Meela, a mental health startup based in Gothenburg, Sweden, recently secured €2.6 million in seed funding. The round was led by Dutch venture capital firm Peak, with participation from The Inner Foundation, Unconventional Ventures, and Calm/Storm Ventures.
Founded by licensed psychologist Tiffany Boswell with an initial focus on women’s health, Meela aims to improve the match between patients and therapists, prioritizing personal fit over broad accessibility. Boswell’s own experiences as a patient motivated her to create a platform that mitigates the risk of mismatches in therapeutic relationships. “Meela needs to exist in the world. I come into this space as a patient myself. I know what it feels like to meet the wrong therapist for you. So for me, it feels important, and urgent to make sure we can help as many people as possible”, Boswell stated.
The platform uses an algorithm that employs 43 different clinical metrics to assess compatibility between clients and therapists. This method has effectively reduced the dropout rate to 3% after three sessions, significantly lower than the industry’s typical 50%.
Meela is also preparing to launch a subscription-based model for therapists that includes a patient feedback loop, aiming to refine the quality of care through ongoing data analysis and feedback. In addition to individual care, the startup is expanding into the business-to-business (B2B) market, offering mental health solutions tailored for workplace environments. This move is in response to the growing recognition of mental health’s impact on employee productivity and overall corporate costs.
The funding will support the further development of Meela’s platform and its expansion efforts, including plans to launch services in the UK and increase its market presence across Europe. According to Nora Bavey, General Partner at Unconventional Ventures, the investment aligns with a broader commitment to enhancing mental health support and well-being, particularly among women.
With its focused approach on improving the precision of therapist-patient matching and expanding its reach into new markets, Meela is actively working towards enhancing the effectiveness and accessibility of mental health care.
