UK's Peppy raises £6.6m for workplace digital health platform

A £6.6 million ($9.2 million) cash injection for UK digital health company Peppy will be used to scale up its business-to-business platform and expand its reach and range of services.

The Series A financing, led by Felix Capital, will help the company reach more organisations and people in the UK, and also allow it to explore international expansion, according to Dr Mridula Pore, co-founder and co-chief executive of the startup.

The three-year-old company targets organisations who want to offer support to employees facing life events like menopause, pregnancy, fertility and early parenthood, offering a range of digital tools to provide support to people and connect them with expert practitioners.

Services include instant messaging, group chat, video consultations, live events, evidence-based articles, videos and programmes, and corporate client s include major lawfirms, banks, retailers and public sector employers, including some NHS trusts.

Peppy users can also join a community of people who are experiencing similar life challenges, according to the company, which was awarded government funding to support at-risk and vulnerable new parents during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown.

Felix investor Susan Lin said that Peppy is at the forefront of some emerging trends in the digital health market, including the growth in corporate wellness programmes and the provision of benefits to support employees that pays off in boosted staff morale, productivity and retention.

Patients and clinicians are also much more comfortable with the use of digital means of connecting thanks to the pandemic, and this is likely to grow post-COVID-19, she added, and there is an appetite for more personalised tools.

Peppy says it is targeting gaps in healthcare provision that impact the lives of individuals and their families, but also significantly impact workplace inclusion and wellbeing.

For example, women of menopausal age make up the fastest-growing demographic of the UK workforce and two thirds say their menopause symptoms have had a negative impact on their work, with 30% forced to take sick leave as a result. Three-quarters of them feel unable to tell a line manager the real reason for their absence.

The new funding will spearhead a shift into new therapeutic areas, including men's health, and to grow Peppy's workforce, said the company.

Previous investors including Outward VC, Seedcamp, and Hambro Perks, also participated in the round. The company raised £1.7 million in seed funding last year.