BetterHelp

BetterHelp is a mental-health technology platform that delivers online counseling and therapy directly to users through web, app, messaging, live chat, phone, or video—rather than via in-person office visits. Users are matched with licensed, board-accredited therapists drawn from a network of over 20,000 professionals.

Founded in 2013 by Alon Matas and Danny Bragonier, BetterHelp was acquired by Teladoc in 2015 and operates as a subsidiary of Teladoc Health, headquartered in Mountain View, California. It positions itself as a more affordable alternative to traditional care, with costs of $60 to $90 per week (billed every four weeks) compared to in-person sessions of $75 to $200 each.

BetterHelp describes itself as a leading online therapy provider, reporting a client base of nearly two million. Beyond individual consumers, it also serves organizational buyers such as employers, schools, non-profits, cities, and communities, and offers specialized services including couples therapy, teen counseling, pride counseling, faith counseling, and first responder/frontline counseling.

An important regulatory note: in 2023, BetterHelp settled a U.S. Federal Trade Commission action over its handling of sensitive user data, agreeing to pay $7.8 million and accepting a prohibition on sharing consumers' health data for advertising. The FTC alleged the company shared sensitive health data with third parties such as Facebook and Snapchat after promising to keep it private; roughly 800,000 people became eligible for refunds. Any innovation in this space—particularly involving data handling, privacy, or AI—is therefore directly relevant given the company's scale and prior regulatory scrutiny.