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Digital therapeutic platform for severe mental illness secures £1.8m funding to provide preventative care

Press release 30 January 2025

A digital therapeutic platform and University of Manchester spinout that focuses on tackling severe mental illness has closed a £1.8m funding round from the GMC Life Sciences Fund By Praetura, NPIF II – Praetura Equity Finance (which is managed by Praetura Ventures as part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund), Verge and SFC Capital.

image of health experts standing

A digital therapeutic platform and University of Manchester spinout that focuses on tackling severe mental illness has closed a £1.8m funding round from the GMC Life Sciences Fund By Praetura, NPIF II – Praetura Equity Finance (which is managed by Praetura Ventures as part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund), Verge and SFC Capital.

Launched in 2021, CareLoop integrates with existing treatment pathways, providing patients with digital support while enabling clinicians to remotely monitor and track patients’ symptoms, along with personalised algorithmic escalation prediction to prevent episodes.

CareLoop was founded by mental health experts Professor Shôn Lewis, Professor John Ainsworth and Professor Sandra Bucci, who are academics at the University of Manchester, along with Zoë Blake (CEO), who previously delivered 10x growth at the digital mental health platform Kooth plc, and COO Dr Pauline Whelan, previously co-director of the GM.Digital unit at Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation and the University of Manchester’s Digital Health Software lead.

The company, which is set to open its first headquarters in Manchester’s new Sister innovation district, is backed by over a decade of research, including five clinical trials, with rigorous evidence-based testing to prove its safety and effectiveness in symptom management and reduction in relapses.

The seed round has been co-led by the GMC Life Sciences Fund By Praetura – which is managed by Praetura Ventures on behalf of Bruntwood SciTech, the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) and Enterprise Cheshire and Warrington – and Verge HealthTech Fund, a Singapore-based VC firm investing exclusively in impactful healthcare technologies, which counts Impact Ventures by J&J Foundation among its investors.

NPIF II – Praetura Equity Finance, which is managed by Praetura Ventures as part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund, also took part in the round with SFC Capital.

Last year, the platform was recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) Early Value Assessment programme (EVA), which recommends products for use in the NHS. CareLoop has also identified cash savings for the NHS of between five and 47 times the cost of licensing its product, depending on the severity of each condition.

Zoë Blake, CEO of CareLoop, said:

While there are numerous digital mental health tools on the market, they tend to focus on wellbeing and common mental health problems such as anxiety and mild to moderate depression. And whilst many leverage evidence-based techniques, few have the robust clinical evidence of efficacy required to be called a digital therapeutic. Our mission has always been to provide accessible care where it's needed to those living with the most severe and enduring mental illnesses. With approval from NICE, over 10 years of data and now the backing of key and well-connected investment partners, we're looking forward to enhancing the way mental health support is delivered to improve the lives of many millions living with these conditions.

Sim Singh-Landa, investment director and head of the GMC Life Sciences Fund By Praetura, said:

We understood CareLoop's mission, vision for transforming severe mental illness aftercare and the wider roadmap from our very first meeting with the team. Fast-forward to the present day and we're incredibly excited to not only be supporting the company with investment but also the more than money guidance and network support it needs to scale and deploy its technology across the NHS and other global health institutions. The company is a testament to the quality of spinouts coming out of the University of Manchester, and the North West's universities more generally. In addition, it's great to see the GMC Life Sciences Fund by Praetura and the NPIFII – Praetura Equity Finance funds collaborate alongside co-investors from the UK and Singapore.

Scarlett Chen, Managing Partner at Verge HealthTech Fund, said:

At Verge, we back healthtech solutions with global impact, and CareLoop fits that vision perfectly. Severe mental illness is a critical but underserved area, and CareLoop's clinically validated platform has the potential to transform care, not just in the UK but in emerging markets where access is even more limited. We're excited to support their mission to scale life-changing mental health solutions worldwide.

Dr Kath Mackay, Chief Scientific Officer for Bruntwood SciTech said:

The GMC Life Sciences Fund By Praetura Fund was created to back businesses just like CareLoop. A dynamic Manchester-based spinout set to make a national and international impact on mental health care. Their innovative platform is another great example of the region's ability to create world-class life sciences businesses. We're excited to be supporting Zoe and the team in the company's next chapter.

