Akili Secures $160 Million in Financing; Poised to Deliver on the Promise of Digital Therapeutics

Funding will accelerate commercialization of Akili’s flagship treatment EndeavorRx™, enable expansion of Akili’s core technology to treat acute and chronic cognitive disorders, and drive further research and development of new technologies to treat broader range of conditions

Akili Interactive (“Akili” or “Company”), maker of EndeavorRx™, the first and only prescription video game treatment, today announced $160M in combined equity and debt financing. Akili is a pioneer of a new class of medicine and treatments that are not only effective and clinically-validated but that deliver amazing experiences to patients. The Company’s flagship product made history in June 2020 when it received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance. With the completion of the oversubscribed Series D financing, Akili will continue to push the boundaries of traditional medicine to deliver on the promise of digital therapeutics for patients.

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FDA-approved video game designed by Akili (Graphic: Business Wire)

The $110M Series D equity financing was led by Neuberger Berman Funds and joined by new investors Polaris Partners; Mirae Assets; Shionogi & Co., Ltd., New Leaf Venture Partners; Dave Baszucki, Founder and CEO of Roblox Corporation; QUAD Investment Management, and Ladera Venture Partners. Existing Akili investors Temasek, Baillie Gifford, JAZZ Venture Partners, Evidity Health Capital, Omidyar Technology Ventures, Fearless Ventures, Amgen Ventures, and M Ventures (the corporate VC fund of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany) all participated in the financing round.

This funding will support a go-to market approach that brings EndeavorRx to families and healthcare professionals at scale and expand Akili’s global footprint within attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and beyond. The financing will also enable Akili to build on the success of its patented technology platform, which has shown positive results in clinical trials across a number of indications, and further advance its pipeline of prescription digital therapeutics (PDTs) targeting a range of chronic and acute cognitive disorders. By investing in these priorities, Akili is continuing to reimagine treatment options for the hundreds of millions of people living with cognitive impairments.

“Akili is a leader in the digital therapeutics industry, setting the standard for clinical validation and advancing innovative medicine that challenges the imagination,” said Gabe Cahill, Managing Director of Neuberger Berman. “We are excited to partner with Akili as the company continues to break new ground with innovative therapies that improve care, reduce healthcare costs, and provide an amazing experience for patients and their caregivers.”

The financing round brings the Company’s total equity funding to date to $230M and further positions Akili to continue leading the industry in delivering on the promise of bringing digital therapeutics to patients. In conjunction with the Series D financing, Akili also closed a credit facility for up to $50M with Silicon Valley Bank that provides for an optimal capital structure.

“Our $160M financing announced today is another significant step in delivering on Akili’s mission to reinvent medicine,” stated Santosh Shanbhag, Chief Financial Officer at Akili. “This is the latest milestone in what has been a revolutionary journey for Akili. It will enable us to bring EndeavorRx to as many appropriate patients as possible, advance our core technology, expand our global footprint, and fund research across a wide range of cognitive impairments.”

Since its inception, Akili has set new standards for the digital therapeutics industry with its unparalleled commitment to advancing pioneering technology, robust clinical validation and use of data-driven insights to create amazing experiences for patients. Akili’s Series D funding will support the Company’s long-term strategic vision to usher in a new age of cognitive treatments and forever change the experience of medicine.

“Akili set the bar high when we set out to challenge the status quo of medicine in 2011. Since then, we’ve developed a completely new treatment category that has the potential to help hundreds of millions of people living with cognitive impairments,” said Eddie Martucci, PhD, Akili’s co-founder and CEO. “This latest round of funding enables us to take another meaningful step towards delivering on this promise to patients, and fully realize the potential of digital treatments. Beyond treating disease, digital therapeutics of the future will be data-rich, adapt to the unique needs and preferences of each user, deliver amazing experiences, and even integrate into our everyday lives. We look forward to continuing to make the future of medicine a reality for patients.”

EndeavorRx™ is a registered trademark of Akili Interactive Labs, Inc.

About EndeavorRx™

EndeavorRx™ is the first-and-only FDA-cleared treatment delivered through a video game experience. Indicated to improve attention function in children with ADHD (see full indication here), EndeavorRx is built on the Akili Selective Stimulus Management Engine (SSME™) core technology, a proprietary technology designed to target key attentional control systems in the brain. Delivered through an action video game experience, SSME presents specific sensory stimuli and simultaneous motor challenges designed to target and activate the neural systems that play a key role in attention function while using adaptive algorithms to personalize treatment for each individual patient. To learn more about EndeavorRx, please visit www.EndeavorRx.com.

About Akili

Akili is combining scientific and clinical rigor with the ingenuity of the tech and entertainment industries to challenge the status quo of medicine. Akili is pioneering the development of digital treatments and care solutions to help people affected by cognitive impairments. Akili’s treatments are designed to directly activate the networks in the brain responsible for cognitive function and have been rigorously tested in extensive clinical studies, including prospective randomized, controlled trials. Driven by Akili’s belief that effective medicine can also be fun and engaging, Akili’s treatments are delivered through captivating action video game experiences. For more information, please visit www.akiliinteractive.com.

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