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☆ Troubled mental-health startup Cerebral is cutting 15% of staff as it fights to stay afloat
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Rebecca Torrence | Blake Dodge | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Cerebral plans to cut 15% of its staff, or 285 employees, Insider has learned. Cerebral has been struggling to stay afloat following scrutiny of its prescription practices. Mental-health startup Cerebral is laying off 15% of its workforce, or about 285 employees, as the company reels from a tumultuous year of public scrutiny and federal investigations into its prescribing practices. Impacted employees will be notified through March 1, per Mou's email to Cerebral staff. Cerebral's rocky futureIn 2021, Cerebral called itself the fastest-growing mental-health company.

☆ Inside California's tiny-home takeover
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Kelsey Neubauer | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

For the state with the most dire housing shortage, the move could be a game changer — eventually. As the US grapples with a massive housing shortage, one possible solution is playing out in California right now — and the state may have struck gold. Oregon, Maine, and Nebraska, as well as cities like Miami, have enacted laws similar to California's. There's been opposition to ADUs from homeowners worried about the density of their neighborhoods and sometimes the aesthetics of the structures. Ultimately, the housing shortage could be alleviated, she said.

☆ Here are Thursday's biggest analyst calls: Tesla, Apple, Intel, Teladoc, Nvidia, Salesforce & more
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Bank of America reiterates Target as neutral Bank of America said it sees "modest upside" at current levels. Bank of America downgrades Lucid Group to neutral from buy Bank of America said it's concerned about slowing demand for the luxury vehicle company. Bank of America reiterates Nvidia as buy Bank of America said Nvidia remains "best-in-class" after its earnings report on Wednesday. Bank of America reiterates CVS as buy Bank of America said it sees "significant free cash flow generation potential" for CVS. Goldman Sachs upgrades Nvidia to buy from neutral Goldman upgraded Nvidia after its "impressive" earnings report on Wednesday.

☆ Investor Sarat Sethi said he is buying into this 'unloved' pharma stock
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Sarah Min | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

It's time for investors to get back into British pharmaceutical company GSK , according to investor Sarat Sethi. He has been adding to the stock that was known as GlaxoSmithKline since buying it a couple months ago, Sethi told the panel on CNBC's " Halftime Report " on Monday. GSK shares have notably underperformed this year. While the S & P 500 has rallied more than 7% since the start of 2023, GSK shares are just slightly higher for the year, up 0.6%. Hightower's Stephanie Link approved of the buy, saying that GSK has a "great story."

☆ 8 tips for staying positive during SAD season, from a psychiatrist
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( Renée Onque | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Experiencing less daylight in the winter months, like February, can make you feel, well, kind of sad — and I don't just mean the feeling. As we near the end of October, we approach what is commonly referred to as SAD season, a time when seasonal affective disorder (SAD) impacts many, according to Anisha Patel-Dunn, a psychiatrist and chief medical officer of LifeStance Health, an outpatient mental health company. "Seasonal affective disorder really is a type of depression that can last on average about four to five months," says Patel-Dunn, "For most people, it's really [during] fall into the winter." Critical times when SAD is the most prevalent ranges, but it's typically at its worst during late October through late February, says Patel-Dunn. Here are some tips and tools to help you power through this SAD season.

☆ I raised 2 successful CEOs and a doctor. Here’s the parenting style that turns kids into narcissists
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( Esther Wojcicki | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

A lot of parents today think the best way to educate kids is to be in total control. This is the foundation of "helicopter parenting," a very involved parenting style in which kids have little or no control of their daily activities. Studies have indicated that kids with helicopter parents who have high expectations for academic performance, or who overreacted when they make a mistake, tend to be more self-critical, anxious and vulnerable. But my biggest problem with helicopter parenting? And if their kids fail, they fail as well.

