Real, a mental health app, has raised an oversubscribed Series B of $37 million. The round was led by Owl Ventures, with participation from former Cityblock CEO Iyah Romm and Chief Health Officer Dr. Sylvia Romm. Returning investors include Lightspeed Venture Partners, Female Founders Fund, Forerunner Ventures and BBG Ventures.
This brings Real’s total funding to $53 million since it was founded in 2019 by CEO Ariela Safira. TechCrunch last covered Real when raised its Serie A earlier this year.
Safira told TechCrunch that the new funding round will allow Real to expand its platform and add more resources, therapists and Pathways, or the therapist-created comprehensive programs on mental health issues that are the app’s main feature. User subscriptions start from $13 per month.
The company also creates diverse content for different communities, including LGBTQIA+, immigrants, and people of color. Safira said Real is using her funds to continue building a culturally diverse base of therapists. For example, Real features events that can be viewed live or as recordings, and have included themes such as “Choosing not to explain oppression to the oppressor.”
The paths, which address topics such as relationships, anxiety, careers, stress, body image, and depression, are the main feature of Real. Each consists of multiple sessions, with educational information (for example, the Depression Pathway describes how it can present both emotionally and physically). At the end of each session, users are prompted to complete the Real Toolkit exercises. For example, on her Depression Path, this includes writing questions and breathing exercises.
One of the unique features of Real is that it takes two days to unlock each Pathway session. Safira said one of the most requested features is reducing the wait time between Pathway sessions, which was previously seven days.
“From a clinical standpoint, we believe that a two-day unlock rate allows time and space to practice the behavior change we seek, while also ensuring the clinical safety of our members,” he explained.
Safira said that Real’s clinical team and learning and design production team spent the last 15 months building, testing and iterating their Pathways to improve clinical efficacy and user retention. Each therapist is vetted through a hiring process with an acceptance rate of 4.7%.
Real also has one of the most comprehensive mood trackers I’ve seen in a mental health app. Called Real Pulse, it tracks how you feel about your motivation, anxiety, mood, energy, optimism, self-esteem, purpose, gratitude, belonging, relationships, and productivity. Users are asked to use Real Pulse once a month to see changes over time.
“This type of follow-up allows members to engage more deeply with their mental health,” Safira said. “We know this because we built Real Pulse with our members, reading feedback, conducting user interviews, all to learn what people want, how they feel, and how to build the best mental health tracking experience for them.”
In a prepared statement, Lightspeed Venture Partners partner Nicole Quinn said: “As an early believer in the success of Ariela and Real, we are proud to expand our investment in Real’s Series B fundraising. As a board member for the past year, I can say that Real is one of the few companies in this space that builds its foundation on clinical research and uses it to inform the construction of a truly innovative model of care.”
