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☆ 9 psychedelics startups that are winning over top venture investors
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Yeji Jesse Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Generally, mainstream investors have avoided companies developing psychedelic compounds. Despite raising hundreds of millions of dollars in recent years to develop psychedelic compounds like psilocybin through clinical trials, startups operating in the space have struggled to gain momentum among biotech investors and other venture firms. However, a handful of companies have successfully garnered funding and interest from mainstream investors. Psychedelics companies, including Atai Life Sciences, Compass Pathways, and Mindset Pharma have all received backing from Otsuka, a Japanese pharmaceutical company. Here are the psychedelics startups that have won over mainstream investors, listed in alphabetical order:

☆ Here are the 15 hottest startups in the psychedelics industry, according to top investors
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Yeji Jesse Lee | Catherine Schuster-Bruce | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Despite a downturn, psychedelic VCs have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in recent years. Insider asked the leading VCs in psychedelics to name the hottest startups in the field. It's been a tough market for the psychedelics industry. Insider identified the top 14 venture-capital investors operating in the psychedelics industry based on how much money they had poured into the space. Here are the hottest startups in the psychedelics industry according to investors, listed in alphabetical order:

☆ Big banks to the rescue
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Goldman Sachs' decision to charge employees for coffee might not be that outrageous after all! The largest US banks — headlined by Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo — just pledged a total of $30 billion in deposits to First Republic Bank. As detailed in a release announcing the news, the 11 banks, which also included Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, believe the move "demonstrates their overall commitment to helping banks serve their customers and communities. I can't imagine the big banks looking to pull the rug out from First Republic four months from now, but this money was a deposit, not a donation. Read more about how big banks came to the rescue of First Republic with $30 billion in deposits.

☆ Meet the top 14 VCs who've bet the most cash on turning psychedelics into medical treatments
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Yeji Jesse Lee | Catherine Schuster-Bruce | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

The firms on this list have invested about $347 million in psychedelics startups. Despite a downturn in venture funding, investors focused on psychedelics startups are continuing to write checks to back companies focused on developing compounds like MDMA and psilocybin, the psychoactive compound found in magic mushrooms. We narrowed our list to 14 firms by including only funds that invested at least $5 million into psychedelics companies and had portfolios made up of at least 30% psychedelics startups. Investors focused on earlier-stage startups, with most of the funds going to Series A rounds. Here are the top investors in the psychedelics industry, listed by how much capital they've deployed:

Hundreds of experiments are in progress worldwide, examining psychedelics' potential as medicines. Insider identified 22 key trials that could make or break the psychedelics industry's future. If they succeed, these trials could pave the way for psychedelics to be used as medical treatments. Hundreds of clinical trials are underway worldwide, examining the potential of psychedelics as treatments for health conditions, including post-traumatic stress disorder, severe depression, and anorexia. The total market for psychedelics-related medicines could eventually reach $100 billion, according to a 2020 report from Tania Gonsalves at Canaccord Genuity.

☆ I used psychedelics to treat my PTSD after other treatments failed. My experience using these medicines with therapy led me to found my own company.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Yeji Jesse Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Jonathan Sabbagh started a psychedelics company after receiving treatments he said helped his PTSD. He said that psychedelics and ketamine-assisted therapy successfully treated his PTSD and other mental health issues and that his experience led him to start Journey Clinical with Myriam Barthes, his wife. He experienced psychedelics after moving to the US from Switzerland, where he grew up. What saved my life in that moment was finding a great psychiatrist who put me on a lot of medication. Working with a therapist helped me work through traumaThat's when I started to work with a therapist and do ketamine-assisted psychotherapy.

☆ You're a sucker if you trust ChatGPT
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-19 | by ( Matt Turner | Dave Smith | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

But first: Adam Rogers, a senior tech correspondent at Insider, breaks down why ChatGPT is for suckers. Well, social scientists don't really know why anyone believes anything, from kooky stuff they read on Twitter to closely held ideals. Faced with those conditions, Gen Z has adapted to a new normal: When in doubt, find a new job. It has rankled some of the academics and advocates whose work helped kick off the psychedelics renaissance in the first place. Insider spoke to more than a dozen industry participants to chart its rise and its role in the psychedelics boom.

