Zurich, Nov. 26, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- One in five workdays is lost to poor mental health, yet companies continue pouring billions into wellness programs that fail to move the needle. Today, Kyan Health announces $16.7M in funding to transform this broken model, combining AI-powered preventive care with organizational insights that help companies treat employee wellbeing as a strategic, measurable investment rather than a box-ticking exercise.
The funding comprises a previously unannounced $4M seed round led by Amplo VC and a $12.7M Series A led by Swisscom Ventures, with participation from GreyMatter Capital, naturalX Health Ventures, Founderful, Joyance Partners and several angel investors. This brings Kyan's total funding to $18.4M as it expands its platform globally.
Kyan Health founders: Vlad Gheorghiu, Ignacio Leonhardt and Konstantin Struck.
Kyan Health was co-founded by Vlad Gheorghiu, Konstantin Struck, and Ignacio Leonhardt. Vlad, a former leader of McKinsey's global mental health program, experienced firsthand the challenges of managing mental health in high-pressure environments. Together with Konstantin, a former Associate Partner at McKinsey & Company, and Ignacio, a serial entrepreneur and co-founder of Handy.com, they launched Kyan Health with a mission to provide both individualized care and systemic solutions that address organizational needs.
While companies globally spend over $94 billion annually on workplace wellbeing initiatives, most programs remain stuck in a reactive model of crisis management. "Mental health isn't a fluffy perk—it's the backbone of a thriving workforce," said Vlad Gheorghiu, CEO and Co-Founder of Kyan Health. "When I struggled personally, and later when I led a global mental health program, I saw firsthand how inadequate the tools were to address real challenges. This investment is about changing that—creating the tools I wish had existed, making mental health measurable, and giving organizations the power to act before crises hit."
Kyan Health: The blended care overview.
Kyan Health provides its services through a subscription-based model for enterprise clients. At the heart of Kyan's platform is Kai, an AI-powered care navigator that connects employees to personalized resources—from crisis support to certified coaching and mental health counseling. The platform operates as a "trusted third party," offering users confidential access to tools with end-to-end encryption. No personal data is shared with employers; only aggregated insights are used to enhance workplace conditions while safeguarding privacy.
The impact is already evident among Kyan's enterprise clients. Notable clients like Hitachi Energy, Hilti, STADA, Deutsche Börse Group, and On have already seen tangible results. At On, the Swiss performance sportswear company, Kyan's platform achieved a 50% employee engagement rate and delivered $2.9M in annual value through improved productivity, reduced attrition, and cost savings—representing an 11.6x ROI.
"We decided to work with Kyan, as they are the only provider that truly supports the organizational and individual angle at the same time with an end-to-end solution," said Achim Braun, CHRO of Hitachi Energy, responsible for 40,000 employees globally. "We've been working with Kyan since 2022 and we are excited to continue our partnership!"
Kyan Heath: Wellbeing insights dashboard.
"Kyan Health is transforming how businesses support mental health and well-being by providing predictive, scalable solutions that address the needs of global enterprises. We're excited to back a company that's at the forefront of this shift," said Victoria Lietha, Investment Director at Swisscom Ventures, who led the investment and is joining the Kyan Health Board of Directors.
While companies routinely apply predictive maintenance to physical assets, they've overlooked their most valuable resource: their people. Kyan Health is changing this paradigm, helping organizations address absenteeism and productivity challenges before they impact the bottom line. This shift from reactive support to strategic investment marks a new era in corporate mental health, where wellbeing becomes a measurable driver of business performance.
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About Kyan Health
Kyan Health is committed towards reinventing workplace well-being. It is an enterprise solution that connects employee well-being with organizational measures to achieve measurable business impact. Using predictive analytics, Kyan helps companies monitor and reduce risks like absenteeism, turnover, and presenteeism. For more information please visit https://www.kyanhealth.com/ or follow via LinkedIn.
About Swisscom Ventures
Swisscom Ventures is the corporate venture capital arm of Swisscom AG, Switzerland's leading telecom and ICT provider. Since 2007, Swisscom Ventures has invested in over 80 technology companies from its offices in Switzerland (Zurich, Bern, and Lausanne) and the USA (Silicon Valley). Each year, the firm invests in 8-10 new companies with a total investment volume of $50-100 million.
Swisscom Ventures focuses on sectors where it has deep domain expertise, including Telco & IT Cloud, DeepTech, Cybersecurity, Fintech, and Big Data & AI-related business models. In addition to financial support, Swisscom Ventures provides entrepreneurs access to Swisscom’s technical infrastructure, market channels, and technology experts.
For more information, visit ventures.swisscom.com.
About naturalX Health Ventures
naturalX Health Ventures (www.naturalx.vc) is a €100 million venture capital fund focused on Series A and Series B investments. Driven by the ambition to build the go-to investor for Consumer Health in Europe, the team of naturalX is particularly passionate about the topics of mental health and proactive health.
naturalX is backed by Schwabe Group, a global leader in plant-based pharmaceuticals. The fund leverages Schwabe’s 150+ years of expertise and access to deep healthcare industry insights and broad networks. naturalX combines the agility of a VC fund with the backing of a global healthcare leader, helping startups scale while driving meaningful change in the Consumer Health landscape.
About GreyMatter Capital
GreyMatter is a venture capital firm created to support bold founders building the future of mental health and emotional wellness. GreyMatter believes innovative approaches to mental wellbeing have the power to not only reshape healthcare, but to touch every part of our lives, improving the way we live, work, learn, relate to one another.
The GreyMatter team has decades of experience investing in, building, and advising companies at the intersection of mental health and technology. They are supported by a network of advisors which includes many of the most successful behavioral health company founders alongside world-class clinicians, researchers, technologists, policy advocates, and healthcare executives: this includes the former head of the National Institute of Mental Health, the former CEO of Optum Behavioral Health, and the congressman who co-authored the Mental Health Parity Act.
Through GreyMatter's community of luminary advisors, existing mental health founders, and scientific experts, they help founders identify the most promising areas of research and technological opportunity, provide access to playbooks and data to shape their strategy, support with critical hires, help close deals with customers, and provide specialized guidance and capital along the way. The GreyMatter platform serves all stakeholders in the innovation space including builders, payors, and funders.
About Founderful
Founderful is Switzerland's leading pre-seed fund, backing founder teams building tech companies with the potential to become global market leaders. Founderful has a track record of supporting exceptional founders in creating breakthrough companies and has the passionate conviction that the Swiss startup ecosystem is just starting to write its best success stories.
