mental health app

The funds will support new product development, as well as growth of its distribution channels and commercialization efforts.

Wysa’s chatbot uses CBT and engages users in meditation, breathing yoga and aims to help people build resilience skills.

A study led by Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) found that most (93%) mobile apps for suicide prevention and depression management do not provide all the six suicide prevention strategies that are commonly recommended in international clinical guidelines.

When bias is accounted for, researchers found a 50% dropout rate. 

The chatbot will be compatible with the company's wearable.

Study data from 17,500 online CBT patients were collected from June 2012 to March 2018.

The team's recently published study also found that the bulk of these apps were focused on meditation, mindfulness and relaxation. 

The startup plans to put the money towards additional clinical validation and rolling out the system to large health systems and employers. 

Researchers found that 33 out of the 36 apps studied shared data with third parties. However, around half of those apps failed to properly disclose the transmission policy. 

In a small study published in JMIR, patients were more willing to share health data, such as activity and sleep trackers, than personal data, like call logs and location.