☆ Tyler Burnett turned a toothache into a VC-backed company. Here's an exclusive look at the pitch deck he used to raise $3 million for dental startup Wally Health.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( April Joyner | Samantha Stokes | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The startup Wally Health provides dental cleanings and preventative care for $199 a year. Take a look at the pitch deck Wally used to raise a $3 million seed round led by Bling Capital. That experience inspired the creation of his startup, Wally Health, which has raised $3 million in a seed round led by Bling Capital. Years before Wally, Burnett had launched businesses in media and fintech back in his native Canada. After raising a pre-seed round, Burnett and his cofounders started building Wally's proof of concept about a year ago in an office in New York's Upper East Side.

☆ The generative AI boom is bringing San Francisco’s tech scene roaring back to life
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Diamond Naga Siu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Techies fled from San Francisco during the pandemic, and its resurgence stalled for a while. It's just south of Japantown, mere blocks from San Francisco City Hall, and north of the Mission District. Someone even said it would be "irresponsible" to not work on generative AI in San Francisco. There aren't any skeptics in the space yet, and the majority of generative AI investments land in the Bay Area. Email dsiu@insider.com or tweet @diamondnagasiu) Edited by Matt Weinberger (tweet @gamoid) in San Francisco and Hallam Bullock (tweet @hallam_bullock) in London.

☆ The world's third-richest person admits he has 'some addiction' to ChatGPT
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Aaron Mok | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The world's third-richest person, Gautam Adani, admits that he has "some addiction" to ChatGPT. But he warned that AI tools like ChatGPT "will have massive ramifications" on society. Adani compares the "potential and dangers" of AI to the unintended impacts of the chip industry. On the flip side, they have also "paved the way for precision and guided weapons used in modern warfare," Adani wrote. "And the race is already on, with China outnumbering the US in the number of most-cited scientific papers on AI."

☆ Women’s Telehealth Firm Favor Changes Name Back to Pill Club Following Lawsuit
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( Katie Deighton | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +4 min

Favor, a women-focused telehealth company that rebranded last year from the Pill Club, is reverting back to its old name after an unfavorable initial ruling in a trademark lawsuit. The telehealth company last March changed its name to Favor from the Pill Club in a bid to communicate the breadth of its services beyond contraception, Chief Executive Liz Meyerdirk said. The judge ordered the telehealth company to cease using the Favor mark until a final judgment could be reached. NeighborFavor described 11 instances in which Hey Favor’s customers had contacted the delivery company in error. Hey Favor, which rebranded from the Pill Club months before the Supreme Court overturned Roe.

☆ New weight loss drugs trending with billionaires and celebrities are about to enter more American homes
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Barbara Collins | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

GLP-1s also have been found to help with weight loss as they make individuals who use them feel fuller for a longer period of time. Using GLP-1s drug injections for weight loss has become one of the latest ways some big names in the market are shedding extra pounds. That's why his company has launched a program to offer GLP-1 drugs and corresponding medical care to individuals struggling with obesity or weight loss issues. Pairing personalized coaching with GLP-1s is the key to effective weight loss treatment, Reitano said, and helping patients maximize their results. A new real-time approach to weight managementReitano said it should not be an either/or scenario involving diabetes management of weight loss and that will change over the next decade.

However, Congress in its last session in December didn’t reach an agreement, and finance chiefs say they hope the topic will be revisited. “That’s a 20 percentage point increase in tax for Yelp, so obviously very meaningful for us,” Mr. Schwarzbach said. The higher costs due to the law change will factor into investment decisions going forward, Mr. Schwarzbach said. The tax change has an impact on the company’s net income, Mr. Schwarzbach said. The San Francisco-based company reported R&D expenses of $75.8 million for the quarter ended Sept. 30, compared with $69.4 million a year earlier.

