10 Digital Health Companies Positively Impacting Our Daily Lives

Healthcare providers and startups have flourished over the last few years by adopting remote tools and technology solutions, taking patient care to the next level and transforming the healthcare industry. But with this high growth, digital health companies must invest in risk management and have insurance to protect themselves and remain on the path to profitability. 

Setting the Scene 

For as long as we can remember, populations worldwide have gone without access to high-quality medical experts. The pandemic highlighted these discrepancies and increased the need for safe and secure healthcare. Tools that could provide patients with advice at their fingertips — from wearable medical devices to monitoring apps — picked up popularity. 

But these successful digital health companies delivering vital patient care are now targets; there are plenty of malicious actors and cybercriminals ready to put a spanner in the works. Data breaches can creep in, causing closures, while legal hold ups or employee-related incidents could severely strain the industry’s momentum.

With a recent report stating that the global market for telemedicine technologies is estimated to increase from $72.4 billion in 2022 to $173.3 billion by 2027, insurance is now vital to protect these operations worldwide.

At Founder Shield, it’s our responsibility to push forward solutions so the latest virtual healthcare companies can be safe and responsible. Although these virtual healthcare companies face plenty of risks, let’s not get bogged down with the negatives. This piece will analyze some of the top digital health companies positively impacting our everyday lives. 

1. Cerebral

• Founded in: 2020
• Located in: San Francisco, California 
• Founded by: Ho Anh, Kyle Robertson
• Funding: $462M 
• Investors: Access Industries, SoftBank Vision Fund

Cerebral is a digital mental healthcare startup providing psychiatric and behavioral therapy services. They have a simple mission: To make long-term, high-quality mental health care affordable, convenient and accessible for all. Members receive online access to prescribing providers, behavioral counselors and talk therapists.

They recently announced the launch of their new transformation program, Cerebral Core, to drive more sustainable growth and stability. They’ll renew internal practices, improve the user experience and ensure their technology scales with business needs.  

2. Learn to Live

• Founded in: 2012
• Located in: Minneapolis, Minnesota 
• Founded by: Dale Cook, Russell Morfitt
• Funding: $15.3M
• Investors: Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota

As the US is facing a national mental health crisis, Learn to Live (L2L) is breaking the stigma around seeking help. They offer online therapy programs and live clinician coaching for stress, anxiety, depression, insomnia and substance use — based on the principles of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) — to more than 33 million Americans at no cost.

L2L is continuing to expand its capabilities with two new digital mental health programs for Panic and Resilience, a new clinical assessment tool, Spanish-language services, and gamification.

3. Workit Health

• Founded in: 2015
• Located in: Ann Arbor, Michigan
• Founded by: Lisa McLaughlin, Robin McIntosh
• Funding: $138.2M
• Investors: Insight Partners, FirstMark

Two women met in addiction recovery and founded Workit Health. During the pandemic, insurance companies also changed regulations: People used to have to attend their first addiction treatment appointments in person, but not anymore! Workit Health stepped in to find more convenient, affordable virtual addiction recovery care. 

Via a mobile app, Workit Health offers online therapy, medication-assisted treatment, counseling, recovery groups, virtual events with experts and non-judgemental coaches for substance use and co-occurring disorders. Patients can access all the services from the privacy of their own homes, allowing them to stay on track with their recovery.

4. Hinge Health

• Founded in: 2015
• Located in: San Francisco, California
• Founded by: Daniel Perez, Gabriel Mecklenburg
• Funding: $1B
• Investors: Coatue, Tiger Global Management

Hinge Health is allegedly the world’s first digital clinic offering personalized care for back and joint pain. Hinge Health delivers exercise therapy digitally in a customized way to employees at 900+ companies, including Salesforce and Boeing. 

With multiple programs with different offerings, from prevention to chronic injuries, Hinge Health goes beyond digital PT by combining physicians, physical therapists, health coaches and motion sensor technology. 

5. BetterUp Care

• Founded in: 2013
• Located in: San Francisco, California
• Founded by: Alexi Robichaux, Eddie Medina
• Funding: $600M
• Investors: Wellington Management, Lightspeed Venture Partners, ICONIQ Growth

BetterUp Care is a virtual mental health solution combining world-class coaching with AI technology and behavioral science to redefine employee productivity and engagement. Companies that invest in personalized mental fitness can improve their workforce’s overall well-being, adaptability and effectiveness.

