Music for psychedelic therapy provider Wavepaths raises $4.5M [VIDEO]

The study and use of psychedelics for therapy has entered the mainstream in recent months, and startup Wavepaths sees music playing a central role.

Interest is still growing with a recent Learning Network survey showing that 47% of clinicians have had patients ask about psychedelics to treat mental health and that clinicians are overwhelmingly (87%) interested in learning more about psychedelic therapies.

Investors are interested too, and invested $4.5 million in Wavepath’s initial seed investment round.

Co-founded by Dr. Mendel Kaelen and Anna Rickman in 2019, Wavepaths builds on scientific research showing that music plays an essential role in creating positive outcomes for psychedelic therapies including ketamine, psilocybin, and MDMA.

“Music has a profound impact on therapeutic outcomes, but many therapists are in the dark on how to best work with music in their practice,” says Dr. Kaelen. “Our adaptive music technology enables care providers to work with music in a fully person-centered way, with the same ease by which one may adapt the temperature or light in the room. It is humbling to witness how Wavepaths is changing life for both providers and seekers of mental healthcare around the world.”

Participants in the new funding included Heron Rock, Reflex Capital, Bridge Builders Collaborative, Palo Santo, Lionheart Ventures, Sanjay Singhal of the Nikean Foundation, Empath Ventures, Neo Kuma Ventures, Miton Psychonauts Fund, and Tabula Rasa Ventures, among others.

The funding will be used to further develop Wavepaths’ personalization and music-generation algorithms, scale the platform, and increase functionality for a wider range of healthcare practices.

Bruce Houghton is Founder and Editor of Hypebot and MusicThinkTank and serves as a Senior Advisor to Bandsintown which acquired both publications in 2019. He is the Founder and President of the Skyline Artists Agency and a professor for the Berklee College Of Music.