☆ Teladoc Health cuts 300 jobs to shave costs
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Companies Teladoc Health Inc FollowJan 18 (Reuters) - Teladoc Health Inc (TDOC.N) said on Wednesday it has removed "redundant roles" and cut 300 jobs, or 6% from its non-clinician global workforce, as the company plans to prioritize its commercial businesses in a challenging demand environment. These job cuts have resulted from a combined implementation of the telehealth company's restructuring plans and previously announced cost-saving measures, some of which were implemented in the fourth quarter of 2022. The restructuring process has also resulted in a reduction of office spaces in certain markets, and Teladoc will further review its real estate footprint under the cost-management drive. Teladoc said it will record $4.4 million of the total $21.4 million of charges related to these measures taken in the fourth quarter, but does not expect them to have a material impact on its annual results. Reporting by Khushi Mandowara and Bhanvi Satija in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee and Sherry Jacob-PhillipsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ ChatGPT is a mind-blowing 'game changer' that feels like magic, says Coursera CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Aaron Mok | Cadie Thompson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Coursera CEO Jeff Maggioncalda said that ChatGPT is a mind-blowing "game changer," per Insider. Maggioncalda said that he uses ChatGPT daily and plans on adding it to the firm's course catalog. Maggioncalda plans on integrating ChatGPT into Coursera's course catalog that will likely roll out this year, according to a spokesperson at Coursera. Maggioncalda's endorsement comes as companies experiment with AI tools, including ChatGPT, to find ways to integrate AI capabilities into their products and services. Some people have used ChatGPT to generate Mozart-inspired piano music, write and illustrate a children's book in 72 hours, and even come up with responses to dating app matches.

☆ Top Wall Street analysts like these stocks amid easing inflation
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-15 | by ( Tipranks.Com Staff | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

To help the process, here are five stocks chosen by Wall Street's top pros, according to TipRanks, a platform that ranks analysts based on their track records. Hims & HersAnother stock that Feinseth has recently reiterated as a buy is the multi-specialty telehealth company, Hims & Hers (HIMS). Feinseth is confident in HIMS's strong brand equity and customer loyalty, which he expects will continue to drive business performance. BTIG analyst Ryan Zimmerman notes that the company stands to benefit from this space as larger players have mostly overlooked the opportunity. (See OrthoPediatrics Financial Statements on TipRanks) Last week, Zimmerman reiterated his buy rating and $62 price target on KIDS stock.

☆ If you still aren't sure what ChatGPT is, this is your guide to the viral chatbot that everyone is talking about
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-14 | by ( Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Open AI, the AI company behind the AI art generator DALL·E, released the viral bot Chat GPT. Other researchers seem to be taking more measured approaches with generative AI tools. He told Insider he's helping to experiment with a chat bot called "Rentervention," which is meant to support tenants. Linna said he's experimenting with Chat GPT to help "Rentervention" come up with better responses and draft more detailed letters, while gauging its limitations. "I think there's so much hype around Chat GPT, and tools like this have potential," said Linna.

☆ Online mental health company uses ChatGPT to help respond to users in experiment — raising ethical concerns around healthcare and AI technology
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-07 | by ( Bethany Biron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

A digital mental health company is drawing ire for using GPT-3 technology without informing users. Koko co-founder Robert Morris told Insider the experiment is "exempt" from informed consent law due to the nature of the test. "The participants should have given informed consent and this should have passed through an IRB [institutional review board]." A women seeks mental health support on her phone. Beatriz Vera/EyeEm/Getty ImagesChatGPT and the mental health gray areaStill, the experiment is raising questions about ethics and the gray areas surrounding the use of AI chatbots in healthcare overall, after already prompting unrest in academia.

☆ A top healthcare banker predicts some digital-health startups will be able to go public in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Rebecca Torrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

SVB Securities' Jon Swope thinks some digital-health startups will IPO in the second half of 2023. In 2021, 15 US-based digital-health companies went public via IPO, according to Rock Health. Only one digital-health company has gone public this year: Akili Interactive Labs, which went public in August in a SPAC deal. Seeing the writing on the wall, digital-health companies like Komodo Health that sought to IPO this year are now putting those plans on hold. But SVB Securities' Jon Swope said he thinks the IPO market will reopen for certain digital-health companies in the second half of 2023.

☆ A top private equity investor predicts Big Tech will acquire a health company to defend against the recession, and 3 other M&A drivers in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Blake Dodge | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

He predicted a wave of consolidation in digital health due to the economic downturn. He also said a big tech or retail company may be interested in a healthcare purchase. The market volatility has made it harder to predict healthcare startups' financial futures and valuations, critical components of M&A, he told Insider. As for what type of healthcare companies tech firms will actually acquire, Gregory said it could be those that sell health records, primary care, or Medicare Advantage plans. Missy Krasner, a top digital health investor, echoed this prediction to Insider, saying that Alphabet, Salesforce, or Amazon could move to acquire a company that has patient health records.

