Digital musculoskeletal company Sword Health has secured $40 million in funding and launched a new mental health solution called Mind that combines AI with licensed clinicians, the company announced Tuesday.
New York-based Sword Health uses AI to solve muscle and joint problems from the neck to the ankle. It offers digital physical therapy, physical health education, pelvic care support, on-demand clinical pain specialists, and more. The company serves employers and health plans.
The $40 million funding round is led by general Catalyst, with support from Khosla Ventures, Comcast Ventures, Lince Capital, Oxy Capital, Armilar, Indico Capital and Shilling. The company raised a total of $300 million. The latest round raised its valuation to $4 billion.
“On the general catalyst, we support companies that drive meaningful changes in healthcare, and Sword Health is at the forefront of this transformation,” Chris Bischoff, managing director of the General Catalyst and Sword board, said in a statement. “By blending sophisticated AI with human clinical expertise, Sword is reimagining the entire continuity of care (from physical pain care to the launch of today’s mental health – expanding access to improve outcomes and reducing global costs.”
Sword Health founder and CEO Virgilio Bento said the financing will be used in three ways. It will accelerate its M&A activities, support its global expansion, and help it expand into other areas of care.
The financing came shortly after the publication of other musculoskeletal company Hinge Health and chronic disease company Omada Health, which also provides some joint and muscle health support. Some health tech experts predict that Sword Health can also propose an IPO as soon as possible. However, Bento told Medcity News that the company does not intend to conduct an IPO for the foreseeable future.
“We are focused on ensuring we carry out our vision, which will expand into other areas of care through our AI model of care,” he said. “Continuing privacy in the coming months and years allows us to focus on what is most important, which can continue to innovate, support more and more members on their path to full recovery and better serve customers by providing more ROI. We don’t want to be distracted from anything else.”
Sword Health has also launched a new mental health solution called Mind, which is available to patients 24/7. It includes an AI therapist named Phoenix, and the need for access to mental health professionals when human support is needed. Additionally, it offers a wearable device called the M-band that detects indicators of depression and anxiety and prompts Mind Clinicars to reach out.
“Plotically 40-minute sessions are often weeks apart, and traditional therapy reflects an outdated one-dimensional view that cannot align with the 24/7 reality of mental health,” Bento said. “This captures only the fragments of one’s life, lacking the everyday factors that shape mental well-being (such as sleep, stress, relationships, and the environment). … This model shifts care from responsiveness to proactive, providing ongoing support and eliminating access barriers.”
Going forward, the company’s goal is “to use artificial intelligence to heal the world in every aspect of healthcare. The expansion of mental health is another step in this direction.”
Images: Feodora Chiosea, Getty Images
