There is a renewed focus on tech-based mental health treatments for youth.

Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been a lot of attention on mental health, especially among young people. 1 in 6 to 17-year-olds experience a mental health disorder, and now a new investment company wants to use technology to make treatment easier. Telosity by Vinaj Ventures is a fund formed in 2019 to invest in companies that provide tech-based solutions to improve mental health among young people, a demographic that does everything on their phone or computer. Founder and CEO Anish Srivastava was inspired to start the fund when he saw how many mental health resources there were, specifically for children and youth. “Access is critical,” Srivastava said, “and what technology does is help democratize access to care.”

And if Telocity succeeds, children and teens may soon find their mental health counselors in cyberspace, which the company wants to use as a jumping-off point to reach young people wherever they’re most comfortable. “We can use that as a resource,” says Srivastava, “in terms of educational capabilities, self-learning mental health, being able to provide teletherapy solutions, and so on.”

And it’s not just scheduling apps and telemedicine; New developments in virtual reality are making it much easier for doctors to diagnose – and also treat – patients in an online setting. Telosity is seeing market demand in augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR), and much of it is focused on mental health assessment tools for providers. All that makes it easier for children and teens to access mental health resources because, in most cases, they don’t have to leave their homes.

It’s also good news for businesses. Telosity released a report last month showing that youth mental health solutions will be a $26,000,000,000 market by 2027, and the company is using this unprecedented opportunity for businesses to boost their bottom line and help millions of Americans who are most vulnerable. Srivasta says it could be a big selling point for investors in the mental health space. “There’s an opportunity to do well when it comes to investing and building sustainable businesses, and I think that’s the technology driver.”

You can find the full Telosity report at https://www.telosity.co/mkt-guide.