☆ A new study reveals how psychedelics can physically reshape our brains to help fight depression
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Yeji Jesse Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A study published in Science shows how psychedelics can physically change brains. The study showed that psychedelics helped grow the "branches" of brain cells, when tested in animals. Brain cells look something like a tree, and the branches that each cell has are called dendrites. Dendrites are responsible for receiving signals from other brain cells and play an essential role in how our brain functions. Further research should study how exactly psychedelics work inside cells to foster the regrowth of brain cells and what effect these changes have on brain function, it said.

☆ How a family's struggle to help their son gave rise to controversial $400 million psychedelics giant Compass Pathways
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Yeji Jesse Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +18 min

Today, Compass Pathways, the for-profit company they launched in 2016, is a Nasdaq-listed firm worth about $400 million. Compass Pathways Show lessIt could also boost the dozens of psychedelics companies inspired by Compass that have been formed in recent years. Insider spoke with more than a dozen industry participants to chart the rise of Compass Pathways and its role in the psychedelics boom. He recalled the 2018 Quartz article that detailed the growing alarm around Compass Pathways' "magic mushroom monopoly." Were it not for his decision to take a break from college, and his parents' efforts to find a treatment, Compass Pathways might not exist.

☆ A therapist who helps moms microdose shares 4 things anyone should do before trying psychedelics
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Yeji Jesse Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Some moms are microdosing, or taking small doses of psychedelics, for their mental health. A therapist who specializes in working with moms shared some advice in The Washington Post. She added that she helped support one patient in particular who wanted to try microdosing to amplify the psychotherapy she was already undergoing. Consider the source of the psychedelic you plan to takeMany psychedelics have a long history of use in Indigenous cultures. Whippo writes that as a result, it's important to figure out who is making the psychedelic you're taking and who is benefiting from its sale.

☆ Depression treatments haven't changed much in decades. Here are the promising new drugs that could be more precise, work faster, and help more people.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Yeji Jesse Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Advances in depression treatment have been rare over the past few decades. But treatments for mental-health illnesses, like depression, haven't changed much over the past few decades. Insider put together a roundup of the most promising depression treatments today, both those that have won approval and those that are in the later stages of the research process. Unlike most depression treatments on the market, Auvelity is rapid-acting, which means it offers faster relief for patients. MDD is also known as clinical depression and is defined by persistent depressive symptoms.

☆ As Wall Street drops drug-testing policies, could microdosing be next?
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Many big banks, in particular, maintained drug-testing policies for new hires as recently as a few years ago. But as the public appetite, and market, for drugs like psychedelics continues to rise, it'll be interesting to see how Wall Street responds. Click here to get the latest on the drug-testing policies at Wall Street's biggest banks. More on Solomon's salary adjustment and how it compares with other Wall Street leaders. Turns out FTX might owe top Wall Street banks some money.

☆ Ketamine is being sold as a depression wonder drug. For some, it's making everything worse.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Anna Silman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +42 min

The infusions at the ketamine clinic in his West Texas hometown were a Christmas gift from his grandmother. About five years ago, more and more of my friends started using ketamine recreationally. IV ketamine treatment centers charging $400 to $2,000 an infusion popped up all over the country. "Ketamine used as directed in an appropriate clinical setting very rarely leads to any dependence," Mindbloom says on its website. Like Nadia, most of the people I interviewed said when they started using ketamine, they didn't think it was possible to become dependent on it.

