• Wave Life

  Participated · Seed · Mar 2023

  Wave Life is developing a mobile platform that combines Acceptance and Commitment Therapy techniques with video-game-inspired, immersive exercises to help young adults clarify values and make healthier decisions. Founded by Stanford psychiatry professor and clinical psychologist Dr. Sarah Adler, the company takes an inclusivity-first approach, explicitly designing for GSRM, BIPOC and other historically overlooked populations. Its ‘digital ecosystem’ pairs evidence-based content with lower-cost human support, such as health coaches, to scale care efficiently. The product is currently in development, with a public test planned for early next year and a wider consumer launch later in the year. By integrating engagement mechanics learned from the gaming industry, Wave aims to keep users returning to the app, ultimately driving measurable mental-health outcomes. Financially, the company secured a $2 million pre-seed round to fund product development and initial market entry.

• Ksana Health

  Participated · Seed · Jun 2021

  Ksana Health builds mobile therapy software that passively collects data from smartphones (movement, GPS, keystrokes, language patterns, screen time and other sensors) and funnels that information to clinicians through an app and a detailed dashboard. Its current commercial product, the Effortless Assessment Research System (EARS), is used in clinical research and has generated about $900,000 in revenue from trial usage. The company is developing Vira, a consumer-facing product that will give therapists access to a patient’s passive data via a personalized code and enable behavioral nudges; Vira targets users aged 13–30. Vira has not yet launched and has no clinical trials of the full product, though Ksana plans clinical trials and a pilot via Anthem’s Digital Incubator with Beacon Health Options. Ksana was founded by University of Oregon professor Nicholas Allen, employs 12 people, and emphasizes keeping a human therapist “in the loop” rather than relying on fully automated AI systems. The company projects a Vira launch in the first quarter of 2022 and aims to embed the product within practitioner workflows and insurer pilots.

• Manatee

  Participated · Equity · Jul 2020

  Manatee offers a suite of CBT-based apps and services designed to provide a continuum of care for children with cognitive and behavioral disorders. The product includes a clinical dashboard that clinicians use to communicate care plans to children and their families. The company sells its services directly to healthcare systems to reach a broad population rather than only consumers who can pay. Manatee is pursuing clinical validation and has launched research with Children’s Hospital Los Angeles to evaluate commercial use, starting a trial with 10 clinicians and 50 families. Early clinical targets include anxiety and oppositional disorder. The founders are Denver-based Damayanti Dipayana and technical co-founder Shawn Kuenzler; the startup is a graduate of Techstars Los Angeles.

No current team members are available.