Carousell CEO joins seed round in Singapore mental health startup Intellect

Intellect, a Singapore-based mental health company, announced that it has secured an undisclosed amount of seed funding in a round led by Insignia Ventures Partners.

Carousell co-founder and CEO Quek Siu Rui, former Sequoia partner Tim Lee, and Xto10x Southeast Asia’s CEO JJ Chai also participated in the round.

Intellect co-founder and CEO Theodoric Chew / photo credit: Intellect

Intellect operates a consumer app that carries a self-guided digitized therapy program. It also provides a mental health benefits solution for employers that features its programs along with its new telehealth services.

These services pair employees with their own personal behavioral health coach, either a trained counselor or certified coach. With its mobile app, employees can have one-on-one live video sessions or text their health coach.

The company claimed it crossed 1 million users on its platform in six months since its launch.

See also: This app wants to make therapy more accessible in virus-hit Southeast Asia

With the new funds, the Singapore-based startup will invest in clinical research and drive its market expansion across Asia in light of a growing demand amid the Covid-19 pandemic. The company is currently conducting several clinical studies in collaboration with universities and institutions from Singapore, Australia, and the UK.

“The mental healthcare system as it currently is, is fundamentally misaligned and unfit to work as effectively as it needs to be, obstructed by high costs, strong stigma, and an unscalable supply of professionals. We’re here to fix that,” said co-founder and CEO Theodoric Chew.

Previously, Intellect received a grant from government agency Enterprise Singapore, as well as an undisclosed amount of angel funding in its pre-seed round.