Behind the Scenes of Our Latest Funding Round: Raising $25M for an AI Mental Health App

Published 2024-05-08 · Updated 2026-05-23 · 6 min read · AI in Healthcare · By Sahin Boydas

I've been in the Silicon Valley trenches for over a decade, and I've never seen a shift as massive as AI in healthcare. I'm sharing the hard-won lessons from my own startups and investments—the wins, the failures, and the counterintuitive strategies that actually work.

Here's something nobody tells you about behind the scenes of our latest funding round:: the conventional wisdom is mostly backwards.

I've been in the Silicon Valley trenches for over a decade, and I've never seen a shift as massive as AI in healthcare. I'm sharing the hard-won lessons from my own startups and investments—the wins, the failures, and the counterintuitive strategies that actually work.

The Counterintuitive Truth

Here's what surprised me most about behind the scenes of our latest funding round:: the best practitioners do less, not more.

When I was building MovieLaLa, we tried to do everything at once. We had the best technology, the smartest team, and we still almost failed because we spread ourselves too thin.

The lesson I took from that experience, and from watching hundreds of other companies, is that simplicity beats complexity every time. It sounds simple. It's incredibly hard to execute.

The Reality Nobody Talks About

Most people approach behind the scenes of our latest funding round: with assumptions that made sense five years ago. The world has moved on. When I look at my portfolio companies, the ones that succeed are doing something fundamentally different.

The first thing to understand is that simplicity beats complexity every time. I've seen this play out across dozens of companies. The pattern is unmistakable.

At RemoteTeam, we learned this the hard way. We spent months going down the wrong path before realizing that most founders overthink this and underspend on execution. Once we made the switch, everything changed.

The AI Angle

I can't talk about behind the scenes of our latest funding round: in 2026 without mentioning AI. As someone who's invested in Anthropic, OpenAI, Scale AI, and Hugging Face, I have a front-row seat to how AI is transforming this space.

The short version: AI makes good practitioners better and bad practitioners worse. It's an amplifier, not a replacement.

I've seen companies use AI to 10x their behind the scenes of our latest funding round: capabilities. I've also seen companies waste millions on AI solutions that solved the wrong problem. The difference comes down to understanding what you're actually trying to achieve.

This connects to broader themes around medical AI, AI radiology, AI mental health, healthcare automation, AI diagnostics that I've been thinking about a lot lately.

Final Thoughts

After two exits, 200+ investments, and more mistakes than I can count, here's what I know for sure about behind the scenes of our latest funding round:: there are no shortcuts, but there are smarter paths.

The smartest founders I work with treat behind the scenes of our latest funding round: as a competitive advantage, not a checkbox. They invest in it early, measure it obsessively, and never stop improving.

If you're just getting started with behind the scenes of our latest funding round:, don't be intimidated. Everyone starts somewhere. The key is to start with the right mindset and the right framework, and then execute like your company depends on it. Because it probably does.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do all experts agree with this view?

No, and that's fine. The best ideas in business are often contrarian. I share my perspective based on my experience and data, but I encourage you to seek out opposing viewpoints and form your own conclusions.

How can I apply this thinking to my own situation?

Start by identifying the core principle behind the opinion, not the specific example. Then ask yourself: does this principle apply to my context? If yes, test it in a small, low-risk way before going all in.

How has this view evolved over time?

My thinking on most topics has changed significantly over the years. Early in my career, I held many conventional views that experience proved wrong. I try to update my beliefs when the evidence changes.

What experience informs this perspective?

This perspective comes from over a decade of building companies in Silicon Valley, two successful exits (RemoteTeam to Gusto, MovieLaLa to Gfycat), and investing in 200+ startups including Anthropic, OpenAI, and Scale AI. I write about what I've lived.

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