Expressable, a teletherapy platform focused on communication disorder, closed its seed round totaling $4.5 million.
The funding was co-led by Lerer Hippeau and NextView Ventures, with participation from Amplifyher ventures.
Expressable plans to use the new funds to expand its clinical provider network, partner with commercial and Medicaid plans to reach more families, and accelerate investment of its parent-focused education platform.
“Expressable has developed a fundamentally better way to provide millions of families across the U.S. with affordable access to high-quality speech therapy,” said Graham Brown, Partner at Lerer Hippeau.
Graham Brown added: “Through its online platform and product-first approach, Expressable improves the experience for not only patients but also providers and payors. We believe the company is positioned to be the market leader and help serve anyone with a communication disorder.”
Expressable says approximately five million children in the United States have a speech or language disorder, and nearly half go untreated. Additionally, research has shown that the most effective way to improve pediatric outcomes is by providing parents with the tools to become active participants in their child’s care.
According to Expressable, its platform matches families with an experienced teletherapist specialized in their area of need, enables secure client-therapist texting, and provides 500+ home-based learning modules that help parents reinforce skill-building exercises throughout the week.
“The need for speech therapy and communication support among children is far greater than most people expect – a reality many parents learn when their own children are struggling. Access to quality care can vary greatly, so putting parents at the center of the journey is essential,” said Lee Hower, Partner at NextView Ventures. “As investors, we are thrilled to empower the Expressable team on their mission to make seamless, affordable, and high-quality care available to children and parents nationwide.”
Telehealth companies raised $2.4 billion in Q1 2021 compared to $1.2 billion raised in Q4 2020, a 100% increase in QoQ, according to the recently released Mercom’s Q1 2021 Digital Health Funding and M&A Report. Recently, Vida Health, a virtual care platform designed to treat a person’s whole health by treating mental and physical conditions, raised $110 million in its Series D funding round led by General Atlantic and joined by Centene, AXA Venture Partners (AVP), and Ardea Capital Partners.
