Mindler
Rickard Lagerqvist, CEO at Mindler
- Swedish mental health startup Mindler has raised €8 million ($8.7 million) from Ventech Ventures and Schibsted Growth.
- The company operates in Sweden and the Netherlands to provide access to psychologists and has seen a spike in interest amid the coronavirus pandemic.
- Mindler's round closed on March 27, bucking a trend of venture capitalists dropping out of early-stage deals amid worries around the pandemic.
- "We had strong growth pre-coronavirus but given new impetus on digital health care and particularly mental health during the pandemic we see things opening up a lot more," Mindler CEO Rickard Lagerqvist told Business Insider in an interview.
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Mental health provision has become increasingly digital in recent years and will become even more vital as coronavirus lockdowns force people to remain inside and isolated.
To try and alleviate the problem, Swedish mental health startup Mindler has closed €8 million ($8.7 million) from Ventech Ventures and Schibsted Growth.
Founders Rickard Lagerqvist, Rickard Färdig, and Johannes Hatem noted that too few Swedes sought treatment
for mental health issues and those who did tend to do it too late. Mindler was founded in 2018 and provides access to a psychologist within 24 hours in Sweden and the Netherlands.
"We had strong growth pre-coronavirus but given new impetus on digital health care and particularly mental health during the pandemic we see things opening up a lot more," Mindler CEO Rickard Lagerqvist told Business Insider in an interview. "It's likely that the coronavirus pandemic will be followed by a pandemic of mental health issues from the economic crisis that follows."
The startup, based in Stockholm, will use the funding to continue its expansion in Europe. Existing investors Back in Black, Luminar Ventures and Kichi Invest also participated in the round. The round closed on March 27, with the startup's pitching process taking place in Paris, a few weeks before the city went into lockdown.
You can check out Mindler's pitch deck below: