Pain control startup Sword Health expands into psychological well being, raises $40 million

Sword Health, a startup fascinated with serving to folks maintain ache thru virtual services and products, is increasing into psychological well being and has raised further capital to gasoline its expansion.

The 10-year-old corporate is introducing Mind, which makes use of a mix of artificial intelligence, {hardware} and human psychological well being pros to regard sufferers with gentle melancholy and anxiousness. Sword mentioned Mind will lend a hand customers get right of entry to care every time they want it, reasonably than right through sporadic, hourlong appointments. 

“It’s really a breakthrough in terms of how we address mental health, and this is only possible because we have AI,” Sword CEO Virgílio Bento advised CNBC in an interview.

Also on Tuesday, Sword introduced a $40 million investment spherical, led by way of General Catalyst, in a deal that values the corporate at $4 billion. The contemporary money will toughen Sword’s efforts to develop thru acquisitions, in addition to its world enlargement and AI style construction, the corporate mentioned. 

The spherical integrated participation from Khosla Ventures, Comcast Ventures and different corporations. Sword had raised a complete of greater than $450 million as of September, in keeping with PitchBook. 

The financing lands because the virtual well being marketplace presentations indicators of restoration following a troublesome post-Covid stretch, when emerging inflation, upper rates of interest and a go back to in-person actions ended in a dramatic retreat within the trade.

Earlier this month, Omada Health, which provides digital care methods to helps sufferers with persistent stipulations akin to diabetes and high blood pressure, held its Nasdaq debut, although the inventory is buying and selling beneath its preliminary public providing worth. Weeks earlier than that, virtual bodily remedy supplier Hinge Health hit the New York Stock Exchange. The stocks are buying and selling a couple of bucks above their be offering worth.

Sword, which used to be based in Portugal and is now primarily based in New York, provides equipment for virtual bodily remedy, pelvic well being and motion well being to lend a hand sufferers arrange ache from house and keep away from different therapies akin to opioids and surgical operation. Patients can join Sword if it is supported by way of their employer or their well being plan.

Mind customers will obtain a wrist wearable known as the “M-band” that may measure environmental and physiological alerts akin to middle charge, sleep and the lighting fixtures in a consumer’s surroundings. Mind additionally contains get right of entry to to an AI Care agent and human psychological well being pros, who can ship services and products akin to conventional communicate remedy. 

Bento mentioned a human is at all times concerned with a affected person’s care, and that AI isn’t making medical choices.

For instance, if a affected person has an anxiousness assault, Sword’s AI will acknowledge that and may just ask a clinician to approve some bodily process for later that day to lend a hand with restoration. The clinician would both approve the bodily process that the AI prompt, or override it and suggest one thing else. 

“You have an anxiety issue today, and the way you’re going to manage is to talk about it one week from now? That just doesn’t work,” Bento mentioned. “Mental health should be always on, where you have a problem now, and you can have immediate help in the moment.”

Bento mentioned Sword has some shoppers which have been on a ready record for Mind, and the startup has been trying out the providing with a few of its design companions. He mentioned early customers have licensed of Mind’s customized method and comfort.

“We believe that it is really the future of how mental health is going to be delivered in the future, by us and by other companies,” Bento mentioned. “AI plays a very important role, but the use of AI — and I think this is very important — needs to be used in a very smart way.”

Disclosure: Comcast, the mum or dad of Comcast Ventures, is the landlord of NBCUniversal, mum or dad corporate of CNBC.

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