• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Despite a $500 million net worth, Shaq just finished his fourth degree. He warns graduates: 'Your character will take you further than your resume'

2

Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 

3

Jeff Bezos wants the bottom half of earners to pay zero income tax—he says nurses making just $75K should save $12K a year

1

Despite a $500 million net worth, Shaq just finished his fourth degree. He warns graduates: 'Your character will take you further than your resume'

2

Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 

3

Jeff Bezos wants the bottom half of earners to pay zero income tax—he says nurses making just $75K should save $12K a year
Venture Capital

BetterUp, the coaching startup that hired Prince Harry, nearly triples its valuation

Lucinda Shen
By
Lucinda Shen
Lucinda Shen
Down Arrow Button Icon
Lucinda Shen
By
Lucinda Shen
Lucinda Shen
Down Arrow Button Icon
October 8, 2021, 7:00 AM ET

It’s been a whirlwind 2021 for BetterUp.

The mental health and employee coaching startup finally became a unicorn in late February, some eight years after its founding. Roughly a month later, it hired Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, as its chief impact officer. Then, in September, the company made its first two acquisitions, snapping up an Amsterdam-based employee performance software business, Impraise, and San Francisco–based analytics company Motive Software.

The late bloomer’s momentum is now continuing deeper into the fall. On Friday, the San Francisco–based startup with roughly 500 employees announced that it had raised another $300 million in Series E funding, valuing the business at $4.7 billion—a 2.7-times step up from the company’s last round of funding, in the spring, which valued it at about $1.7 billion. Wellington Management, Iconiq Growth, and Lightspeed Venture Partners led the round and were joined by investors including Salesforce Ventures, Mubadala Investment Co., Sapphire Ventures, Morningside Group, SV Angel, and PLUS Capital.

BetterUp’s growth spurt comes at a time when companies in general are facing serious concerns over burnout and retention as the pandemic continues. LinkedIn, Hootsuite, and Bumble all recently did what seemed like the unthinkable a few years ago: They shut down to give employees an extra week off. A broader movement for companies and managers to discuss mental health has taken off, meanwhile, as the term the “Great Resignation” has made it into the vernacular.

Using a mix of automation and vetted human coaches, BetterUp, whose customers include Snapchat maker Snap and Hilton, seeks to improve employee wellness both from within the workplace and outside it. Its starting quiz, for example, asks how often the user schedules “beneficial physical activities” in a typical week, and whether “employees at every level feel comfortable raising questions and concerns to leadership.”

What makes BetterUp special, said CEO and cofounder Alexi Robichaux, is that it seeks to tie coaching to analytics and outcomes. Employers, for example, are able to gauge over time whether employees are becoming more productive with BetterUp’s help, and see whether there are broader organizational issues that need to be fixed.

“This stuff is famously squishy,” said Robichaux. “When I was going through some of my early young professional hiccups and trials and tribulations, I started going to therapy and coaching. One of my frustrations with it was that I felt better, but it was really hard to know if I was improving and growing in pursuit of my goals.”

The company has now reached “well over” $100 million in annual recurring revenue, said Robichaux, who declined to give a precise figure.

BetterUp’s professional development coaching may include helping sales representatives become more confident in pitching customers; training employees in how to present effectively; or helping chief diversity officers improve their companies’ culture. But BetterUp has also expanded into areas like connecting employees and executives to sleep- and nutrition-specialized coaches, or to coaches who may be able to help talk workers through balancing parenting with their jobs.

While mental health has always been an issue in workplaces, the pandemic put a magnifying glass on the space, exposing how the lack of wellness and work/life balance can impact a company’s bottom line.

“There’s a recognition across the world that it’s vital to invest in people,” said Will Kohler, a partner at Lightspeed and a member of BetterUp’s board. “It has always been in focus, but as people became more remote and lacked personal [interaction] and socialization, it really emphasized the need to invest in people.”

Kohler also noted that BetterUp is acting to some extent like a workplace review. If users are broadly dissatisfied with the culture of a company, for example, they can make that clear through BetterUp, which then can surface such insights as “trending issues” for the higher-ups.

That also means that beyond coaching, BetterUp has a variety of other, bigger human resources applications. “We’re now moving from virtual coaching to a broader platform,” said Kohler.

Having made two acquisitions this year, Robichaux said he is open to making more as part of the company’s growth: “One of the unanticipated impacts we’re seeing for COVID is there’s been an acceleration of consolidation [in this space]. So we’re definitely keeping our eyes open.”

Sign up for Term Sheet, a daily newsletter on the biggest deals and dealmakers. Sign up to get it delivered free to your inbox.

About the Author
Lucinda Shen
By Lucinda Shen
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in

Elon Musk puts one hand to his chin and he looks up. He is in front of a blue "World Economic Forum" background.
InvestingSpaceX
‘SpaceX is his new baby at the expense of Tesla’: Elon Musk’s IPO could be bad news for his EV maker, investors warns
By Sasha RogelbergMay 21, 2026
9 hours ago
matthew prince
AILayoffs
Cloudflare posted record revenue, then cut 20% of its workforce. CEO Matthew Prince says AI has made an entire category of workers obsolete
By Jake AngeloMay 21, 2026
9 hours ago
Prakash Arunkundrum, HP’s first-ever chief strategy and transformation officer, bets edge AI will ‘bring the token cost down’
AIConsumer electronics
Prakash Arunkundrum, HP’s first-ever chief strategy and transformation officer, bets edge AI will ‘bring the token cost down’
By Angelica AngMay 21, 2026
9 hours ago
What is red light therapy?: Our experts break down the new wellness trend
HealthHealth
What is red light therapy?: Our experts break down the new wellness trend
By Katie MooreMay 21, 2026
10 hours ago
zohran
PoliticsWorld Cup
Mamdani’s campaign for cheap World Cup tickets delivers 1,000 for city of 8 million
By The Associated PressMay 21, 2026
11 hours ago
duggan
PoliticsElections
‘In 60 days there’s been a huge change in the attitudes of this country’: Former Detroit mayor says bipartisan approach in governor race is doomed
By Corey Williams and The Associated PressMay 21, 2026
11 hours ago

Most Popular

Despite a $500 million net worth, Shaq just finished his fourth degree. He warns graduates: 'Your character will take you further than your resume'
Success
Despite a $500 million net worth, Shaq just finished his fourth degree. He warns graduates: 'Your character will take you further than your resume'
By Preston ForeMay 20, 2026
2 days ago
Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 
Workplace Culture
Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 
By Preston ForeMay 19, 2026
2 days ago
Jeff Bezos wants the bottom half of earners to pay zero income tax—he says nurses making just $75K should save $12K a year
Success
Jeff Bezos wants the bottom half of earners to pay zero income tax—he says nurses making just $75K should save $12K a year
By Preston ForeMay 21, 2026
15 hours ago
Pay transparency is exposing a bigger problem: Most companies can't explain why they pay what they pay
Workplace Culture
Pay transparency is exposing a bigger problem: Most companies can't explain why they pay what they pay
By Sydney LakeMay 20, 2026
1 day ago
A 'proudly autistic' workplace expert says putting neurodivergent employees in a typical office is like dropping a polar bear in Austin, Texas
Conferences
A 'proudly autistic' workplace expert says putting neurodivergent employees in a typical office is like dropping a polar bear in Austin, Texas
By Tristan BoveMay 20, 2026
1 day ago
Meet a 21-year-old community college student who's going to China as the first American woman welder in the trades Olympics
Future of Work
Meet a 21-year-old community college student who's going to China as the first American woman welder in the trades Olympics
By Mike Householder and The Associated PressMay 17, 2026
5 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.