Roga is on a mission to develop better alternatives for mental healthcare
LOS ANGELES, July 9, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Neurotech and mental healthcare startup announced today it has raised a $1.2 million USD pre-seed round to support the launch of their next-gen wearable device to reduce chronic stress and burnout.
The round, included investment from venture capital firms Exceptional Ventures, ODX by On Deck, Minded Ventures, and the AngelList Fund; institutional investors including The Centre for Aging + Brain Health Innovation (CABHI) and the Ontario Brain Institute; and angel investors including senior directors from Samsung and Google.
Roga was founded by neuroscientist Dr. Alison Smith and ex-Google hardware PM Ami Lebendiker who sought better alternatives to managing chronic stress, anxiety and burnout symptoms in a safe, affordable and personalized way.
The Roga wearable looks like a pair of headphones that plug into a smartphone, and operate via the Roga mobile app which provides best-in-class on-demand guided meditations, journaling and session progress tracking and analytics. The device reduces the symptoms of stress on a physiological level by emitting a gentle electrical signal to calm the brain's fight-or-flight response. This technique is a type of non-invasive brain stimulation now available in a convenient, affordable form factor for everyday consumer use.
Voted one of the World Changing Ideas by Fast Company, Roga's phone-powered wearable is intentionally designed to lower barriers to access mental health care and support.
The investment also follows the company's first international expansion deal in India earlier this year. In January 2024, Roga and its partner, Indian telehealth giant, GlobalSpace Technologies, Ltd., launched India's first telehealth-wearable program to enable patients in India to get access to mental healthcare under a provider even from remote locations.
About Roga:
Roga is a mental health and wellness company using the latest in Neurotech to relieve severe stress and burnout in a convenient, cost-effective way. Based in Los Angeles and Toronto, Roga™ launched its first device in 2023. The Roga device, named one of the World Changing Ideas by Fast Company in 2023, is a paired wearable/app duo that combines two proven methods – peripheral nerve stimulation and personalized guided meditation — into one safe, effective, and affordable solution to reduce stress and burnout. Roga is a VC funded startup supported by LBAN at Stanford University and Velocity at the University of Waterloo.
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The device reduces the symptoms of stress on a physiological level by emitting a gentle electrical signal to calm the brain's fight-or-flight response.
Media Contact
Ami Lebendiker, Roga, 1 (510) 817-2218, [email protected]
SOURCE Roga
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