☆ The economy, funding, and 3 other small-business challenges entrepreneurs will face in 2023, according to founders
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Jennifer Ortakales Dawkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Marketing and customer acquisitionBeatrice Dixon, a cofounder and the CEO of the Honey Pot Company. Beatrice DixonBeatrice Dixon, a cofounder and the CEO of the feminine-care brand Honey Pot Company"Continued market saturation. I think there will be dilutive market saturation, and the challenge then becomes the ability to actively communicate your 'why' through undeveloped tactics or channels." After IOS14 privacy updates, social ads do not work like they used to, so founders need to get creative in how they are acquiring new customers." Consumers can also agree that we don't need more content, ideas, or strategies.

☆ The Davos party returns, with the shakes
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Lauren Silva Laughlin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 16 (Reuters Breakingviews) - There’s a hangover happening in Davos even though the party hasn’t yet started. The World Economic Forum’s annual winter shindig in the Swiss mountain resort, which kicks off on Monday, marks a return for glitzy parties and high-minded debates following a three-year hiatus. A record number of business leaders are set to make the trip, and the passage of commercial, private and government aircraft through Zurich’s airport suggests overall attendees are at pre-Covid-19 levels. The global pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have added more friction to the already creaking globalised world that Davos epitomised. Follow @thereallsl on TwitterloadingCONTEXT NEWSThe World Economic Forum will take place in Davos, Switzerland from Jan. 16 through Jan. 20.

☆ The CEO of a psychedelics giant that just suffered a big setback lays out why investors should bet on his long-term vision
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Yeji Jesse Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

PCN-101, a ketamine-based treatment, failed to help people with treatment-resistant depression. CEO Florian Brand said he thinks investors should bet on the company's long-term vision. Florian Brand, the CEO of the psychedelics giant Atai Life Sciences, said investors should look past the company's recent failed clinical trial and bet on his long-term vision for the company. On January 6, Atai announced that a highly anticipated trial of a ketamine-based depression treatment failed to meet its goals. The company also owns a large stake in the psychedelics company Compass Pathways, which is currently in late-stage trials to develop psilocybin, the psychoactive ingredient found in magic mushrooms, for treatment-resistant depression.

☆ 23 of the best business apps for entrepreneurs that help with organization, connectivity, and mindfulness
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Alexandra York | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Digital tools such as apps have become a crucial part of running a business, founders told Insider. Many of these apps are free and help with tasks like organizing project timelines or meditation. Many of these apps are free or low-cost and help entrepreneurs with tasks like organizing project timelines, connecting with customers, and finding time for themselves. TikTok"I love TikTok for both life and business," Daphne Chen, the founder of the sexual-healthcare company TBD Health, said. CalmDiego Osorio, the founder of the tequila brand Lobos 1707, prefers the Calm meditation app for 20-minute meditations and stress management.

☆ The stock of psychedelics giant Atai is tumbling after a treatment failed to help patients in a trial
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Sarah Braner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Atai Life Sciences said that its ketamine therapy failed to help patients in a trial. Patients who received ketamine didn't fare better than those who got the placebo, Atai said in a press release. Ketamine, a surgical anesthetic, is currently being tested as a possible treatment option for patients with severe depression that has not responded to other kinds of therapy. According to Insider's tracker, there are four other mid-stage trials of ketamine underway for conditions such as treatment-resistant depression and alcohol-use disorder. In the Perception Neuroscience trial, 102 patients with treatment-resistant depression were given 60mg of PCN-101, 30mg of the therapy, or a placebo group.

☆ HBO documentary filmmaker says cable news 'ramped people up' for Jan. 6th and influencers like Alex Jones deserve jail time
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Daniel T. Allen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

He interviewed far-right figures, including Alex Jones, Enrique Tarrio, and supporters of QAnon. Andrew Callaghan interviewing Alex Jones on the set of Info Wars. You interviewed Alex Jones, Enrique Tarrio, and other fringe figures for "This Place Rules." Alex Jones makes millions of dollars selling brain pills, basically. I think the people who should be in jail for it are brainwashed content creators like Sidney Powell, Michael Flynn, Enrique Tarrio, and Alex Jones.

