We round up the big funding and partnerships news from the past week
Psychedelic mental health treatment funding surges 10x, new research finds
New research from Wokelo, a Gen-AI-powered investment research platform, reveals that psychedelic-assisted mental health treatments and neurotech are quietly becoming investor hot spots, with funding rounds accelerating and valuations soaring.
In 2024, investment in these startups surged 10x, jumping from $33m in 2023 to $371m, signaling growing confidence in medical innovation and the future of alternative mental health treatments.
This sector also has a short funding cycle, with startups raising new rounds every 10.9 months on average – a clear indication that strong clinical data and evolving regulatory policies are fueling investor interest.
Siddhant Masson, CEO of Wokelo, said: “This 10x funding growth marks a turning point for psychedelic therapies and neurotech.
“What was once fringe now looks like a high-growth tech sector, with investors backing real clinical and regulatory progress.
If this pace continues, we’ll likely see major breakthroughs in treatment accessibility and mental health innovation in the next few years.”
Wellola and Org announce strategic partnership
Wellola, a developer digital patient-centric self-management solutions, and Org, the implementation and managed services partner, have joined forces to provide a high-impact digital healthcare solution tailored for the NHS and private healthcare providers.
This partnership leverages Wellola’s Portasana platform – a secure, configurable patient engagement and pathway management solution – with Org’s expertise in healthcare strategy, operational transformation, and professional advisory services.
By bringing together Wellola’s patient engagement technology and Org’s expertise in change management, implementation, and managed support services, the partnership aims to position itself as the UK leader in patient management and engagement, establishing a new benchmark for healthcare digitalisation.
Sonia Neary, CEO of Wellola, said: “With NHS funding for digital patient engagement solutions imminent, now is the time for Trusts to invest in technology that improves efficiency and enhances patient experience.
“We are delighted to partner with Org to support our clients and prospects to secure the best value from the technologies we deploy for them.”
LinusBio and The BRAIN Foundation partner to advance biomarker-supported autism diagnosis
Precision exposome medicine company LinusBio has announced a new partnership with the BRAIN Foundation, the autism non-profit organisation, to support their shared missions of advancing autism biomarker research and facilitating early identification and intervention of autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
Both organisations will share knowledge and resources to advance research, increase awareness, and reduce barriers to achieving these goals.
As part of this partnership, the BRAIN Foundation will facilitate academic collaborations for BRAIN-funded researchers to incorporate LinusBio’s proprietary temporal exposome sequencing platform into their studies.
In addition, LinusBio will provide BRAIN community members and supporters access to a discounted price for ClearStrand-ASD, LinusBio’s first-in-class biochemical test that identifies a molecular signature predictive of autism in a strand of hair as early as one month of age.
It is designed to help physicians rule out the condition in children up to 36 months of age when autism is a concern. The test will be expanded to older age groups in the coming months.
Dr Manish Arora, CEO and founder at LinusBio, said: “LinusBio shares the BRAIN Foundation’s mission to help families get the health answers they need for their child faster and more efficiently.
“By working together, we will battle long waitlists and remove barriers to early diagnosis and intervention. We will work collaboratively on leveraging the advancement of novel biomarker testing, providing families and clinicians with an important tool in their toolbox.
“In parallel, we will leverage the BRAIN Foundation’s extensive network to accelerate the next phase of discoveries for autism therapies.”
vopemed Secures $2.29m CAD pre-seed funding
vopemed (Vope Medical), a medtech startup enhancing surgical vision with AI-powered image clarification, has secured an oversubscribed $2.29 million pre-seed funding round to accelerate the development and clinical validation of its technology.
This funding marks a significant milestone in vopemed’s vision of empowering surgical teams with next-generation tools for safer, more efficient surgeries.
vopemed is developing Claris, an AI-driven image enhancement software designed to improve the clarity of laparoscopic and robotic-assisted procedure video feeds in real-time, leading to safer surgeries.
Amy Lorincz, CEO and co-founder of vopemed.
She said: “This funding validates the need for enhanced surgical visualization and reinforces our mission to bring AI-powered image enhancement into every operating room.
“Current solutions fail to address persistent visibility challenges in minimally invasive surgery, and Claris is designed to solve this unmet need.”
With the funds secured, vopemed will expand R&D, refine its software for broader clinical applications, and strengthen partnerships with hospitals and surgical teams.
The company is also preparing for clinical validation studies to further demonstrate Claris’ impact in real-world settings.
Dr Dicken Ko, Urologic Surgeon, is Professor of Surgery at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University.
Ko said: “Clear visualisation is critical for precise surgical decisions, especially in minimally invasive procedures. AI-driven image enhancement like Claris could be a game-changer in improving efficiency and patient outcomes.”
