Brightline, a virtual care platform focussing on bringing mental healthcare to children, has secured $72 million from investors, including Optum and Google.
GV, formerly known as Google Ventures, led Brightline's series B funding round with participation from investors such as Optum Ventures, Blue Shield of California and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, according to a June 16 news release.
The funding round will help the startup expand its services at a time when the rates of mental health conditions in children have been surging since the start of the pandemic.
In the last two years, Aurora-based Children's Hospital Colorado has seen a 90 percent increase in demand for behavioral health treatment. Isolation and stress amid the pandemic have exacerbated low-level anxiety and depression among pediatric patients into suicide attempts, hospital officials said.
The surges in mental health conditions led the CEO of the hospital to declare a state of emergency in pediatric mental health.