While, the global coronavirus pandemic affected mental health around the world — ICAS World Ltd (ICAS), a leading global provider of mental health and employee wellness services, has acquired the NHS-commissioned mental health tech startup, Hello Tomo. The financial details of the deal remain undisclosed.
The acquisition is the first major milestone for ICAS as it rolls out its new global digital health strategy, tapping into the $121 billion mental wellness market and expanding its support for the 790 million people around the world currently affected by a mental health condition.
Helps in developing healthy habits to manage mental problems
Hello Tomo founded in 2016 to help users build and maintain healthy habits to manage depression, anxiety, and overall mental health. The app encourages users to create an anonymous peer support community through photo sharing. It also helps people to form positive associations between their actions and feelings to improve self-management, build resilience and reduce the risk of acute episodes.
The pandemic had a significant impact on people’s mental health. It reflected the challenge of managing mental health to Hello Tomo’s user base, which grew by 1,700% over the last 12 months. The app commissioned by NHS wellbeing service Good Thinking and free at the point of use across greater London has 20,000 active users as of now. Data shows an average improvement of 14% in symptoms of depression after 12 weeks of use, effectively moving them out of a diagnosable range of the symptoms of depression.
Expanding global reach as a part of digital health strategy
The acquisition of Hello Tomo will become part of ICAS’ mental health and wellbeing solutions portfolio. Existing customers will gain access to the group’s vast network of 80,000+ clinicians for coaching and therapy. ICAS expects that the acquisition will help in delivering growth opportunities and benefits to its existing ICAS customers. Leveraging Hello Tomo’s technologies, skills and expertise by developing globally transcendent digital mental health and wellbeing solutions benefits ICAS customers significantly.
Commenting on the acquisition, Andrew Davies, CEO, ICAS, said: “We are delighted to welcome Hello Tomo’s team, technology and customers to the ICAS family. We already support more than 2400 companies and 6.5 million employees and their families through our global network. By blending Hello Tomo’s entrepreneurial spirit and technical capabilities with our expertise, heritage and global reach, we hope we can give even more people the tools they need to better manage and protect their mental health.
“There is a huge need to leverage smart technology to solve these big global health challenges. ICAS is working with ambitious, entrepreneurial teams that want to grow their technology products as part of the ICAS ecosystem. Hello Tomo and its founding team is the first in a series of strategic acquisitions as we continue to drive forward our digital transformation.”
Gus Booth-Clibborn, CEO and co-founder, Hello Tomo and newly appointed Head of Digital Transformation for ICAS said: “Hello Tomo has gone from strength to strength since its launch and is now at the point where it can scale. I’m grateful that I can remain a part of Hello Tomo and continue working with the wonderful team, while joining ICAS to lead its digital transformation. The opportunity to work with people with a clinical background and a shared vision to bring new mental health tech products to a global market cemented the decision to sell Hello Tomo and I’m looking forward to the journey ahead.”
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