French health insurance startup Alan has acquired mental health app Jour for $20 million.
By acquiring Jour, Alan is expanding into digital cognitive behavioral therapy. The Jour app will include patient education content and tools focused on helping users practice behavioral and cognitive therapy techniques. Users who need to talk to an Alan mental health specialist and psychologist will also use the app to consult.
“More than 13 million people in France are facing a mental health issue. If you look at people under 35, it is 3 out of 4 people – so it is basically everybody,” said co-founder and CEO Jean-Charles Samuelian-Werve.
Jour in a press statement said: “Together with Alan, we’re building Alan Mind – a B2B offer starting at ~$6 per month per employee – and a totally new version of Jour, which will include video lessons with mental health experts, access to one-on-one sessions with therapists, and in-company workshops about mental health. Jour will remain available as a standalone app and will only be enriched by the new experiences we’re building.”
As part of the acquisition, Jour’s digital app will be integrated into Alan Mind. Jour focuses on mindfulness and currently offers users a journaling experience. Users are also able to tap into guided journeys created by a clinician. The app had 2 million downloads before its acquisition.
A total of 136 digital health companies were acquired in the first half (1H) of 2021, compared to 83 in 1H 2020, a 64% increase in year-over-year M&A activity, according to the latest Mercom Digital Health Funding and M&A Report. DarioHealth, a digital therapeutics company, agreed to acquire PsyInnovations, an AI-powered behavioral health app, for $30 million.
