Headspace, which focuses on mindfulness and meditation, and Ginger, which offers on-demand mental healthcare, have agreed to merge. Together, they will offer a global mental health and wellbeing platform as the combined entity called Headspace Health.
According to TechCrunch, the new company will be worth some $3 billion and home to more than 800 employees.
.@Headspace and Ginger will merge to form a global mental health and wellbeing platform as an entity called Headspace Health. @CarebyGinger #HR #HRTech Click To TweetThe merger comes during what the companies call “a critical moment of global need.” According to the World Health Organization, close to 1 billion people live with a mental health disorder, and more than 75% of the people worldwide who struggle with mental, neurological and substance abuse disorders receive no treatment for their condition at all.
Meanwhile, the American Psychiatric Association says that employees with unresolved depression are 35% less productive, leading to $210 billion in annual economic loss in the U.S. due to absenteeism, reduced productivity and medical costs.
Against that background, Headspace CEO CeCe Morken said Headspace Health “will address the systemic challenges of access and affordability in a fundamentally different way by taking a holistic and scalable mental health and wellbeing company.”
Health Services… and Data
Founded in 2010, Headspace was one of the first meditation apps on the market. Ginger, founded that same year, focuses on offering mental health care including behavioral health coaching, therapy and psychiatry, all via smartphone.
The companies said that together, they’ll serve consumers, employers and health plans. They’re relying on their experience in consumer branding, evidence-based interventions and technology to help reduce stress and provide treatment to people experiencing mental health symptoms such as anxiety and depression as well as more complex diagnoses.
Ginger has built one of the world’s largest mental health data sets through its Mood Matters study, conducted with eight of the top 10 academic medical centers in the U.S. and over 40 medical institutions nationwide.
Ginger’s customers include ViacomCBS, Delta Air Lines, Sephora and nearly 700 other employers. Among Headspace’s clients are Starbucks, Adobe, Hyatt and Unilever and more than 2,100 organizations.
In addition, Headspace has developed partnerships with household entertainment and technology brands such as Netflix, Apple, Spotify and BBC Studios. A, recent integration with Microsoft enables users to access Headspace’s capabilities through the Microsoft Teams Viva Insights app.
Upon completion of the merger, Ginger CEO Russell Glass will become CEO of Headspace Health. CeCe Morken will continue to lead Headspace and take on the additional role of president for the combined entity.
The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and customary conditions and is expected to close in the last quarter of 2021. Terms of the transaction weren’t disclosed.
Image: Headspace
