Supporting Queer Groups! Here's How This Startup Is Improving Mental Health Of LGBTQ+ Community

Even as India celebrates the 4th anniversary of Section 377 being struck down and multiple other countries, including Singapore, having recently decriminalised homosexuality- the LGBTQ+ community remains the most underserved regarding their mental health needs. According to reports, three of five LGBTQ+ community members have suffered from several mental health problems, including anxiety and depression.

To tackle the issue, Anshul Kamath and Rohan Arora in 2020 co-founded Evolve, which is a mental health app at a global level that is LGBTQ+ first. According to the company, the team of Evolve has spent a considerable amount of time over the last year working with queer affirmative therapists, members of the community, as well as professors carrying out research in this space to truly understand the community's needs.

While sharing information with The Logical Indian, the startup mentioned that it now has over 2,50,000 users globally and was awarded the Best App for Personal Growth in 2021 by Google Play. The app and its proprietary interface provide users with a virtual safe space and personalised, evidence-based interventions to improve their mental health.

Evolve Raises Pre-Seed Round

The purpose-drive startup announced that they have successfully raised a pre-seed round of Rs 3 crore, and it was led by Rajesh Ranavat, Exec Director, Fung Strategic Holdings and saw participation from prominent angel investors, including co-founders of Dineout, Ankit Mehrotra and Nikhil Bakshi as well as senior global executives from Meta and McKinsey.

While commenting on the current situation, the co-founder of Evolve, Anshul Kamath, said, "Members of the LGBTQIA+ community are 3 to 4 times as likely to experience serious mental illness. We are proud to be one of the first companies globally solving for the community's needs, and our user growth and love are a testament to the quality of our offerings so far.

Kamath added, "We plan to use the funds secured to expand the core team at Evolve and invest in building a world-class product that continues to provide individual and collective safe spaces for users worldwide."

The Lead investor in Evolve, Rajesh Ranavat, said, "In a short period, Evolve has built a very compelling mental health app which operates totally on an interactive AI platform enabling it to scale up at a global level. The early success in terms of adoption by more than 200,000 users globally and recognition by Google Play as one of the top personal growth apps puts it in good stead for its next stage of growth."

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