Calm Hits $2 Billion Valuation, Expands into Wellness at Work

Lightspeed Venture Partners leads $75M Series C round


SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 08, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Calm today announced that it has raised $75 million in Series C financing, valuing the company at $2 billion USD. Existing investor Lightspeed Venture Partners led the round with participation from TPG, Insight Venture Partners, Marc Benioff, and funds managed by Goldman Sachs Asset Management. This round brings total funding to date to $217 million.

Profitable since 2016, Calm continues rapid growth with over 100 million downloads and 4 million paying members. One primary driver is Calm for Business, the brand’s enterprise arm, which covers more than 10 million lives through employer partnerships. In a new McKinsey report, 62% of employees consider mental health issues a top challenge. With accessible, effective mental wellness content to serve a diverse workforce, Calm for Business partners see 25% adoption, with 75% engagement amongst employee populations.

“We’ve only just begun supporting companies on their journey to increase employee resilience,” said Alex Tew, Calm co-founder and co-CEO. “This financing round will advance our efforts in building a strong global workforce, meeting overwhelming market demand. Our Calm for Business expansion is a priority as employer investment in mental health skyrockets.”

Mental wellness is also top of mind for consumers across the globe, with 2 in 5 Americans struggling with mental health issues throughout the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Calm is home to exclusive audio content that helps users manage stress, improve focus and sleep better. Daily downloads doubled and members listened to more than a billion minutes of content in 2020, up 100% from 2019. With global content consumption soaring, Calm introduced localized content in its seventh language, Japanese, this December, unlocking additional growth in APAC.

"We’ve greatly expanded our audio library in recent years to support and strengthen Mental Wellness through meditation, music, wisdom and sleep,” said Michael Acton Smith, Calm co-founder and co-CEO. “Calm’s unique content has helped transform many lives and has now had over 1 million five-star reviews in the App Store.”

“Calm continues to redefine the wellness category, innovating across content and distribution channels,” said Nicole Quinn, Lightspeed Venture Partner and Calm’s newest board member. “With Calm’s renewed focus on accessibility through global expansion and enterprise, Calm is on track to be one of the most meaningful brands of our lifetime.”

The mental wellness company is one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies and became the first mental health unicorn in early 2019. Calm is a complete mental wellness experience, with content to support your mindfulness journey. From bespoke sleep, meditation, music and wisdom audio content to interactive features such as mood check ins, gratitude reflections, breathing techniques and gentle movement, Calm has content to meet members at every moment.

ABOUT CALM
Calm is the leading mental wellness brand with the #1 app for sleep, meditation and relaxation, designed to help you manage stress, sleep better and live a happier, healthier life. With hundreds of hours of original audio content available in seven languages, Calm supports users in more than 190 countries. Apple’s 2017 iPhone App of the Year and one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies of 2020, Calm boasts over 100 million downloads to date, averaging 100,000 new users daily. For more information, please visit us at www.calm.com.

ABOUT LIGHTSPEED
Lightspeed Venture Partners is a multi-stage venture capital firm focused on accelerating disruptive innovations and trends in the Enterprise and Consumer sectors. Over the past two decades, the Lightspeed team has backed hundreds of entrepreneurs and helped build more than 400 companies globally, including Snap, Nest, Nutanix, AppDynamics, MuleSoft, OYO, Guardant, Stitch Fix, and GrubHub. Lightspeed currently manages $10.5B across the global Lightspeed platform, with investment professionals and advisors in Silicon Valley, Israel, India, Southeast Asia, Europe, and China.

MEDIA CONTACT
Calm | Alexia Marchetti | alexia@calm.com
Lightspeed | Meredith Kendall Maines | meredith@lsvp.com