Cartwheel

What Cartwheel does

Cartwheel is a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based telehealth company that delivers evidence-based mental health care to K-12 students via partnerships with public school districts. Founded in 2022 and operating as Cartwheel Care Inc., the company serves 350 school districts across 15 states and self-describes as America's largest K-12 mental health telehealth provider. By early 2026, Cartwheel reported nearly 300% year-over-year growth in school partnerships.

The company's core offering is a video-based telehealth platform that connects students referred by school counselors with licensed therapists, child psychiatrists, and care coordinators. Care is delivered using evidence-based modalities including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Motivational Interviewing. Cartwheel integrates with schools' Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) to identify and treat students early, with over 40% of its clinical team being bilingual and bicultural. The company advertises a 24-hour turnaround between school referral and first Care Coordinator conversation and a 7-day average to first clinician appointment, with reported outcomes of 62% reduction in student absences, 58% anxiety remission, and 92% of students reporting improvement. Clinical services are delivered through affiliated professional corporations including Cartwheel Health Services P.C. and Cartwheel Health Services New Jersey P.C.

Cartwheel monetizes through a hybrid revenue model: (1) insurance reimbursement as an in-network provider with private insurers; (2) Medicaid coverage and zero-out-of-pocket subsidized care for uninsured families; (3) direct contracts with school districts and government health departments; and (4) grants from insurers and public health entities, including a $586,000 contract from Maricopa County Department of Public Health funded by Juul Labs settlement money and a $200,000 grant from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois. The company has raised approximately $55 million across a $20 million Series A (September 2023, led by Menlo Ventures) and a $35 million Series B (February 2026, led by A-Street Ventures with continued participation from Menlo Ventures). Named school district customers include Boston Public Schools, Brookline Public Schools, Chelsea Public Schools, Bristol-Warren Regional School District, Albany City School District, Schenectady City School District, Peoria Public Schools, Downingtown Area School District, and over 20 others visible on the company website. Leadership includes CEO and co-founder Joe English, COO and co-founder Daniel Tartakovsky, and Chief Medical Officer Juliana Chen. In January 2026, Cartwheel signed a letter of intent to license ClearSight Therapeutics' over-the-counter pink eye treatment for a planned 2027 launch, signaling portfolio expansion beyond core mental health services.

Name

Cartwheel

Legal name

Cartwheel Care Inc.

Website

https://cartwheelcare.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Cartwheel is a Cambridge-based telehealth provider delivering evidence-based mental health care to K-12 students through partnerships with school districts, serving 350 districts across 15 states as America's largest K-12 mental health telehealth provider.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

K-12 Mental Health Services

NAICS

Special Needs Transportation (485991), Other Individual and Family Services (624190), Other Support Activities for Transportation (4889)

akta.pro primary industry

Alternative Student Mobility (Vans, Microtransit, Carpool Programs) (EDAEADAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

PT Program Management & School District Contract Staffing (EDAKAGAM)

Keywords

• K-12 mental health
• School telehealth services
• Youth therapy programs
• School-based psychiatry
• Student counseling services

Headquarters

HQ city

Cambridge

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Insurance Reimbursement (In-Network): Cartwheel operates as an in-network provider with private insurance, billing insurers for telehealth mental health services delivered to students. Families with private insurance access Cartwheel as an in-network benefit with no out-of-pocket costs beyond standard co-pays.
2. Medicaid/Government Insurance: Uninsured families and families with Medicaid have zero out-of-pocket costs. The company covers these populations, likely through Medicaid reimbursement or subsidized care arrangements with school districts.
3. Government Grants and Contracts: Cartwheel receives grants from government health departments, including $586,000 from Maricopa County Department of Public Health (Juul Labs settlement funding) and $200,000 from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois for school-based mental health services.
4. School District Partnerships: Services funded through partnerships with school districts, who contract with Cartwheel to provide mental health care as part of their support systems for students.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Cartwheel is a telehealth mental health provider delivering evidence-based therapy, psychiatric care, and care coordination to K-12 students through partnerships with school districts. Services include individual therapy, group therapy, medication management, parent coaching, crisis intervention, and a dedicated School Avoidance Program, delivered virtually with a 24-hour intake turnaround and an average 7-day first appointment. The company integrates with school Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) to coordinate care between school counselors, families, and licensed clinicians.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Clinical Services

Quantifiable outcome

• 62% reduction in student absences
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Maricopa County Department of Public HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2026County health department contracted with Cartwheel to launch a countywide school-based initiative targeting 50,000 students in its first year. Program provides evidence-based therapy, family support, parent coaching, and psychiatric services through K-12 schools in medically underserved areas. MCDPH awarded approximately $586,000 in Juul Labs settlement funding under initial contract running through 2026-2027 school year.
• ClearSight TherapeuticsminorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 27 January 2026Cartwheel signed letter of intent to license ClearSight Therapeutics' over-the-counter pink eye treatment derived from crab shells, planned for market launch by 2027. This represents a portfolio expansion into accessible health products beyond core mental health services.
• Boston Public SchoolscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 December 2025Partnership with Cartwheel, The Brookline Center for Community Mental Health, and other organizations to provide multilingual, immediate mental health services across 82 schools. Initiative addresses mental health needs affecting student attendance, behavior, and academic performance.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Hazel Health: Hazel Health is a direct competitor providing K-12 telehealth mental health services to school districts nationwide, with the same school-embedded distribution model and focus on eliminating student waitlists.
• Daybreak Health: Daybreak Health delivers online mental health therapy specifically for teens and adolescents, including school district partnerships, making it a direct K-12 telehealth peer.
• Mantra Health: Mantra Health is a K-12 and college mental health telehealth provider offering therapy and psychiatry to school and university partners, directly comparable to Cartwheel's school-embedded model.

Broad incumbents

• Lyra Health: Lyra Health is a large employer-focused mental health benefits platform that has expanded into K-12 partnerships, offering therapy and coaching at broader scale than Cartwheel but with a less school-embedded delivery model.
• Spring Health: Spring Health provides employer- and health-plan-sponsored mental health benefits with employer and educational partnerships, overlapping with Cartwheel's evidence-based therapy positioning at a larger scale.
• Talkspace: Talkspace is a public online therapy platform with broad consumer and B2B reach that has expanded into adolescent and school-channel offerings, making it a broader incumbent competitor.
• BetterHelp: BetterHelp is the largest consumer online therapy platform, providing a broad incumbent benchmark for telehealth therapy delivery though it serves a general (not school-embedded) population.
• Headspace Health (Ginger): Headspace Health combines the Headspace meditation app with Ginger's on-demand coaching and therapy, serving employer and health plan populations and increasingly exploring youth and educational channels.

Emerging players

• Brightside Health: Brightside Health is a telehealth mental health provider focused on anxiety and depression with measurable outcomes, sharing Cartwheel's emphasis on clinical results but serving adults more than K-12.
• Joon Care: Joon Care is an emerging telehealth platform focused on pediatric and adolescent mental health with school district partnerships, making it an early-stage direct comparable in the K-12 niche.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cartwheelcare
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cartwheelcare

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors13 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cartwheel