London-based mental health and wellbeing platform Oliva raises €5 million

UK-based mental health and wellbeing platform Oliva raised €5 million in a round led by Molten Ventures and includes existing investors Stride VC and new backers Alumni Ventures, with angel investors including Kieran Flanagan CMO at Zapier.

The start-up was founded in 2020 by Javier Suarez and Sançar Sahin - both having experienced mental health struggles and burnout - the platform was created to improve workplace cultures and support the mental health and wellbeing of employees through over twelve different types of therapy.

Already in use in 27 countries worldwide and available in fourteen languages, the funding will support expansion into new markets and the inclusion of new languages to the platform, including Croatian, Serbian and Dutch.

"From the very beginning, our vision for Oliva has been clear: to be Europe’s most comprehensive and clinically validated workplace mental health platform. Companies working with Oliva get more than a platform - they get a full-scale partnership for their employee mental health strategy. And for employees - they don’t get short changed by a system powered by bots. We offer evidence-led, human-centric support strategies that are tailored to their individual needs..” says Javier Suarez, co-founder and CEO of Oliva. “We're grateful for the trust and support our investors have shown us so far, allowing us to continue making strides, and look forward to accelerating that with our new and existing investors.”

“Poor mental health has a massive impact on employers and wider society. We have an opportunity to expand access to mental health support and early intervention beyond the usual structures of healthcare systems. Molten are proud to back the team at Oliva. They are world-class repeat entrepreneurs, and they have the experience and capabilities to tackle challenges around mental health and provide a method to help many people around the world,” says Dr Inga Deakin, Principal at Molten Ventures. 

Main image: Oliva's Sançar Sahin (cofounder and CMO), Dr Sarah Bateup (Chief Clinical Officer), and Javier Suarez (co-founder and CEO)