Mental health startup, Lantern is shutting down its operations – #Startup #Shutdown 3

A San Francisco based startup Lantern is folding its commercial operations on August 1 after a few acquisition deals fell through. Lantern’s app allowed users to complete a self-evaluation assessment. It then provided daily exercises, which helped people pinpoint and restructure negative thoughts.

The company posted a “Thank You and Farewell” message on its website stating:

It is with a heavy heart that we are forced to admit that Lantern as it exists today will not be able to accomplish its mission to provide affordable and accessible mental health services that empower people to live their healthiest and happiest lives. …..

Mental health literacy and preventative care in under-served populations is a very real problem today, and the problem is only growing. A group of us here at Lantern believe we can take the learnings, technology, and skills we attained over the past six years and address this problem without a need to focus on profits and exit strategies.

Image credit: techcrunch.com

According to an interview with TechCrunch, Lantern CEO Alejandro Foung said
“What I feel sad about is that we weren’t able to make that vision come to reality. What I’m left with is knowledge that the product we built has a place in society. It can best be used in the future for markets people ignore.”

As lantern winds down, Foung is focused on what comes next for the company with a handful of remaining team members. He wouldn’t get in to too much detail, but told me his team will be focused “on addressing gaps that exist for underserved populations.”