Limbic, a London-based startup, has raised a $14 million Series A round led by Khosla Ventures to expand its product offerings to healthcare providers in the United States. The company specializes in developing an AI mental health chatbot and AI-powered clinical referral software.
Founded in 2018, Limbic has made significant strides in the mental health sector, with its AI chatbot currently utilized across 33% of the UK’s NHS Talking Therapies services, serving approximately 260,000 patients. Notably, Limbic’s AI chatbot is the first of its kind to achieve UKCA Class IIa medical device status, signifying its clinical effectiveness, safety, and risk management.
The Series A funding round also saw participation from LGBTQIA+ investment syndicate Gaingels and Illusian, the family office of Ilkka Paananen, co-founder of Supercell.
Limbic’s AI chatbot acts as a support tool between therapy sessions, utilizing assessment software to engage users with targeted questions and provide real-time insights to clinicians. By streamlining patient assessment and referral processes, the platform has helped clinicians save over 50,000 hours of work.
CEO Ross Harper highlighted the chatbot’s effectiveness in encouraging traditionally underserved demographics to access mental health support. Limbic’s partnership with the NHS ensures patient safety, as the platform can promptly alert healthcare providers if a user exhibits signs of distress or requires urgent treatment.
With the new funding, Limbic plans to expand its presence in the US market, capitalizing on the country’s more privatized and less fragmented healthcare industry. As the demand for mental health services continues to rise globally, Limbic aims to leverage its innovative AI solutions to bridge the gap between demand and capacity in mental healthcare provision.
