Digital women’s health platform Maven announced that it has acquired parent-child relationship app Bright Parenting for an undisclosed sum. As part of the deal, Bright Parenting’s app will be embedded into Maven’s upcoming pediatrics and parenting program. 

Bright Parenting is focused on helping parents form better relationships with their child. The tool specifically focuses on bonding with children 2 to 10 years of age, and offers caregivers personalized tips and activities that employ cognitive behavioral therapy approaches.

This news comes just months after Maven scored a whopping $45 million in a Series C funding round led by Icon Ventures. At the time, the startup said the new funding would be put towards expanding its offerings. 

As part of this acquisition Steve Jacobs, founder and CEO of Bright Parenting, will join Maven as the VP of product, and Lou Klepner, cofounder and chief technology officer, will come on board as a consultant and advisor. 

WHY IT MATTERS

Maven got its start working on digital health programs for women and children. It has programs aimed at helping women manage fertility, maternity, return-to-work and pediatric care. It also helps monitor women over time for risk factors. 

More recently it has been developing parenting programs. This new purchase is set to help the company boost its offerings. 

“The tight integration of personalized care, content and community is the core of our virtual clinic and what differentiates us as more than just a telemedicine platform,” Erik Lumer, chief product officer at Maven, said in a statement. “Bright’s clinically-grounded, engaging content and goal-directed practices stood out as a perfect fit with our strategy of empowering parents with both education and coaching designed around their individual family needs.”

THE LARGER TREND 

First founded in 2014, Maven has been on the move raising capital. Before its $45 million Series C, it had raised $27 million in 2018 and $10 million in Series A funding in 2017. 

Maven isn’t the only health tech company interested in the parenting space. In 2017, tech giant Philips acquired parenthood-focused app maker Health & Parenting in order to bolster its UGrow platform. Additionally, Aptiv’s child-development app scored $2 million in seed funding last year. The CDC even got into the space in 2017 when it released a free app to track a child’s development.

ON THE RECORD 

“Supporting strong parent-child relationships leads to better outcomes for children, and is a critical component of growing healthy families,” Kate Ryder, founder and CEO of Maven, said in a statement. “With the childcare and mental health challenges brought on by COVID-19, there’s never been a more important time to invest in supporting parents, particularly working parents.”