After several years of surging demand, the new funding will accelerate international growth and create the ‘multiverse’ of human growth and transformation
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – October 8, 2021 – BetterUp™, the inventor of virtual professional coaching and global leader in mental fitness and human transformation for the enterprise, announced today the close of its $300 million Series E fundraise. This round brings the company’s valuation to $4.7 billion and total funding to $600 million, making BetterUp the largest mental health and coaching company in the world. The round also closely follows BetterUp’s $125 million Series D in February 2021, and over-achieving an aggressive 2x growth plan in the first half of the fiscal year. Wellington Management, ICONIQ Growth, and Lightspeed Venture Partners led the round with participation from existing investors Salesforce Ventures and Mubadala Investment Company, also customers of BetterUp, along with Sapphire Ventures, Morningside Group, SV Angel, and PLUS Capital.
At a time when the world is redefining the workplace altogether and mental well-being for employees is continuously at the forefront, BetterUp’s latest round of investment will fuel new product innovation to further democratize coaching and reach hundreds of thousands of individuals within an enterprise, no matter their position or level within the organization. BetterUp™ will expand upon its work with the world’s largest companies to deploy hyper-personalized solutions that support their workforces, such as BetterUp Care™, its newest enterprise-wide offering that enables personal and professional growth through the development of resilience and mental fitness. The products, which include 1:1 and group coaching, and on-demand coaching on topics that span diversity and inclusion, parenting, nutrition, and sleep, all combine the industry’s most innovative combination of behavioral science, AI technology, and human interaction for people and organizations to thrive. The funding will also propel BetterUp’s international growth, having most recently opened new offices in Munich, London, and Amsterdam, along with recent strategic acquisitions of advanced people experience platforms Motive and Impraise, announced last month.
“We are in the midst of the great global awakening surrounding hybrid work, mental health and well-being, and diversity and inclusion,” said Alexi Robichaux, CEO and co-founder, BetterUp™. “Never has the pressure been greater on our global workforce, and as we collectively redefine the workplace, it’s clear that every organization and every employee critically need support, growth, and transformation. From leadership and career development to mental fitness, connection, and belonging, customers are increasingly turning to BetterUp to support the most important part of their business—their people—in the most profound way possible: by focusing on their whole person growth and development, including their behaviors, skills, and mindsets. This funding will continue to accelerate our mission to bring the most comprehensive and powerful suite of tools to individuals and help them thrive in their roles, unlock their peak performance, and live with purpose and clarity.”
In the last eight years and with over one million coaching sessions completed, BetterUp has proven that individual performance and organizational growth begin with company leadership taking a proactive approach to the health and resilience of their employees. Developed by a team of world leading researchers and PhDs across the fields of positive psychology and human performance, alongside best-in-class developers and data scientists, BetterUp™ enriches the understanding of human emotion at scale.
“It’s rare to see a company engage in continuous category creation, but that’s exactly what iconic companies do. And that’s why we’re so proud to lead another round of financing in BetterUp,” said Doug Pepper, General Partner at ICONIQ Growth. “As the inventor and pioneer of democratizing coaching, BetterUp is in an exciting phase in expanding its category by uniquely innovating to meet the needs of global enterprises with its human transformation platform. For the first time, organizations can connect leadership performance with proactive mental health and diversity & inclusion to holistically transform the employee experience and drive improvements in key business outcomes.”
“What the last year has taught us, in the midst of the workplace revolution, is that there is an ever growing demand for employee well-being and support,” said Brent Hyder, President and Chief People Officer at Salesforce. “In BetterUp we found a partner that would allow teams across the world to navigate uncertainty, remote work, and virtual environments. BetterUp gave us the ability to scale personalized care across the organization, which has been invaluable to the team’s productivity and peak performance.”