☆ 'The music stopped': 6 founders tell how they survived this year's bursting VC funding bubble, customers unwilling to spend, and a graveyard of fallen startup peers
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( April Joyner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

This year's economic caution marked a huge contrast to 2021's exuberance and record VC funding. Insider spoke with six founders about how they've handled the abrupt switch from market exuberance to economic caution. But at the same time, they said, they've sought to pounce on new opportunities created by the economic downturn. ElektraShifting landscapes, changing prioritiesAfter a year of record venture capital funding, the abrupt shift in investor sentiment hit hard in 2022, founders told Insider. Artificial intelligence startups are the latest beneficiary of VC hype, buoyed by breakthrough software tools such as DALL-E and ChatGPT.

☆ How Cerebral went from a hyped $4.8 billion mental-health startup to fighting for its survival
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Blake Dodge | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

It called itself the fastest-growing mental-health company. Some Cerebral clinicians told Insider they were uncomfortable treating the patients assigned to them and felt their licenses were at risk. In the past few years, highly funded startups have tried to disrupt mental-health care and struggled. Cerebral's next steps will dictate its future, and its story could influence what's ahead for online mental-health care. A former Cerebral provider told Insider the ban was frustrating because many patients who were improving on the drugs lost access to care at Cerebral.

☆ DEA Alleges Online Pharmacy Truepill Wrongfully Filled Stimulant Prescriptions
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Jennifer Calfas | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration said an investigation found Truepill Inc., an online pharmacy company, filled illegitimate prescriptions for stimulants such as Adderall to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. The DEA said prescriptions from Truepill, which at one time was a preferred pharmacy provider for telehealth company Cerebral Inc., were unlawful because they were either written by prescribers without state licenses or surpassed 90-day supply limits.

☆ Limiting volatility has driven Clarkston Founders fund to outperform in 2022
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The Clarkston Founders Institutional Fund has always tried to avoid volatility. The Founder's Fund has lost about 2.8% in 2022, notably outperforming other mid-cap value funds, which are down an average 7.2%, and a Morningstar benchmark index, which is lower by 5.6%, all through Dec. 9. As a result, the $610-million fund has a below average beta — a measurement of volatility relative to the broad market — of 0.85, according to Morningstar, versus 1.08 for all mid-cap value funds. The fund ranks in the 15th percentile of all mid-cap value funds in 2022, and is in the 23rd percentile over the past five years. Clarkston's investment policy emphasizes what it calls "quality value" stocks, regarded as high quality and considered undervalued relative to their long-term cash flows.

☆ The funding environment for female founders in Europe is set to remain equally dire in 2022, new report shows
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The investment landscape for female founders has remained equally dire in 2022, a new report has found. The funding environment for female founders in Europe is set to remain equally dire in 2022, a new report has predicted. AtomicoThere are a number of initiatives and funds targeted towards early-stage startups with women founders. Just 12% of Europe's general partner roles were filled by women in 2021, according to last year's State of European Tech report. The updated report found women founders are "almost just as likely" to begin angel investing as their men counterparts, creating a positive flywheel.

☆ Buzzy startups failed to fix mental-health care. Now their mistakes are fueling the space's next generation.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Blake Dodge | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

In the past two years, highly funded startups have tried to disrupt mental-health care. The startups said they wanted to help solve the industry's biggest problems: Mental-health care is too expensive, and there isn't enough of it to go around. Talkspace's priority is now its division that sells mental-health care to employers, which pay recurring fees for employee access. Startups tackling more serious mental-health conditions are working with health plansThere's also a rising crop of mental-health companies tackling the costliest mental-health conditions, something the direct-to-consumer firms tend to shy away from. About half of Bicycle's patients pay with their insurance, a number he's looking to increase.

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