Stress and wellness app. Calm announced Wednesday that it has acquired Ripple Health Group, a health technology company that creates apps for care coordination and condition management.
As part of the deal, Ripple CEO David Ko will join Calm as co-CEO alongside Michael Acton Smith. Calm co-founder and co-CEO Alex Tew will become CEO.
Current Ripple applications include CareMemo, which allows patients and caregivers to communicate with care teams and store important documents, and I likePaperan app that helps users organize care, maintain medical information, and set medication reminders.
“As an advisor to Calm since 2019, I have witnessed firsthand the team’s ability to pioneer the future of mental health, redefining both the category and the distribution channel,” Ko said in a statement. “Calm is on a mission to make the world happier and healthier. I can’t think of a better fit for Ripple’s team and technology. We are incredibly honored to join the company. I’m excited to work alongside Michael to bring Calm to healing”.
BECAUSE IT IS IMPORTANT
The Ripple acquisition will allow the combined company to delve deeper into the mental health space, Calm said. Along with the deal, the wellness startup announced Calm Health, a new offering that will include “content, community, and coaching to drive outcomes across the full spectrum of mental health care.”
Calm Health, which the company said is coming soon, will replace Peace of mind for Businesstheir service that works with employers to offer their meditation, stress and sleep content for employees.
THE BIGGEST TREND
Mental health and wellness is a crowded field inside the digital health spacewith many companies directing their tools towards the labor market.
Another player in the sector is Headspace Health, the the result of a merger between meditation app Headspace and digital mental health company Ginger. Last month, he announced the Sayana Acquisition, which creates AI-backed sleep and mental health tracking apps.
Employer-focused digital mental health company Lyra Health recently announced a $235 million Series F round and the purchase of the ICAS World employee assistant program.
Mergers and acquisitions are also a growing trend in digital health and health technology. TO CB Insights report found 574 offers last year, a 44% increase from 2020.
That trend looks set to continue into 2022. Just this week, connected health technology company Withings announced the purchase of 8fit, a fitness and nutrition app; digital platform for clinical trials Medable picked up the dermatology-focused Omhu A/S; Digital information and collaboration company PointClickCare announced plans to buy health IT company Audacious Inquiry; hybrid fertility care startup Kindbody has signed an agreement to acquire Vios Fertility Institute, a network of fertility clinics; and the digital diabetes management company Glooko bought AI-enabled diabetes care company xbird.
