Dipanjan Basu said that only a few people would repeat online treatment only because the results were not obvious. “Like any other medical service, in-person experience is crucial.”
Amit Malik, founder and CEO of Amaha Health, added that mental health support in India requires high-demand clinical care from technology and physical infrastructure. “We are now available at eight locations and are preparing to open the first mental health hospital in Bangalore in May.”
He said the facility will provide inpatient care based on services provided by a single specialty hospital.
Amaha, make sure ₹In 2024, Rs 50 crore from an extended series A financing led by Fireside Ventures is preparing to raise more capital in the second half of 2025.
Reduce investors’ interests
With the growing demand for remote training in the pandemic era, the mental health sector used to have a strong interest from private investors but seems to be losing favor.
Mental health startups are part of the entire healthcare market, raising $8 million in 2024, compared to $41 million in 2022, according to market intelligence firm Venture Intelligence.
To be sure, private equity and venture investors invested $3.7 billion in healthcare in 2024, down slightly from $4.2 billion in 2022.
According to the India Private Equity Report (2024), healthcare investment in the country hit a record $5.5 billion in 2023.
“Mental health and wellness remain one of the areas under-sufficient in the healthcare sector, given its novelty in the country. So while healthcare funds are considerable, the funding in this space remains low despite considerable healthcare funding,” said an investor at an Indian healthcare venture capital firm centered on anonymity.
Emerging Markets
According to estimates by market research firm Axtute Analytica, India’s mental health market is expected to be valued at $6.8 billion by 2032 from $6.8 billion in 2023.
In context, the country’s overall health care market reaches $372 billion in 2023 and is ready to hit $638 billion by the end of 2025, according to a study by Bajaj Finserv AMC.
Lissun, a startup backed by RPSG Capital Ventures and Zerodha’s Rain Matter, conducting nearly 8,000 consultations per month, is now doubling up the support center for “Lissun Sunshine by Lissun” to provide body care for special needs aged 2-10.
“These children need services such as developmental therapy, occupational therapy, voice therapy, and testing for autism and ADHD [attention deficit hyperactivity syndrome]. “Parents with special needs are also increasingly aware of the importance of seeking help,” said Krishna Veer Singh, co-founder and CEO of Lissum.
Lissun received $2.5 million in advance from RPSG Capital Ventures, Multiply Ventures and Atrium Angels. According to Singh, its current repetition rate is over 60%.
According to an analysis of the 2018 Indian Disability Report by the National Bureau of Statistics in January 2023, 550,000 children under the age of 14 in the country suffer from intellectual disabilities, excluding autism.
A 2017 study by the Indian Medical Research Council (ICMR) was found in the autism spectrum by approximately 0.5% of boys and 0.2% of girls (10-14 years old).
Overall, according to the 2011 census, there are more than 27 million children with disabilities in India, with only 61% of whom have access to formal education.
“We believe that professional care is the future of mental health solutions in the country. You have an application, doctor and psychologist, but ultimately, it’s the platform and brand to build trust with patients,” said Basu of Fireside.
Extended Challenge
While investors acknowledge that mental health support remains a major gap in the healthcare market in India, they are now thinking more about the prospects for scalability.
“Mental health is a tricky area because the definition of mental health itself is not very clear. It’s hard to determine what qualifies for mental health issues, and there are a lot of misinformation in this space.”
Currently, according to the 2015-16 National Mental Health Survey, more than 200 million people in the country face mental health conditions, but only 10-15% seek professional help.
Additionally, attracting consumers aged 40 or over is a barrier to the startup’s scale journey, and there is still much work to be done. “Young users know better, which is good, but they rarely believe in loyalty. And, through services like consultation, the lack of obvious results may not drive users to repeat the service,” said the healthcare investor quoted above.
That being said, there is also a wide range of services in the areas of mental health and wellness, such as meditation applications. Basu noted that the integration of physical therapy and online consultation is the way to go, as it shows signs of success in IVF and allied healthcare fields such as IVF and hair transplantation.
Amaha’s Malik said technology can solve the problem of access and coverage, especially outside metropolitan cities, but deeper penetration can only be achieved in clinical and hospital competitions.
Preventive health care in India faces considerable challenges. Health insurance policies do not include preventive care, and patients’ hesitation to adopt digital tools has led to a shift in reactive care.
Healthcare investors added: “Mental health is preventive care and is now only done in the country. It’s hard to say how much it can be expanded.”
