The Silicon Valley Startup Will Open Offices in Germany and United Kingdom After a Year of Explosive Growth and Surging Demand for Coaching Services
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – Monday, July 26, 2021 – BetterUp, the inventor of virtual coaching and the first to democratize professional coaching across the entire enterprise, announced today that it is putting down roots in Europe with two new offices in Munich and London.
Global demand has skyrocketed over the last year for scalable services that support employee well-being and development, and further strengthen mental fitness for individuals. This demand has recently been substantiated by peer-reviewed research, which illuminates the power of AI-enabled coaching, and its ability to improve psychological well-being while mitigating threats to mental health. While BetterUp’s offering is already available in 46 languages and more than 90 countries, this official entrance into Europe will further solidify the company’s stature as the most comprehensive and personalized enterprise employee experience in the world. BetterUp is appointing several behavioral scientists, engineers, account executives, marketers, and operations professionals in the region to accelerate product innovation tailored to the European market. The company’s total European headcount is expected to reach 150 in the next year, including representation in France, Benelux, and Sweden.
“This is the beginning of the next chapter of growth for BetterUp, and we are not slowing down,” said Alexi Robichaux, CEO and co-founder of BetterUp. “Though we have done business in Europe since 2016, we are committing to a new level of investment in our customers, coaches, and communities by establishing offices in Munich and London. Not only will we be able to better support our enterprise partners and their teams, we’ll be helping individual members unlock their full potential and achieve peak performance.”
This commitment to global expansion comes off the heels of surpassing $100 million in annual recurring revenue. BetterUp more than doubled its revenue this year, recorded a net revenue retention rate of over 170 percent, grew its entire customer base by over 80 percent, and more than doubled coaching sessions year-over-year. The continued momentum follows other major milestones and announcements from this year, including a $125 million Series D raise, $1.73 billion valuation, and key leadership team additions such as Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex, as the company’s Chief Impact Officer.
In the last year alone BetterUp’s international membership increased by 151 percent, further demonstrating the global demand for strengthening mental fitness across the workforce. Today the international business represents 25 percent of BetterUp’s members, who access the platform through global enterprise partners including Allianz, Hilton, Snap Inc. and Mars. BetterUp currently works with more than 370 organizations, of which more than 40 have European headquarters. New partners in the region include bp, which will be onboarding employees this month to support the mental fitness and well-being of the company’s teams.
BetterUp’s expanded footprint will accelerate development and curation of customized content the business builds for each unique market, stemming from insights collected from coaching experiences and more than eight years of work in the space. The BetterUp experience, which currently consists of one-to-one coaching, counseling, mentorship, group sessions, and interactive content – was built by a team of the world’s leading PhDs and scientists and science advisors including Adam Grant, Martin Seligman, Shawn Achor, Josh Bersin, Robin Ely, and Quinetta Roberson. The all-in-one platform provides access to specialists in the fields of leadership, diversity, inclusion and belonging, sleep, nutrition, parenting, and more – to optimize and accelerate personal growth and professional development in support of a person's whole health, at work and in life.
About BetterUp
Founded in 2013, BetterUp is the inventor and global leader in virtual professional coaching, counseling, and mentorship. BetterUp combines world-class coaching with AI technology and behavioral science to deliver personalized behavior change at scale, improving the well-being, adaptability, and effectiveness of the workforce. With the world’s largest network of over 2,500 coaches, BetterUp offers coaching in 46 languages across over 90 countries, along with interactive professional development content, analytics and real-time insights to track employee progress. Used by more than 370 companies, including leading Fortune 1,000 companies, BetterUp drives transformational and lasting behavior change, resulting in improved business outcomes across organizations and inspires professionals everywhere to pursue their lives with greater clarity, purpose, and passion. Investors include ICONIQ Growth, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Threshold Ventures, Plus Capital, Salesforce Ventures, Sapphire Ventures, Mubadala Capital, Freestyle Capital, Crosslink Capital, Tenaya Capital, NBA All-Star Pau Gasol, and Olympic gold-medalist Shaun White. To learn more, visit www.betterup.com.
