Rey Announces $10 Million in New Series A Funding to Expand Access to Mental Health through Digital Capabilities

Led by Optum Ventures and Oxford Sciences Innovation, new funding will propel Rey's launch of a tech-enabled, on-demand mental health clinic in response to growing demand for high-quality care in an increasingly resource constrained market

AUSTIN, Texas, July 31, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Rey, a new mental health and wellness company integrating immersive tools and digital interventions with teletherapy, today announced $10 million in new funding, increasing their Series A to a total of $26 million with the round led by Optum Ventures and Oxford Sciences Innovation.

Deepak Gopalakrishna CEO & Founder / Mike Desjadon, Chief Commercial Officer. Photo courtesy of Rey

The new funding will help Rey expand its consumer reach and provide more people with access to care through personalized services and leading-edge technology. Rey will also absorb OxfordVR and bring to market clinically validated virtual reality (VR) and digital treatments for Phobias, Psychosis, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and Social Avoidance.

"Mental and behavioral health care is rapidly becoming destigmatized, which is great. But that means there is a growing need and reliance on providers to provide this care, which may drive up costs," said Mike Desjadon, chief commercial officer of Rey. "Through our innovative digital care approach, we can flip the script and provide more personalized care at an affordable price to treat a variety of mental health needs."

Launched in April 2021, Rey is working to improve mental health and wellness by combining cognitive behavioral therapy, talk therapy, medication, and clinically validated tech tools, such as VR, to care for people in new ways.

OxfordVR, was founded in 2017 by Dr. Daniel Freeman, Professor of Clinical Psychology at Oxford University. Dr. Freeman pioneered the use of VR in severe mental illness for more than two decades and is the senior scientific advisor to Rey for development of new automated therapeutics. Potential future treatments include Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Substance Use Disorder.

"With a big focus on the expansion of online mental health services, the challenge now is for companies to meet the demand," said Deepak Gopalakrishna, founder and chief executive officer of Rey. "We're integrating validated and innovative therapeutic tools with well-trained providers to ensure people have access to the high-quality care they need while keeping costs low and preventing provider burnout."

To learn more, visit www.getrey.com^[1].

About Rey

Rey is a membership-based, on-demand mental health company on a mission to revolutionize mental health and wellness by improving access to personalized services through technology. Rey combines proven therapeutic interventions, like cognitive behavioral therapy, with clinically validated tools, like virtual reality, to care for a wide range of member needs in new and novel ways. Powered by OxfordVR, a spin-out of Oxford University and a leader in leveraging technology to deliver proven treatment tools in immersive environments, Rey is arming care teams with the tools they need to bring world-class treatments directly to members' homes. To learn more visit www.getrey.com^[2].

About Optum Ventures

Optum Ventures is the independent venture fund of Optum, a leading information and technology-enabled health services business dedicated to helping make the health system work better for everyone. Optum Ventures invests in digital health companies that use data and insights to help improve consumers' access to health care services and how care is delivered and paid for, and that make the health care system more reliable and easier to navigate. For more information, visit www.optumventures.com^[3].

Oxford Sciences Innovation 

Oxford Sciences Innovation is a science business builder. We build world-changing businesses, bringing Oxford science to the world faster. Since 2015, we have worked with over 200 of Oxford's leading academics to build a portfolio of more than 100 companies, worth over $2 billion, all based on Oxford science, created +1,500 new jobs and added +55,000 square-feet of laboratory and startup space; building on Oxford's renowned research legacy to create a leading science ecosystem. A place where scientific breakthroughs become world-changing businesses. Our portfolio of companies spans four sectors, Life Sciences, Deep Tech, Health Tech and Software & AI, tackling challenges like the diagnosis and treatment of devastating rare diseases and cancer, sustainability, nuclear fusion, quantum computing and cyber-security. For more information, visit www.oxfordsciencesinnovation.com.^[4] 

Media Contact: Meredith Good-Cohn meredith@oxfordvr.org^[5]  (443) 797-2996

References

1. ^{^} www.getrey.com (www.getrey.com)
2. ^{^} www.getrey.com (www.getrey.com)
3. ^{^} www.optumventures.com (www.optumventures.com)
4. ^{^} www.oxfordsciencesinnovation.com. (www.oxfordsciencesinnovation.com.)
5. ^{^} meredith@oxfordvr.org (www.prnasia.com)