Sympatient, based in Hamburg, is the first company to have found a way to completely digitize the gold-standard of anxiety therapy and thereby deliver the treatment much cheaper and more conveniently. It has raised EUR 1.6 million in a Seed round with investiere as lead investor, contributing EUR 0.7 million. The round was joined by Investitions- und Förderbank Hamburg IFB and business angels.

Why we invested in Sympatient:

Invirto, developed by Sympatient, is the first digital psychotherapy for anxiety disorders to be used at home. Based on virtual reality technology and an app, it is the only product that enables exposure therapy at home, under guidance of experienced psychotherapists, and is already reimbursed by Germany’s largest health insurance company, Techniker Krankenkasse, which has more than 10 million customers.

The need that Sympatient addresses is very large, explains Michael Lütolf, Investment Manager at investiere. More than 5 million patients in Germany alone suffer from the types of anxiety Invirto is aimed at. “Invirto can help millions of patients worldwide cope with their anxieties, can help therapists treat their patients, and reduce costs for the health system”, Michael says.

Sympatient was founded 2017 by Christian Angern, Julian Angern and Benedikt Reinke, employs 11 people and offers its product across Germany.

“With the funding we can expand our cooperation with therapists and health insurers to help more patients access a gold-standard therapy without the usual long waiting times”, says CEO Christiand Angern. He sees big potential in other European countries as well, as he explains in this interview with investiere. 

Dr. Bartosz Zurowski, an expert in the field, explains in this interview why digital therapies are not just a nice gimmick, but a necessary tool to improve the access to therapy for millions of people.