Sue Barnard, senior investment manager at British Business Bank, said: 

We're excited to see another flagship business in the thriving North West technology scene access funding to continue their development of innovative solutions to a vital health service. It's a good example of how the NPIF II funds can work alongside other funders to provide much needed finance to businesses across the North.

In total, it’s estimated that over 70 million people worldwide suffer from a severe mental illness (SMI). Often these conditions are chronic, incurable or extremely difficult to manage, therefore putting vast economic pressure on healthcare providers or services. In the UK caring for people with psychosis alone accounts for 30% of the annual mental health budget – totalling £4bn. And in the US, the direct cost of care is $62bn, equating to around $30k per patient per year.

Following the investment, CareLoop has confirmed plans to continue developing its technology to encompass other severe mental illnesses, including bipolar disorder.

Further Information

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Notes to editors

About the GMC Life Sciences Fund By Praetura  

The GMC Life Sciences Fund By Praetura is a 20m investment fund by Greater Manchester Combined Authority, Enterprise Cheshire and Warrington, Bruntwood SciTech and Praetura Ventures. The fund was launched in May 2022 by the Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham and supports life sciences businesses based in the region or those who are committed to scaling here.

About the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II

The £660m Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II (NPIFII) covers the entire North of England and provides loans from £25k to £2m and equity investment up to £5m to help a range of small and medium sized businesses to start up, scale up or stay ahead.

The purpose of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II is to drive sustainable economic growth by supporting innovation and creating local opportunity for new and growing businesses across the North of England. The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II will increase the supply and diversity of early-stage finance for the North’s smaller businesses, providing funds to firms that might otherwise not receive investment and help to break down barriers in access to finance.

  • Operated by the British Business Bank, the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II (NPIF II) provides a mix of debt and equity funding. NPIF II will offer a range of commercial finance options with smaller loans from £25k to £100k, debt finance from £100k to £2m and equity investment up to £5 million. It works alongside the Combined Authorities, Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs), and Growth Hubs, as well as local intermediaries such as accountants, fund managers and banks, to support the North’s smaller businesses at all stages of their development.
  • The funds in which the NPIF II invests are open to businesses with material operations, or planning to open material operations, in: Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside, City of Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, Hartlepool and Stockton-on-Tees, South Teesside, Darlington, Durham, Northumberland, Tyneside, Sunderland.

Smaller Loans from £25,000 to £100,000 – GC Business Finance & River Capital (North West), Business Enterprise Fund (BEF) (Yorkshire and Humber) and NEL Fund Managers (North East)

Business Loans from £100,000 to £2m – FW Capital (North West), Mercia (Yorkshire and Humber) and NEL Fund Managers(North East)

Equity Finance up to £5m – Praetura Ventures (North West), Mercia (Yorkshire and Humber), and Maven Capital Partners(North East) 

Applications for funding are made directly to the relevant fund managers who can be contacted via NPIF II

About Praetura Ventures

Praetura Ventures is a Manchester-based venture capital firm which invests in early-stage, high-growth businesses across the UK, with a particular focus on supporting entrepreneurs across the North of England.         

Praetura Ventures is committed to adding value post-investment and providing the ‘more than money’ support that businesses need to grow, including additional expertise, resources, networks and guidance, to its investee companies.       

Since 2019, Praetura Ventures has backed over 45 companies, including North West headquartered businesses Culture Shift, AccessPay and Peak. The business has now grown to over £260m AUM and recently won the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II mandate for the £100m fund dedicated to equity in the North West of England.     

Learn more at Praetura Ventures

About Verge HealthTech Fund

Verge HealthTech Fund is an early-stage venture capital firm based in Singapore, exclusively focused on impactful healthcare technologies that have global applicability, especially for underserved populations. Our team is composed of former founders or operators who take a hands-on, activist mindset to working with healthtech startups. The partners have invested in over 50 healthtech startups around the world since 2013.

Learn more at Verge Fund

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