Femtech start-up raises US$2.4m for mental health virtual clinic

The US femtech start-up LunaJoy has secured US$2.4m to provide virtual mental health support for women.

The Florida-based start-up focuses on the women’s different needs during different stages of their life including puberty, pregnancy, and menopause.

The start-up was founded by psychiatrists, Sipra Laddha and Shama Rathi, in 2020 after they have themselves struggled with postpartum depression and accessing mental health support.

The company connects patients with medical providers who can virtually assess their needs via voice or video call and provide a range of care options, such as holistic therapy, psychiatry, and mental health coaching.

To get started on LunaCare, users have to fill in a form detailing their symptoms and how they have been feeling. Once they submit the form, they will be matched to one of a clinician based on their needs.

Women can then have access to one-on-one telemedicine sessions, wellness tools, holistic care plans, as well as 24/7 access to the care navigation team.

LunaJoy also provides medication matching for patients who have prescriptions in their care plan. It performs a cheek swab that lets their therapist know how they might react to medications based on their DNA.

Commenting on the funding round, Sipra Laddha, LunaJoy co-founder, told Axios, that some investors did not see the potential in the women’s health market, while others intuitively understood the problem and the need for a solution like LunaJoy.

“People who understood the problem deeply got it within 20 minutes, but [there were] people who still really think of women’s health as niche and not a market opportunity,” she added.

Naseem Sayani, co-founder and managing director of Emmeline Ventures, said: “We come from these cultural dynamics where you don’t talk about mental health, you don’t say the words out loud and ask for what you need.

“To be able to bring that service to women in our cultural background is very powerful for us.”