Talkiatry Announces Five Million Dollars in Series A Funding for Mental Health Solution
Funding will be used to expand operations and further develop proprietary technology
Talkiatry, a leading provider of accessible in-network psychiatric care, today announced five million dollars in Series A funding in a round led by Sikwoo Capital Partners with participation from Relevance Ventures and Richard Park, M.D., founder and former CEO of CityMD. The new capital will position Talkiatry to expand its operations and team of providers and further develop its proprietary technology solution, which encompasses a patient-provider matching algorithm and a pre-diagnosis platform as a free service for those seeking help.
Talkiatry was founded in April 2020 by Robert Krayn and Dr. Georgia Gaveras, who set out to create a mental health service built with psychiatrists’ needs in mind, empowering them to deliver the highest quality of patient care.
Out-patient mental health has traditionally been an ‘out-of-pocket’ expense but Talkiatry changed that. Since launching, Talkiatry has partnered with all the leading insurers and Medicare, allowing patients to access high-quality psychiatric care on an out-patient basis. This funding will further expedite Talkiatry’s growth trajectory—as the leading ‘all-in-one’ mental health provider.
“Talkiatry is on a mission to solve all the long-standing challenges the mental health system has been contending with for years, from lack of coverage and exorbitant out-of-network costs, to the glaring data disconnect between insurers and providers,” said Robert Krayn, Co-Founder and CEO of Talkiatry. “Our core business is already profitable, and we have successfully brought both providers and insurers together for the benefit of patients. We are uniquely positioned to expand our reach via the collaborative care model (CoCM), which will allow us to offer the expertise of our top-notch team to healthcare practices across the country.”
As part of the investment round, Cameron Newton, General Partner at Relevance Ventures, Dr. Richard Park, Founder and former CEO of CityMD, and Kenneth Breen, Partner at Paul Hastings LLP will join Talkiatry’s board.
“We are excited to be joining the board and partnering with Talkiatry’s exceptional team as the company moves into a new phase of growth, building on an inaugural campaign that recorded over 12,000 visits,” said Newton. “It’s paramount for society to provide efficient access to psychiatric services, and Talkiatry is a market leader when it comes to ensuring that those who need them, can quickly and easily find the right help.”
“Talkiatry sits at the intersection of two great American problems: the shortage of mental health providers and the disconnect between insurers and patients,” said Dr. Park. “Americans are already experiencing a mental health crisis today, which will only get worse as mental health issues stemming from the extraordinary stress of living through a global pandemic go untreated. Talkiatry is well-positioned to serve the needs of patients, providers and insurers in 2021 and beyond.”