Mental wellness startup MindFi operates throughout APAC, but wants to provide “culturally competent” service in each of its markets. To that end, it develops programs for its app, available as an employee benefit, with local providers that take into account religion, gender stereotypes, racial representation, style and communication values, co-founder and CEO Bjorn Lee told Ploonge.
Today, the Singapore-based firm announced that it has closed an initial round of $2 million, with participation from returning investors M Venture Partners and Global Founders Capital. Angel investors included Carousell co-founder Marcus Tan, Carro executive Kenji Narushima and Spin co-founder Derrick Ko.
MindFi (short for Mind Fitness) participated in Y Combinator’s 2021 summer cohort. It currently operates throughout the Asia-Pacific region, including Sinagpore, Hong Kong and Australia, and offers its services in 16 languages. Its corporate clients include Visa, Willis Towers Watson and Patsnap. In total, MindFi’s products serve 100,000 employees at 35 employers in 15 markets.
While mental health startups have gained a lot of funding in the United States, especially during the pandemic, it is still a fledgling space in much of Asia. MindFi is among a group of startups working to change that. Others who have recently raised funds include Intellect (another Y Combinator alumnus) and Thoughtfull.
The MindFi app contains self-directed mental wellness programs, community forums, group therapy, and an AI-based matching system for coaches and therapists. User profiles aggregate MindFi data with information from your fitness wearables, including sleep, heart rate and daily activity.
Lee told Ploonge that its seed funding will be used to accelerate the development of its AI engine, advance the integration of physiological data from wearables with MindFi’s mental health data, and work with local experts to build in-app programs in its key markets. APAC. While Lee said there is a relatively low availability of licensed mental health professionals in APAC compared to the US or Europe, it is important to ensure your programs fit into diverse cultural contexts so users feel comfortable getting support. .
In a statement, M Ventures partner Mayank Parekh said: “Mental health has traditionally been neglected in most countries, even more so in fast-growing Asia. We feel the market is currently underserved and, as founding investors, we are excited to work with the MindFi team, who together bring complementary skills and insights to solve a significant problem.”