The youth mental health crisis in the US has reached alarming levels. According to CDC data, 1 in 10 teenagers attempted suicide in the past year, while cases of anxiety, depression, and social isolation continue to rise.
Despite the growing need, millions of children face barriers to care, especially those covered by Medicaid, where wait times for appointments often stretch for months or even years.
School counsellors are often the first to spot students in crisis, but they’re overwhelmed, managing an average of 385 students each. New York-based youth mental health platform Marble’s mission is to ease that pressure and ensure every student has access to timely, professional mental health support.
Today, Marble has raised $15.5 million in Series A funding to make mental health care more accessible for students across the United States.
The round was led by Costanoa Ventures, with participation from Town Hall Ventures and Khosla Ventures. The funding will help Marble grow its team, expand its school partnerships nationwide, and scale its technology platform to reach more children in need of therapy.
Building a new mental health system for teens
Founded by Jake Sussman and Dan Ross, who previously co-founded Headway, the largest adult mental health network in the U.S., Marble takes a proactive approach by embedding its services directly in schools.
The company collaborates with schools to identify students who need help and quickly connects them to licensed therapists, both online and in person.
“In my time teaching at a low-income charter school in Brooklyn, I saw students in crisis left waiting for help, while school counsellors scrambled to find support that just wasn’t there. We built Marble to close that gap — because kids shouldn’t have to wait for help, and schools shouldn’t have to go it alone,” said Jake Sussman, Marble CEO.
Unlike traditional solutions, such as Hazel Health, Daybreak Health, and Cartwheel, Marble embeds collaboration into its platform, enabling school counsellors, parents, and therapists to share insights in real time, ensuring every student’s care plan is coordinated and effective. It also helps therapists manage Medicaid-related paperwork using AI tools like its built-in scribe and proprietary electronic health record (EHR).
Additionally, Marble’s group therapy programs help therapists support more students at once without compromising quality, further increasing system-wide capacity.
What’s next?
Since launching in New York last year, Marble has already facilitated over 15,000 therapy sessions for children and families who otherwise might not have received care. The US company works closely with Medicaid and commercial insurers to make its services accessible to most families, especially those on public insurance.
As Marble expands nationwide, its platform is also building a powerful data advantage by combining insights from therapists, schools, and families to make its clinical products more precise, personalised, and effective over time.
“Most schools want to support their students’ mental health, but they’re stretched thin and often can’t afford to bring in help. What stood out about Marble is that they’ve built a model where schools don’t have to pay a dime — and still get high-quality, timely care for their students. That kind of access shouldn’t be rare, and we backed Marble because they’re making it possible at scale,” said Amy Cheetham, Partner at Costanoa Ventures.
