Times Bridge invests USD 53 mn in meditation app Headspace

Times Bridge, the private equity arm of media major Times Group, has invested USD 53 million (about Rs 375 crore) in California-based Headspace, an app for meditation. The funding also opens the entry of the Santa Monica-based company into the country and is part of USD 93 million series C funding.

While the USD 53 million investment from Times Bridge is equity, the remaining USD 40 million in debt, Headspace said in a statement on Thursday. As part of the investment, Times Bridge will enable Headspace to launch and scale-up in the country.

Times Bridge does investments only for equity and its current investment portfolio includes Airbnb, Uber, Smule, Coursera, Houzz, and Wattpad, among others, its chief executive Rishi Jaitly said. As a leading platform for mindfulness and meditation, Headspace has over 62 million users across 190 countries. It has partnerships with a range of global companies including Apple, Amazon, Google, Nike, Starbucks, Hyatt, Adobe, GE, the NBA, and the US women's national soccer team, among others.

Headspace will enable Indian users to integrate the practice of meditation into their daily lives through easily accessible mindfulness routines, including sleep, movement, and meditation, among other features. The courses are led by the guiding voice of co-founder Andy Puddicombe, a former Buddhist monk, who spent a decade traveling the world culminating with his ordination as a Tibetan Buddhist monk in India, the statement said.

"Our mission is to improve health and happiness across the world. Our opportunity to make a significant impact in the ancient home of meditation is unique," Headspace co-founder and chief executive Richard Pierson said on the company's entry in India.