Gamified mental health app PsycApps plays in €1.7 million

UK-based health tech startup PsycApps has raised €1.7 million in funding from US-based Morningside Ventures to develop its evidence-based gaming app, eQuoo. The extra cash will enable the startup to boost its mental health platform.

About 50% of teens and tweens have self-reported being struggling with one or more mental health issues. The provision of mental health care is also notoriously inefficient and insufficient.

Founded by Silja Litvin and Vanessa Hirsch-Angus in 2016, PsycApp is attempting to alter this with its evidence-based gamification approach. The startup offers an accessible, scalable, and sticky mental health intervention that gives higher education institutions the ability to impact students’ mental health positively. The evidence-based game, eQuoo, has been built with young adults’ habits and needs in mind.

With over half a million players globally, PsycApp aims to reach every young adult needing an emotional and mental boost in a way that makes it easy for them to stick with the programme. The platform is directly targeting the education market, where secondary schools, colleges, and universities desperately need tools to help keep their students healthy, with many of their existing mental health care programmes failing to live up to expectations. 

Silja Litvin, PsycApps co-founder and CEO, said: “If a student drops out of their course due to mental health issues, it will change their lives in a way that hurts them and society. With eQuoo we give young adults a tool that helps them grow mentally, stay mentally healthy and get help if they’re experiencing issues.”

Stephen Bruso, digital health and biotech partner at Morningside Ventures, said: “Digital health interventions will be critical in how our society addresses the second, ongoing pandemic of mental health issues. However, designing these interventions to maximize long-term engagement and outcomes will be critical to making a difference. Silja and her team have shown robust engagement and outcomes data in large clinical studies, and we are proud to partner with them to bring eQuoo to people in need everywhere.”