Digital obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) identification and management platform NOCD has received $4 million in Series A funding. The round was headed by Chicago Ventures, with Glen Tullman’s 7Wire Ventures, Meridian Street Capital and Hyde Park Angels also participating.

WHAT THEY DO

NOCD’s app acts as a resource for individuals who have, or suspect they have, the condition. It features a range of self-help tools such as evidence-based exposure and response (ERP) exercises, user forums for sharing and discussing symptoms and immediate guidance on tolerating discomfort for unexpected compulsion episodes and other OCD education. Additionally, users chat chat with OCD-trained mental health professionals within the app itself, or find specialists in their area.

Although the app is available to consumers, the startup is also looking to partner with payers, providers and higher education organizations to better identify those with the condition and connect them to the appropriate specialists in their area.

The startup was founded in 2014, and raised $1 million in seed funding from 7Wire Ventures back in early 2018.

WHAT IT’S FOR

The startup said it will be using these new funds to expand its NOCD Provider Network across the US.

MARKET SNAPSHOT

NOCD appears to be the leading digital health startup that’s made OCD is primary focus, and roughly a year ago cut a deal with Actify Neurotherapies to educate its users on ketamine treatment for depression, which is often a comorbidity of OCD.

Still, others such as Ieso Digital Health have included treatments for OCD alongside their digital behavioral health offerings, while researchers at the Department of Veterans Affairs have discussed using video telemedicine apps as a vehicle for ERP therapy.

ON THE RECORD

"Those suffering from OCD face a healthcare system that wasn't built to serve them," Peter Christman, principal of Chicago Ventures and a NOCD board member, said in a statement. "Stigma, misinformation and neglect are the norm. NOCD is replacing this broken system of engagement with an end-to-end clinical services platform that puts patients first. The outcome is a dramatic shift in the way we identify and manage OCD.”