Pediatric Behavioral Health Platform Butterfly Learnings Raises $1.5mn
Butterfly Learnings, a full stack omnichannel phygital (physical + digital) pediatric development and behavior health platform has raised $1.5 million in its seed funding round from Insitor Partners, 9Unicorns, Venture Catalysts, Fondation Botnar and UTIL Stiftung (both foundations represented by Sagana Capital), and CIIE.CO. The company will use the funds to build and scale the digital product and expand its physical footprint across India. Butterfly Learnings currently has four physical centers across Mumbai and Thane.
One in six children in India between the ages of two and nine years are affected by at least one type of neurodevelopmental disorder (NDD), suggesting the presence of significant yet often overlooked public health issue. Founded in 2021 by Dr. Sonam Kothari and Dr. Abhishek Sen, Butterfly Learnings is solving challenges across the full spectrum of developmental issues and behavioral health in children through evidence-based practices. The techniques the platform uses are Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA), Speech Therapy and Occupational Therapy via an integrated in-person and digital platform.
Dr. Kothari is a pediatric neurologist and board-certified behavioral analyst while Dr. Sen is a serial entrepreneur whose last venture, MedTech company Biosense Technologies, was acquired by Perkin Elmer-owned Tulip Diagnostics in 2019.
Dr. Sonam Kothari, Co-founder and CEO, Butterfly Learnings, said, “There is a huge unmet need in India for behavioural health for children within the age of two to eight years. We at Butterfly Learnings are using an evidence-based approach to deliver better outcomes to children and their families.”
Megha Jain, Insitor Partners, an impact investment investment firm, said,“Paediatric behavioural healthcare in India is far less accessible than adult healthcare with an estimated 3 million children suffering from an autistic spectrum disorder in the country. The vast majority of these children are never diagnosed and consequently never treated. Butterfly Learnings was founded to address this huge unmet need and formalize the access to comprehensive quality care in a sector that remains fragmented and underpenetrated. We support the company in its mission to improve the quality of life of these children through early detection and provision of therapy that delivers measurable outcomes.”
“Paediatric behavioural healthcare is on the rise not only in India but globally. As per global reports, 1 in 7 kids in the age below 15 feel depressed. Besides, post Covid, there has been a spike in such incidents but there aren’t many pediatric therapists in the country that still believe mental health is taboo. We are extremely happy to find Butterfly Learnings that is using technology in not only diagnosing such problems amongst kids but also using data science to treat these kids that are the future of any economy. It is important for any economy to rise, it needs resources with great mental health,” added Dr Apoorva Ranjan Sharma, Co-founder, Venture Catalysts and 9Unicorns.
“Applied Behavioral Analysis use and demand has picked up worldwide. With increased reported cases across the globe, India is looking at about 250 autism cases in children per month. Other related conditions about various grades of issues of mental wellbeing in children are not being diagnosed let alone reported. Butterfly Learnings has created a solution around this problem and the direct as well as second order impact is huge. We are pleased to support Dr Sonam and her team spearheading a need-of-the-hour solution,” commented Chintan Antani, of CIIE.CO, IIM – Ahmedabad.
Antoine Veyrassat, Head of Venture Philanthropy at Fondation Botnar, said, “The need for impactful solutions in the behavioural health space is unquestioned. We believe Butterfly Learnings has incredible potential to provide transformative support to young people in India and possibly beyond. At Fondation Botnar, we aim to support disruptive and innovative start-up companies in low- and middle-income countries whose products and services improve the wellbeing of young people. We are extremely excited to join Butterfly Learnings on its journey.”
The company is looking to scale its services across the country and deliver improved clinical outcomes to more than 2000 children and families in 2022.
One in six children in India between the ages of two and nine years are affected by at least one type of neurodevelopmental disorder (NDD), suggesting the presence of significant yet often overlooked public health issue. Founded in 2021 by Dr. Sonam Kothari and Dr. Abhishek Sen, Butterfly Learnings is solving challenges across the full spectrum of developmental issues and behavioral health in children through evidence-based practices. The techniques the platform uses are Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA), Speech Therapy and Occupational Therapy via an integrated in-person and digital platform.
Dr. Kothari is a pediatric neurologist and board-certified behavioral analyst while Dr. Sen is a serial entrepreneur whose last venture, MedTech company Biosense Technologies, was acquired by Perkin Elmer-owned Tulip Diagnostics in 2019.
Dr. Sonam Kothari, Co-founder and CEO, Butterfly Learnings, said, “There is a huge unmet need in India for behavioural health for children within the age of two to eight years. We at Butterfly Learnings are using an evidence-based approach to deliver better outcomes to children and their families.”
Megha Jain, Insitor Partners, an impact investment investment firm, said,“Paediatric behavioural healthcare in India is far less accessible than adult healthcare with an estimated 3 million children suffering from an autistic spectrum disorder in the country. The vast majority of these children are never diagnosed and consequently never treated. Butterfly Learnings was founded to address this huge unmet need and formalize the access to comprehensive quality care in a sector that remains fragmented and underpenetrated. We support the company in its mission to improve the quality of life of these children through early detection and provision of therapy that delivers measurable outcomes.”
“Paediatric behavioural healthcare is on the rise not only in India but globally. As per global reports, 1 in 7 kids in the age below 15 feel depressed. Besides, post Covid, there has been a spike in such incidents but there aren’t many pediatric therapists in the country that still believe mental health is taboo. We are extremely happy to find Butterfly Learnings that is using technology in not only diagnosing such problems amongst kids but also using data science to treat these kids that are the future of any economy. It is important for any economy to rise, it needs resources with great mental health,” added Dr Apoorva Ranjan Sharma, Co-founder, Venture Catalysts and 9Unicorns.
“Applied Behavioral Analysis use and demand has picked up worldwide. With increased reported cases across the globe, India is looking at about 250 autism cases in children per month. Other related conditions about various grades of issues of mental wellbeing in children are not being diagnosed let alone reported. Butterfly Learnings has created a solution around this problem and the direct as well as second order impact is huge. We are pleased to support Dr Sonam and her team spearheading a need-of-the-hour solution,” commented Chintan Antani, of CIIE.CO, IIM – Ahmedabad.
Antoine Veyrassat, Head of Venture Philanthropy at Fondation Botnar, said, “The need for impactful solutions in the behavioural health space is unquestioned. We believe Butterfly Learnings has incredible potential to provide transformative support to young people in India and possibly beyond. At Fondation Botnar, we aim to support disruptive and innovative start-up companies in low- and middle-income countries whose products and services improve the wellbeing of young people. We are extremely excited to join Butterfly Learnings on its journey.”
The company is looking to scale its services across the country and deliver improved clinical outcomes to more than 2000 children and families in 2022.
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