Workplace mental health platform Foremind has raised $1.5 million in a round led by Giant Leap as it prepares for expansion into the UK and New Zealand.
The Canberra-based company is trying to modernise the employee assistance program (EAP) experience that has become so commonplace in 21st century corporate life.
Its latest funding, raised with participation from Skalata and Snow Foundation, will help Foremind expand its platform’s capabilities ahead of searching for fresh ground in new international markets.
“Supporting mental health proactively, rather than reactively, is key to fostering safer and more productive workplaces,” said Foremind CEO Joel Anderson.
“This investment will help us not only expand our platform but also continue to drive real change in how businesses think about and support the wellbeing of their teams. We want to empower employers with practical tools to address psychosocial hazards while giving workers the support they need to thrive. ”
Foremind was born out of Anderson’s poor experience using an employee assistance program (EAP).
Australian employers are obligated to identify and mitigate the risk of psychosocial hazards for their employees, much in the same way tripping hazards or toxic spills are managed.
Safe Work Australia lists job demands, lack of role clarity, bullying, and harassment as examples of common psychosocial hazards. These hazards naturally cause stress and potential psychological harm.
Foremind’s platform combines mental health support and compliance tools to simplify the psychosocial hazard management process and is now working with 150 businesses.
Adam Milgrom, partner at Giant Leap, Foremind has found “a clear gap in workplace mental health”
“Foremind have found a significant opportunity in industries, like construction, healthcare and education that have been underserved by traditional tools, where workers face high stress but have limited access to support,” he said.
“What stood out to us was Foremind’s practical, proactive approach that fits how these workplaces actually operate. It’s a simple but powerful way to improve outcomes for people who’ve too often been overlooked.”
Skalata has returned for this funding round with investment director Maxine Lee saying the firm “saw extraordinary potential in both the founder and Foremind’s mission” back when it first invested.
“Two and a half years later, that early belief has been validated many times over,” she said.
“This third investment reflects our continued confidence not just in Foremind’s impressive expansion into new SME sectors, but in Joel’s outstanding leadership as he scales the product, team, and impact across new markets.”
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