The seven or eight-year-old raised $8 million to expand access to maternal mental health support
It announced Thursday that seven virtual women’s behavioral health companies, Starling, have received $8 million in funding to help expand its mother’s mental health platform.
Seven-based Starling, a Washington, DC-based company specializes in perinatal mental care and addresses challenges related to fertility, pregnancy, pregnancy loss, postpartum and early parenting. Usually, women are referred to the company by OBGYN and then paired with a therapist who specializes in perinatal mental health.
Patients can also use group therapy, drug management services, patient advocates, and in-app content and exercise. The company is networking with most major business plans including UnitedHealthCare, Aetna and Cigna.
Its $8 million salary increase was caused by Rethink Impact, including involvement from Pear VC, Hot Capital Partners, Amplified Ventures, Ulu Ventures, Expa, Fiore Ventures, Dimes’ March of Dimes, Rogue Women’s Fund and Graham & Walker. Seven Starlings raised a total of $22 million.
“Mysterious mental health represents a massive market failure – high costs, poor outcomes and underserved populations – an interruption of maturity,” Jenny Abramson, founder and managing partner of ReThink Impact, said in a statement. “Seven Starling's technology enables comprehensive models to solve one of the most pressing challenges in healthcare with measurable results. It is healthcare innovation that can actually move needles.”
Financing will help accelerate expansion of seven Starling countries. Currently, the company operates in 18 states in partnership with 1,500 OBGYNS.
“Seven Starling’s proven clinical outcomes, strong provider partnerships, and payer coverage, it’s time to bring our models to more women,” Tina Keshani, CEO and co-founder of Seven Starling, said in an email. “With Rethink Impact’s support, we can expand to over 30 states by the end of 2026, continuing to build innovative technologies to further personalize patient experiences and establish partnerships with health systems and health programs.”
The company has achieved some positive results through its platform, with 90% of patients experiencing clinical improvement. Additionally, 96% of patients are able to use in-network coverage, with sales ranging from $0 to $30. About 37% of patients consider it as BIPOC (black, indigenous and people of color), as do half of their clinicians.
Currently, one in five women are affected by perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, but 75% of women diagnosed have no access to treatment due to shortage of providers and lack of coverage. These are the problems that the seven Starlings hope to solve.
“Our vision is to be the go-to destination for women’s mental health to address the unique mental health needs that women have throughout their lives,” Keshani said. “We focus on maternal mental health first, and this is the first time many women have addressed acute mental health challenges and see there are already many opportunities to continue to grow with our patients.”
Other women's mental health companies include Mavida Health and Lunajoy.
Photo: Ridofranz, Getty Images
