(2015-05-12) Therapy By Text Startup Talkspace Raises95m Led By Spark Capital

Therapy-By-Text Startup Talkspace Raises $9.5M Led By Spark Capital

Therapy startup Talkspace has spent the past year seeking to help users connect with mental health professionals through the company’s web and mobile apps. To continue growing its business, the company has raised a $9.5 million Series A round led by Spark Capital, with participation from SoftBank.

Talkspace tries to do a much better job of making a good patient-therapist match.

Powered by IBM’s Watson, the platform uses semantic analysis to gain insights about a users’ personality, thinking style and emotional stress to determine the correct therapist to work with a patient.

Instead of spending an hour a week sitting in a therapist’s office, Talkspace patients communicate with licensed, certified therapists via text message. By paying a flat fee per week or per month, they can send as many messages as they wish and receive feedback and guidance in return.