California start-up raises US$20m to invest in behavioural science platform

A California digital health company has secured US$20m to fund its behavioural science-based platform.

Wellth uses behavioural economics to help people to prioritise their health and build long-lasting healthy behaviours.

The platform utilises the principles of loss aversion, present bias, the intent-behaviour gap, and the endowment effect to create motivation, behaviour change and address the obstacles that prevent people with chronic conditions from improving their lifestyle.

Many individuals struggle with building lasting healthy habits, with data showing that this could take a costly toll on individuals’ health and the healthcare system.

Meanwhile, many patients struggle with medication adherence, which can negatively impact individual health outcomes, and contributes to more than US$500b in avoidable healthcare costs.

“Wellth has solved one of the hardest and most fundamental challenges in healthcare—motivating patients to take action and do what’s best for their health,” says Yuanling Yuan of SignalFire, who leads the firm’s healthcare investment strategy.

As part of the company’s programme, patients are asked to snap a daily photo of their medications, glucose levels or other healthy behaviours.

Through this daily interaction, Wellth argues, behaviours are trained into habits, which ultimately lead to lasting change and positive health outcomes.

“At the core, we’re removing barriers and giving patients the motivation to do what’s best for their health,” says Matt Loper, Wellth co-founder and CEO.

“This mission is very personal to me, since I saw my own uncle struggle with behavioural change after a type two diabetes diagnosis.

“After he passed, I set out on a personal quest to understand why humans don’t do what we’re ‘supposed to do’ when it comes to our health.”

Wellth’s most recent round, led by SignalFire, is hoped to enable Loper and his team to expand and further invest in the behavioural science engine behind the app.

Frank Williams, Wellth’s board chairman, says: “Wellth is uniquely positioned as the leading behaviour change company in healthcare.

“The team has taken an innovative approach through a data-driven, behavioural economics lens to effectively activate, engage and drive lasting impact for patients struggling to manage their health.

“This core competency can be applied to drive vastly improved health outcomes and significantly lower medical costs. As a result, the company has driven impressive growth through relationships with the nation’s leading health plan and provider-based organisations.”