental health intervention that gives higher education institutions the ability to impact students’ mental health positively.
PsycApps’ eQuoo is the only scalable tool covered by Ofsted, the UK’s education regulator and schools and colleges assessor. Its clinical trials has proven a positive impact on students’ resilience, anxiety, and depression.
