The Tennessee-based startup, founded by Kenzie Butera Davis, originally planned to get Maro into schools to start helping children with mental health issues. However, those plans were halted as the start of the 2020 pandemic forced schools to adapt online. Maro then decided to bring its platform to families through the Maro for Parents app. Among other things, the app includes digital modules and an artificial intelligence-powered robot to help parents discuss difficult topics with their children.
While Moro for Schools will officially launch next week, the company says 350 schools have signed up to screen 100,000 students for anxiety and depression in 40 states. The plan will be available through an annual subscription fee, but the company did not disclose the price.
With the upcoming launch of Moro for Schools, the platform aims to provide teachers with accessible lesson plans around mental health. Maro for School also gives teachers access to sexeducate, substance abuse, etc. The platform also allows for simplified communication between teachers and counselors, as teachers may be the first to find out if a child could benefit from help. If the counselor thinks a child needs extra care then Maro will connect them with a referral partner who is doing virtual care.
Maro for School doesn’t do virtual care; instead, it aims to identify at-risk children early and then connect them with virtual care teams.
“We created a platform to screen children and then refer them to clinical teams that will facilitate and provide care for children,” Tariq Chaudry, Maro’s chief medical officer, told TechCrunch. “We basically acted as a pediatric developmental and psychological Healthy market. We don’t want to be directly involved in therapy because we don’t want to dilute our company.”
Right now, Maro is raising $1.5 million in seed funding, and it plans to use the investment to expand its current 11-person team and further build out its product. Maro expects to close the round in the next quarter.