Facebook co-founder in digital health startup's €7.6m funding round

SilverCloud Health provides online therapeutic solutions to improve mental health.

It was spun out of the Dublin-based NDRC accelerator organisation in 2012.

Since then, its service has been used by 80,000 patients and it now has offices in Dublin, London and Boston.

The 'Series A' round of funding was led by venture capital firm B Capital Group, which was founded by Raj Ganguly and Facebook co-founder Saverin.

Irish finance firms ACT Venture Capital, Investec Ventures and AIB Seed Capital Fund also participated in the funding round.

SilverCloud Health ceo and co-founder Ken Cahill said the company is "defining a new healthcare model to meet the demand of the rapidly growing behavioural healthcare market".

He said that this market is estimated to be worth $440bn (€411bn) in the US alone.

The company's service is used by over 120 healthcare organisations across Europe and North America, said Mr Cahill.

Within the United Kingdom's National Health Service (NHS), he said that the company has seen "an exponential growth" of customers - "from supporting one percent of NHS mental health services two years ago to over 45 per cent today".

He said that the money raised will be used to meet growing demand in Europe and North America as well as to build out its commercial, development and clinical teams and drive its clinical research and publishing activities.

Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin said that the Irish firm had a "proven track record" in the field.

"SilverCloud Health's mission is to make people healthier by providing effective, accessible and affordable behavioural healthcare opportunities, filling a massive void in the market today," said Mr Saverin.

"B Capital Group is excited to back Ken and the team at SilverCloud Health, as they continue to change the way behavioural healthcare is delivered.

Our investment in SilverCloud Health is driven by our confidence in its team, its proven track record working with global health organisations and its esteemed partner network.

"This new capital will enable SilverCloud Health to continue to innovate, expand and broadly deploy its programmes to the millions of individuals who need them."

The company has 22 evidence-based programmes addressing conditions such as depression, anxiety and stress as well as for long-term chronic conditions such as diabetes, COPD and cardiovascular disease.