Amae Health, a pioneering startup dedicated to addressing severe mental illness, has successfully secured $25 million in a Series B funding round, as announced on Thursday. This significant investment highlights the growing recognition of the urgent need for effective treatment options in this critical area of healthcare.
Based in San Francisco, Amae Health focuses on treating individuals grappling with various serious conditions, including schizophrenia, major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, and borderline personality disorder. The company collaborates with esteemed health systems such as NewYork-Presbyterian, Cedars-Sinai, and Stanford Health Care to deliver comprehensive outpatient care that blends face-to-face psychiatric treatment with extensive support services. Patients benefit from a multidisciplinary team that includes psychiatrists, therapists, primary care physicians, dietitians, health coaches, peer mentors, and clinical care coordinators.
“Individuals living with severe mental illness often find themselves among the most underserved and stigmatized groups within our healthcare system,” remarked Stas Sokolin, the CEO of Amae Health, in an email. “These patients are frequently marginalized in research efforts and face barriers to accessing coordinated, high-quality care that meets both their medical and social needs. Many healthcare systems, overwhelmed by competing demands, find it challenging to provide the integrated, holistic support that this demographic desperately requires. Amae Health was established to transform this situation.”
The Series B investment round for Amae Health was spearheaded by Altos Ventures and saw participation from Quiet Capital, Bling Capital, Cedars-Sinai Ventures, Healthier Capital, and 8VC. Cumulatively, the company has raised over $50 million to date, underscoring strong investor confidence in its mission.
This influx of financing will enable Amae Health to expand its footprint by opening additional clinics nationwide. Currently, it operates facilities in California, North Carolina, and New York. The funding will also facilitate the growth of partnerships with academic medical institutions and bolster research efforts focusing on schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and treatment-resistant depression.
Moreover, the financing will help advance Amae Health’s AI-driven platform. This innovative platform already provides a comprehensive dashboard that consolidates patient data, tracks health changes, and recognizes symptom patterns, allowing healthcare providers to deliver more personalized and effective care.
Amae Health’s operational model has demonstrated impressive results. For instance, it has successfully reduced 30-day hospital readmission rates to approximately 4%, significantly lower than the national average of 23%. Additionally, the company reported notable improvements in patient outcomes, with score enhancements of 76% for mania, 61% for psychosis, and 49% for suicidality, all achieved through a methodical approach to measurement-based care.
“Amae is pioneering a care model that emphasizes clinical excellence while providing compassionate, patient-centered services,” stated Dr. Itai Danovitch, chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, in a statement. “By assembling an exceptional team of clinicians and adopting a thoughtful long-term care strategy, Amae is producing outcomes that are both impactful and sustainable.”
Ultimately, Amae Health aspires to “create a world where individuals living with severe mental illness can access care that is both meaningful and at the forefront of what is achievable,” Sokolin expressed.
Other notable companies addressing severe mental health challenges include Vanna Health and firsthand.
For more of the latest updates in litigation, regulation, deals, and financial services trends, subscribe to Finance Docket, a collaboration between Breaking Media publications Above the Law and Dealbreaker.
