Woebot Health, maker of an AI-powered mental health chatbot, sent an email to users announcing it is retiring its app as of June 30.
Woebot’s nonprescription digital mental health tool includes content specific to teens, including media literacy, bullying in school settings, and body image and psychoeducation.
According to Behavioral Health Business, members can download their conversation history until June 30, and the company pledged that all account data will be anonymized after July 31.
THE LARGER TREND
Woebot debuted on Facebook Messenger in 2017 and one year later secured $8 million in Series A funding.
In 2021, the digital mental health company received FDA Breakthrough Device Designation for its postpartum depression digital therapeutic, WB001.
WB001 combined cognitive behavioral therapy and elements of interpersonal psychotherapy with the company’s conversational chatbot to deliver treatment directly through patients’ phones.
Designed as a prescription digital therapeutic, the eight-week program treated symptoms of postpartum depression through lessons that attempt to normalize and contextualize the postpartum experience.
That same year, the company scored $90 million in Series C funding, and a year later received an additional $9.5 million.
In 2023, the company partnered with digital payroll software provider PayrollPlans and AI-enabled text-first virtual healthcare clinic Curai Health to provide an AI-powered primary care and mental health virtual benefit solution to small and midsize businesses.
Last year, the company signed a three-year agreement with Ohio-based nonprofit pediatric healthcare system Akron Children’s to provide pediatric mental health support to adolescents 13 to 17 years.
Through the partnership, Akron clinicians residing in three underserved rural communities were able to recommend Woebot to patients who show signs of depression and anxiety during their annual well visit. The platform was to be used in conjunction with therapy.
The company said at the time that the platform would be available across Akron’s 44 primary care pediatric facilities.
Woebot also announced a partnership in 2024 with New Jersey-based not-for-profit hybrid care provider Virtua Health to allow Virtua’s primary care providers to give access to Woebot for Adults. The tool could be used for patients on a waitlist to get an appointment or in conjunction with in-person therapy.
