Quit Genius closes US$11m Series A funding round

Digital therapy platform Quit Genius has raised US$11m in a Series A funding round led by Octopus Ventures.

The US$11m investment will support the company’s plans to expand its therapeutic programs beyond cigarette and vaping addiction to include alcohol and substance abuse, as well as increase its presence in the US.

This new financing builds on the US$2.6m seed round that drew investment from Serena Ventures, an early stage investment firm founded by tennis star, Serena Williams, amongst others including her sister, Venus Williams.

‘Since our last funding round 18 months ago, Quit Genius has grown rapidly. Our customer base increase ten-fold, we have demonstrated industry-leading quit rates and expanded our product offering to vaping cessation,’ said Yusuf Sherwani, chief executive officer and co-founder of Quit Genius. ‘Employers are tired of the status quo and the broken incentives that exist in a traditional ‘fee-for-service’ model of healthcare. By turning this model on its head and charging for value-delivered, we are fast becoming the number one digital therapeutic program for addictions in the employer space.’

Will Gibbs, early-stage investor at Octopus Ventures, said: ‘When it comes to addiction, far too many people are still dying from deaths that are potentially avoidable.

‘That’s why the personalised digital approach taken by Quit Genius is so exciting, as it is far more effective at changing behaviours and will ultimately save lives.

‘Quit Genius joins our growing health portfolio at Octopus, now more than ten companies strong, alongside the likes of Elvie and Big Health.’

Founded in 2017 in California, Quit Genius is a digital health platform aimed at helping people overcome their addictions.

Its flagship program is an all-in-one tobacco cessation/e-cigarette program that combines digital therapy, nicotine replacement therapy and wearable technology to deliver holistic support to smokers looking to quit.

Quit Genius replaces conventional low-intensity telephonic cessation support with a personalised digital program that includes cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), coaching, a connected breath sensor and access to medication