Based on members’ needs, BetterUp Care connects them with coaching and resources to help them perform at their best. In 2021, they raised $300 million in Series E funding, making the company the world’s largest mental health and coaching startup.

6. Sword Health

• Founded in: 2015
• Located in: New York, New York
• Founded by: Márcio Colunas, Virgílio Bento
• Funding: $323.5M
• Investors: Sapphire Ventures

Sword Health is the world’s fastest-growing digital musculoskeletal (MSK) care provider. They are on a mission to free two billion people from the pain that impacts sleep, productivity, and absenteeism (missed work), among other effects. 

They are transforming the healthcare sector by providing digital therapy solutions, on-call physical health specialists, and access to videos, research, and tools for patients to experience holistic recovery. When MSK conditions affect 50% of American adults over age 18, a more human, clinically-effective and scalable way to treat patients is vital. 

7. Transcarent

• Founded in: 2020
• Located in: San Francisco, California
• Founded by: Glen Tullman
• Funding: $298M
• Investors: Human Capital, Threshold, Northwell Health

Using a combination of data science, software, and technology, Transcarent empowers consumers with 24/7 access to unbiased information, trusted digital and live guidance and direct access to high-value care. Transcarent is on a mission to help consumers make informed decisions about their personal health and care.

Transcarent recently raised $200 million in Series C funding, and has just launched its fully transparent Pharmacy Care benefit—a new model for drug affordability with no hidden fees, giving true control to customers over prescription decisions. One in four have a difficult time affording prescriptions, so now, members can find the lowest-cost drug option with Transcarent Pharmacy Marketplace.

8. Verge Genomics

• Founded in: 2015
• Located in: San Francisco, California
• Founded by: Alice Zhang, Jason Chen
• Funding: $134.1M
• Investors: BlackRock, Eli Lilly

Instead of using animal or cell models, Verge Genomics opts for human genomics, machine learning, biological engineering, and translational medicine to decipher biology. 

A team of drug hunters, engineers, and neuroscientists created an end-to-end system that integrates technological innovations to streamline drug development: Machine learning maps the causes of disease, and those insights help record proprietary drug candidates on biology and chemistry platforms. 

Verge Genomics has built one of the world’s largest proprietary multi-omics databases from human tissue to treat the medical challenges of our generation.

9. Lyra Health

• Founded In: 2015
• Located in: San Francisco, California
• Founded by: Bob Kocher, David Ebersman, Dena Bravata
• Funding: $910.1M
• Investors: Dragoneer Investment Group, Coatue, Addition

Employers today are struggling to provide high-quality mental health care for diverse employees across the world — but this is proving to be costly. The World Health Organization estimates the global economy loses $1 trillion each year due to depression and anxiety alone. 

With 20,000 providers in 200+ countries, Lyra Health supports 60+ unique care needs through culturally responsive, localized care. They are dedicated to helping companies improve mental health care access for their employees through clinician-led workshops and interactive online courses. When companies openly address tough challenges like employee burnout, and employees are healthier, companies tend to thrive as a result.

10. Kindbody

• Founded in: 2018
• Located in: New York 
• Founded by: Gina Bartasi, Joanne Schneider
• Funding: $190M 
• Investors: Claritas Health Ventures

Kindbody is revolutionizing the fertility, gynecology, and family-building sectors of the healthcare industry with their modern fertility clinic network and virtual care. Walmart recently named Kindbody as the provider for associate fertility and family-planning benefits nationwide.

Kindbody delivers a seamless, integrated experience with superior health outcomes at a lower cost, and even offers zero interest rate loans to patients. Plus, they are attempting to demystify the conversation and remove the stigma about egg freezing.

Final Thoughts

The intersection of cybersecurity and healthcare tech is a growing concern as we move into a more digitized future each day. While the convenience of telemedicine and digital health companies is obvious, there are many risks for liability and cybersecurity issues, especially due to the exposure of confidential information.

Understanding the details of what coverage a virtual health company needs can be confusing. Founder Shield specializes in knowing your industry’s risks to make sure you have adequate protection.

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