Virginia Venture Partners-backed Canopie, a maternal health startup, has raised $3.7 million in a seed round co-led by Utah’s Beta Boom and Asheville, N.C.-based Aeroflow Health. Other investors include the Sorenson Institute, Luminary Impact Fund, which has offices in New York and Massachusetts, Symphonic Capital, Techstars, and a family office.
“I feel so proud. We have a lot of momentum to deepen our impact while expanding the services we provide,” said Canopie CEO and founder Anne Wanlund, whose healthcare experience includes a stint in Tanzania for a nutritional company focused on children.
Focus on Prevention
The Falls Church, Va.-based company said it would use the funds to expand personalized, virtual mental health care covered by insurance and address social drivers of health for moms.
“Our focus has been on prevention because it’s the right thing to do — most maternal mental health conditions, and maternal health complications, are preventable. And we are seeing progress around how these challenges are being prioritized and paid for by our healthcare partners,” said Wanlund.
Canopie delivers one-on-one behavioral health assessments, care management, on-demand programs and clinician-led virtual classes for expecting and new mothers. Its core therapeutic program has been developed by perinatal clinical psychologists, physicians, researchers and new moms, and is “underpinned by seven meta-analyses and 50 randomized control trials,” the company said.
VPP an Early Investor
“Canopie, which is led by a team of compassionate professionals in the healthcare industry, is dedicated to breaking down barriers to treatment and building a platform for affordable maternal mental health care,” Tom Weithman, chief investment officer of Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation and managing director of VPP, said in 2022 when VPP invested in the startup. “Canopie leverages unique research and public health expertise to develop this one-of-a-kind solution. We are excited to contribute to their success and further the impact they have on maternal mental health.”
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Canopie and its founder received fulsome praise from the most recent investors — Beta Boom and strategic partner Aeroflow Health, a maker of medical equipment.
“Anne is a brilliant and empathetic leader who people want to follow,” said Kimmy Paluch, managing partner at Beta Boom. “They are drawn to her, not only for her vision, but because she cares deeply for her team and the patients that she is helping through Canopie.”
Aeroflow’s Scott Sonnone, who sits on Canopie’s board, said she was drawn to Canopie by Wanlund’s “passion to ‘bring joy to the journey.’” The synergies between “our companies present a unique opportunity to genuinely impact maternal health on a population level and give me so much faith in Canopie’s ability to grow and succeed,” he said.
