Sex tech startup Blueheart is on a mission to improve access to relationship therapy and just raised $1 million in funding

• Sex therapy startup Blueheart just raised $1 million in a seed funding round backed by PROfounders Capital and Calm/Storm Ventures. 
• The global sex tech industry is valued at around $30 billion globally – and rising around 30% every year. 
• Blueheart's in-app sessions are designed by Dr Katherine Hertlein, editor-in-chief of the Journal of Couple and Relationship Therapy.
• Founder and CEO Sachin Raoul told Business Insider Blueheart was "bridging the gap" between sex therapy's affordability and effectiveness. 
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Blueheart, the sex tech startup working to improve access to relationship therapy, has raised $1 million in a seed funding round backed by PROfounders Capital and Calm/Storm Ventures. 

Technology used to enhance sex and sexuality is in hot demand, with the industry valued at some $30 billion globally, and growing around 30% every year. 

The Blueheart app provides users with evidence-based therapy sessions to address a wide range of sexual issues often seen as taboo, designed by in-house sex therapist Dr Katherine Hertlein, the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Couple and Relationship Therapy.

Users are offered three key options: "Thought sessions", which focus on sexual fears and anxieties; "body sessions", which center on building a positive relationship with your body, both alone and with a partner, and "connection sessions", which focus on how to communicate.

"Sex plays a huge role in our lives; our intimate relationships are often our greatest source of joy. But they can also cause pain and distress," founder and CEO Sachin Raoul told Business Insider.

"Despite this, sexual dysfunction is poorly addressed by existing digital platforms, particularly when compared to the proliferation of those focused on pleasure. At the same time, sex therapy is unaffordable for most people, despite being highly effective.

"That's the gap Blueheart is bridging."

The app was launched in beta phase last year and has already attracted several thousand users. The new funding will be used to expand the available suite of therapy sessions and advance therapeutic research as well as the app's AI capabilities to ensure each user receives the best possible experience.

Lucanus Polagnoli, the co-founder of Calm/Storm Ventures, said backing Blueheart was "one of our easiest investment decisions."

He added: "The quality of the team, the long-term vision, and the overwhelmingly enthusiastic early user growth made Blueheart a 'must-do' investment for us.

"We're really looking forward to working with Sachin and Robbie to finally make sex therapy affordable, taboo-free, and accessible globally."

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source https://www.businessinsider.com/sex-tech-startup-blueheart-raises-1-million-in-seed-funding-2020-7