This latest funding comes on the heels of the company’s $125 million Series D and $1.7B valuation in February 2021. With this milestone, BetterUp™ has increased its value by seven times in seven months. The organization also grew its entire customer base by 80 percent, recorded a net revenue retention rate of over 170%, and reached $100M in annual recurring revenue in July of this year. BetterUp™ has also grown its coaching network to over 3,000 coaches, expanded the number of behavioral scientists by 50 percent, doubled corporate employee headcount to over 500, and today serves more than 380 enterprise businesses including Hilton, Salesforce, bp, NASA, Chevron, and Snap Inc. BetterUp™ has also expanded its leadership team with the hiring of Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, as Chief Impact Officer, Tom Van Gilder MD, JD, MPH as the company’s first Chief Medical Officer and Omar Dawood MD, MPH, MBA as President of BetterUp Care™ to continue to provide mental fitness support to the members and organizations BetterUp™ works with around the world.
About BetterUp
Founded in 2013, BetterUp™ is the inventor of virtual professional coaching, and the global leader in 1:1 and group coaching, counseling, and mentorship at scale. BetterUp combines world-class coaching with AI technology and behavioral science to deliver personalized behavior change and improve the well-being, adaptability, and effectiveness of the workforce. With the world’s largest network of over 3,000 coaches, BetterUp offers coaching in 46 languages across over 90 countries, along with interactive professional development content, analytics and real-time insights to track employee progress. Used by more than 380 companies, including leading Fortune 1,000 companies, BetterUp™ drives transformational and lasting behavior change, resulting in improved business outcomes across organizations and inspiring professionals everywhere to pursue their lives with greater clarity, purpose, and passion. Investors include Wellington Management, ICONIQ Growth, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Threshold Ventures, Plus Capital, Salesforce Ventures, Sapphire Ventures, Mubadala Capital, Freestyle Capital, Crosslink Capital, and Tenaya Capital. BetterUp’s Science Board is comprised of leading researchers in the fields of positive psychology and human performance including Martin Seligman, Adam Grant, Shawn Achor, and Quinetta Roberson. BetterUp™ has been recognized in the Inc. 5000, Fortune’s Great Places to Work, and People Magazine’s Companies that Care. To learn more, visit www.betterup.com.
About Wellington Management
Tracing its history to 1928, Wellington Management is one of the world’s largest independent investment management firms, serving as a trusted adviser to over 2,200 clients in more than 65 countries. The firm manages more than US$1.3 trillion for pensions, endowments and foundations, insurers, family offices, fund sponsors, global wealth managers, and other clients. As a private partnership whose only business is investment management, the firm is able to align its long-term views and interests with those of its clients. The firm offers comprehensive investment management capabilities that span nearly all segments of the global capital markets, including equity, fixed income, multi-asset, sustainable investing, and alternative strategies. With more than 800 investment professionals located in offices around the world, Wellington pairs deep multi-disciplinary research resources with independent investment teams operating in an entrepreneurial “boutique” environment. For more information about the firm or its approach to sustainable investing, please visit www.wellington.com.
About ICONIQ Growth
ICONIQ Growth partners with exceptional entrepreneurs and leaders who drive global impact and change. We are inspired by visionaries defining the future of their industries by building company cultures that endure. Our unique investment platform harnesses the power of ICONIQ Capital’s vibrant ecosystem of founders, pioneers, and business leaders with the goal of delivering tangible value and amplifying our portfolio companies’ success from early growth stage to IPO and beyond. ICONIQ Growth’s portfolio of innovators includes Adyen, AirBnB, Alibaba, Alteryx, Automattic, BambooHR, Braze, Chime, Collibra, Coupa, Datadog, Docusign, Gitlab, Marqeta, Miro, Procore, Red Ventures, Relativity, ServiceTitan, Snowflake, Sprinklr, Truckstop, Uber, Wolt, and Zoom, among others. For more information and a complete list of portfolio companies, please visit ICONIQGrowth.com.
About Lightspeed Venture Partners
Lightspeed Venture Partners is a multi-stage venture capital firm focused on accelerating disruptive innovations and trends in the Enterprise and Consumer sectors. Over the past two decades, the Lightspeed team has backed hundreds of entrepreneurs and helped build more than 400+ companies globally, including Snap, Nest, Nutanix, AppDynamics, MuleSoft, OYO, Guardant, StitchFix, and GrubHub. Lightspeed and its affiliates currently manage $10.5B across the global Lightspeed platform, with investment professionals and advisors in Silicon Valley, Israel, India, China, Southeast Asia, and Europe. www.lsvp.com.
###
PR Contact
press@betterup.co
