![](https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/GettyImages-1347375453.jpg?w=600)
Journey, an employee-focused mental health company, is acquiring Felt, a startup formerly known as Mine'd that specializes in connecting individuals with therapists using artificial intelligence. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Journey, which provides mental health employee support programs used by companies such as Walgreens and Universal Music Group, says the acquisition is consistent with its mission to revolutionize employee wellness and mental health support while leveraging the power of AI.
Aaron Albert, Felt's co-founder and CEO, told TechCrunch that the startup's acquisition is a natural progression of its vision because it amplifies the company's ability to not only make emotional health support accessible, but also personalize it.
“Joining forces with Journey will allow us to leverage AI-based matching innovations at a larger scale to reach more individuals across our broader network,” said Albert. “This aligns perfectly with our primary goal of facilitating access to effective mental health support and revolutionizing the way people connect with the right therapist.”
Felt's technology leverages natural language processing and machine learning to analyze factors that lead to a good pairing between user and therapist. This technique considers factors such as communication style, personality traits, and shared values to predict compatibility. Felt's technology was initially designed for consumer-facing apps, but will be integrated into Journey's backend product.
Journey CEO and founder Stephen Sokoler told TechCrunch that Felt's technology will be integrated into the company's Proactive EAP platform. The company plans to combine Felt's AI-based technology with its existing human-assisted therapist connections to better connect employees and therapists. Employees who are part of the Journey platform are given access to master's-level clinicians who understand their needs and then combine their expertise with Felt's technology to find the perfect match.
The acquisition comes more than two years after Felt raised $3.5 million in a seed funding round led by Listen Venture.
Before the pandemic, Journey had raised $6 million in funding to date through multiple rounds led by Canaan Partners, Courtside Ventures, Betaworks, BDMI, HealthTech Capital, and others. The company said it has grown 800% since then and has no need or plans to raise additional capital.