Ieso Raises $53M to Expand Data-Driven Mental Healthcare

Ieso Secures $53 Million to Advance AI-Powered Text Therapy

Digital therapy provider ieso, headquartered in the U.K., has announced the completion of a $53 million Series B funding round on Tuesday. This capital infusion will be directed towards the development of more sophisticated, autonomous text therapy solutions.

Developing AI-Driven Personalized Therapy

The company intends to leverage artificial intelligence, trained on extensive data, to deliver personalized therapy sessions via chat interfaces. This represents a significant evolution in ieso’s service offerings.

A Decade of Experience and Extensive Data

Ieso has operated a text-based therapy service, utilizing human therapists, within the U.K.’s National Health Service for approximately ten years. To date, the company has facilitated therapy for around 80,000 patients. Currently, 6,000 patients are actively engaged in therapy, as stated by ieso’s CEO, Nigel Pitchford.

The company delivers approximately 400 hours of therapy daily through its established network.

Investment Details

Morningside led this funding round, with participation from the Sony Innovation Fund. Existing investors, including IP Group, Molten Ventures, and Ananda Impact Ventures, also contributed to the round.

Transitioning to an Autonomous System

Ieso’s long-term vision involves transitioning from a predominantly human-therapist model to a scalable, autonomous system. While AI-based chat therapy is not a novel concept, ieso believes its unique data assets provide a competitive advantage.

The Power of "Transcripts of Care"

Ieso’s “unfair advantage” lies in its decade-long accumulation of real-world text conversations between patients and therapists, referred to as “transcripts of care.” This data is coupled with real-time patient clinical outcome data, collected concurrently.

An Unprecedented Data Asset

Stephen Bruso, an investment partner at Morningside, highlighted ieso’s data asset as “one of the most impressive” he has encountered in the field, deeming it “unprecedented.”

Data-Driven Insights into Therapeutic Effectiveness

The collected data has been utilized to analyze the correlation between specific therapeutic conversations and patient improvement. A 2019 paper published in JAMA Psychiatry, analyzing 90,000 hours of therapy, revealed that focusing on “planning for the future” and employing certain cognitive behavioral therapy techniques were linked to positive patient outcomes.

Analysis indicated that roughly 28 minutes of each therapy hour involved conversations or exercises that “directly affected” patient outcomes, according to Andy Blackwell, ieso’s group chief science and strategy officer.

Nuances in Therapeutic Approaches

Interestingly, the research also suggested a negative association between therapeutic empathy and patient outcomes. However, Blackwell clarified that empathy should be integrated with other therapeutic techniques, aligning with other research indicating positive outcomes when patients feel understood.

Roadmap for AI Therapist Training

Pitchford envisions this data set and the insights derived from analyses like the JAMA paper as a blueprint for training and personalizing the AI-based therapists.

“We’ve been studying what the very best therapists are doing at a very high scale, and then reconstructing that, so it can reach people that are unable to access human psychotherapy delivery,” Pitchford explained.

A Competitive Landscape

Despite its strong data foundation, ieso operates within an increasingly competitive market. Predictions suggest funding for mental health startups will exceed $3 billion in 2021.

Demonstrating Real-World Impact

Bruso believes ieso distinguishes itself by its ability to demonstrate real-world health outcomes based on its proprietary data.

“There is a unique synergy between ieso’s digital products built on real-world data, and their ability to trial these products in their existing user base to generate outcomes data from day 1,” he stated. “The products that will last in the space will be those who can demonstrate a measurable impact on both individual health and societal outcomes.”

Focus on Moderate-to-Severe Diagnoses

Blackwell noted that many mental health apps cater to self-help, mindfulness, or patients with less severe conditions. Ieso, however, focuses on individuals with moderate-to-severe mental health diagnoses, positioning itself as more than just a “wellness solution.”

Prioritizing Patient Safety

Given its focus on more serious conditions, ieso prioritizes robust safeguards against self-harm. The company has refined risk escalation protocols over ten years as a leading mental health provider in the U.K., and plans to integrate these into the autonomous therapy product.

Navigating Regulatory Pathways

Blackwell anticipates a manageable regulatory landscape due to the company’s focus on higher-stakes mental health diagnoses.

“The key thing will be about having demonstrably safe and effective products,” he said.

Accelerated Insights Through Data Volume

Blackwell argues that the company’s substantial data volume will enable it to gather insights into efficacy and safety “many times faster” than traditional clinical trials.

Future Plans: Expansion and Growth

Ieso intends to utilize the funding to expand its AI-based therapy division and establish a presence in the U.S. The team is projected to grow to approximately 200 employees by next year, paving the way for market entry within the next two years.