☆ Psychedelic therapies are on the horizon. Who will administer them?
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( Danica Jefferies | Danica Jefferies Is An Intern With The Data Graphics Team For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +11 min

Psychedelic therapy is nowhere near as simple as filling a prescription and taking a pill at home. A clinical psychologist, she founded and now leads the first accredited psychedelic therapy training program in the U.S. at the California Institute of Integral Studies. The psychedelic therapy program entails 150 hours of instruction and several in-person training sessions. So why the growing interest in using psychedelic drugs for mental health? Treatment with psychedelic drugs is not as simple as giving the patient a pill to take at home, and it’s not for everybody.

☆ Drug Companies Join Medical Psychedelic Movement—but Without the High
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-18 | by ( Daniela Hernandez | Brianna Abbott | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Psilocybin, found in mind-bending mushrooms, is one of the compounds researchers hope can be developed into drugs that are safe enough to be taken at home. Drug developers are designing new psychedelic compounds to treat depression and other mental-health conditions but skip the trip. Mind-bending psychedelics including MDMA (aka “ecstasy”), “magic mushrooms” and LSD are being studied as potential treatments for depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and addiction. Dozens of companies and academic laboratories are also making changes to the structure of those drugs, or designing similar compounds, to take advantage of their therapeutic properties without the high.

☆ Inside Sergey Brin's Busy Social Schedule: Parties, Festivals, Burning Man
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Rob Price | Hugh Langley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

In late August this year, Sergey Brin headed to Burning Man. The 49-year-old tech titan traveled to the festival in style, island-hopping across the Pacific Ocean in a modified seaplane. Brin has been spotted more than once at house parties at NeoGenesis, a coliving space for entrepreneurs in the Bay Area. As for the bigger psychedelic party, when Burning Man reopened in August after its pandemic hiatus, Brin stayed at First Camp, a VIP community frequented by festival organizers and their friends. Rob Price is a correspondent at Insider, writing features and investigations about the technology industry.

☆ A Y Combinator-backed startup just raised $39 million to develop new psychedelic treatments for depression
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Yeji Jesse Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The company is creating psychedelic drugs that work faster and may not have hallucinogenic effects. The company just raised $39 million from investors and plans to start clinical trials next year. One of the treatments in development is called GM-1020 and is similar to ketamine, a dissociative anesthetic with hallucinogenic effects that has shown promise in treating depression. GM-2505 will have psychedelic effects, though they're expected to last just an hour. By comparison, some other psychedelic drugs in development — like psilocybin and MDMA — have hallucinatory effects that are expected to last up to 8 hours in the clinic.

☆ Larry Page, Sergey Brin Post-Google Lives: Investments, Yachts, Islands
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( Hugh Langley | Rob Price | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +33 min

Even before their retirement from Google, Page and Brin relied heavily on their respective family offices to bring order to their worlds. The Bay Area headquarters of Koop, Larry Page's family office, is nondescript and gives little indication of the billionaire's empire. Insider; Marianne Ayala/Insider Show less Bayshore Global Management, Sergey Brin's family office, is based in Palo Alto and has a bit more of a public face. Insider; Marianne Ayala/Insider Show lessThe difference in styles holds true for Brin's family office, Bayshore Global Management. The CEO of Page's family office is Wayne Osborne, a former elder in the Presbyterian Church who attended Princeton Theological Seminary.

☆ Portland store is reportedly selling psychedelic mushrooms – but they're not legal in Oregon yet: 'They're breaking all sorts of laws over there'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-04 | by ( Jordan Hart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A Portland herbal shop is selling magic mushrooms to locals in spite of state laws, KPTV reports. Shroom House offers 'Penis Envy,' 'Albino Golden Teacher,' 'Knobby Tops,' and more in the selection, Willamette Week says. Although the process sounds lengthy, a reporter from Willamette Week said they were able to order fungi about five minutes after submitting the documents. Shroom House reportedly has a variety of mushrooms to choose from – including "Knobby Tops," "Penis Envy," and "Albino Golden Teacher." Nothing in Measure 109 or any other law allows the sale of psilocybin mushrooms today or in the future," Chapman said.

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