Modern Health, a digital mental health company, is doubling down on AI by acquiring Anvil Health’s AI technology, the company announced last week.
Based in San Francisco, Modern Health serves employers and provides individual and group support and self-learning materials. It works with patients on emotional, financial, occupational, social and physical wellness needs.
The company has long used AI to make treatment recommendations and assign patients the best treatment for them, but with this acquisition it wanted to expand its capabilities. Anvil Health has an AI-powered solution called Ascribe that documents and summarizes consultations.
“We’re seeing (AI) advance,” Jesse Calderon, chief technology officer at Modern Health, said in an interview. “The large language models in particular have really improved the application of AI in these use cases. … We’re seeing more desire and willingness from members and customers. I think people are still very risk-averse and very cautious. So this acquisition was a sign that we want to do more in this area.”
Modern Health declined to disclose terms of the deal.
Anvil Health was co-founded by Jon Bischke and Paul Clark, the latter of whom will join Modern Health as head of AI strategy.
“It has been impressive to see Modern Health’s ongoing technical innovations introducing sustainable and novel care modalities like Community Circles and its 1:1 care offering Pathways. The company is constantly challenging the status quo and ensuring that every person, no matter where they are, receives the right care,” Clark said in a statement. “When used responsibly, technologies like AI have tremendous potential to transform outcomes and even lives for millions of people around the world. I believe Modern Health is uniquely positioned to lead this market and I am excited to join the team.”
Circles refers to Modern Health’s online workshops, Listen & Learn events, and discussions that focus on mental health topics and are led by therapists and coaches.
Modern Health is still in the development phase determining how to use Anvil’s technology. The company is working with customer advisory boards and consultant advisory boards to determine how to implement the technology safely and effectively.
“I think it’s clear to me that this technology has great potential to enable more personalized, self-directed experiences,” Calderon said. “The question is how do we build out that capability, test it and prove that it can be safe.”
Research shows that more than one in five American adults live with a mental illness, but only half of those diagnosed receive treatment. By expanding its AI capabilities, Modern Health ultimately aims to improve mental health care by making it more personalized for patients, Calderon said.
“I think there’s a great opportunity to leverage more and more data to create this highly tailored, highly personalized experience, so that people are using a system that feels like it knows them. … I think technology is really going to enable us to do that in a way that previous technologies just weren’t robust enough, fast enough, accurate enough. Large language models in particular give us the ability to create this highly personalized, immersive experience,” he said.
Other digital mental health companies serving employers include Lyra Health and Spring Health.
Photo: Sylverarts, Getty Images
