As it turns out, Jesse from “Dude Where’s My Car?” is surprisingly good at business.
A meditation app backed by actor and husband-to-Mila Kunis Ashton Kutcher has been valued at $1 billion – making it Silicon Valley’s newest unicorn – in a funding round led by TPG Growth partners.
The app “Calm” has raised $88 million during the round, which included both existing investors like Insight Venture Partners and Kutcher’s Sound Ventures, as well as Hollywood’s famed Creative Artists Agency. The brings the company’s total raised to $116 million, according to Bloomberg.
The funding makes San Francisco-based Calm a major player in the wellness industry, which has drawn attention in recent years from investors as well as stressed-out users. Companies like mindfulness app Headspace Inc. and meditation wearable maker Muse have also raised money from VCs, though at lower valuations.
Calm aims to help people tackle mental health issues such as anxiety and insomnia through mediation sessions, stretching tutorials and music. There are even bedtime stories on the app, including some read by celebrities like Matthew McConaughey.
“Our vision is to build one of the most valuable and meaningful brands of the 21st century,” co-founder and Co-Chief Executive Officer Michael Acton Smith said in a statement. His co-founder and co-CEO, Alex Tew, added that the company would prioritize spending on international growth and creating new content.
Calm, which has 50 employees, said it’s profitable. The app has been downloaded more than 40 million times and has more than 1 million paying subscribers, who pay $60 a year (or $12.99 a month) for a premium version.
The vaunted unicorn valuation is a major coup for Kutcher & Co. And we can think of at least one person who will be curious to learn what Kutcher has planned next.
via ZeroHedge News http://bit.ly/2DX13vM Tyler Durden