Kara Connect

What Kara Connect does

Kara Connect ehf. is an Icelandic health technology company founded in 2014 (some sources cite 2015), headquartered in Reykjavík with a regional operations hub in Dublin, Ireland. The company operates a cloud-based digital wellbeing platform positioned as an alternative to traditional Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs), directly connecting employees of corporate clients to a curated network of over 3,000 vetted practitioners across 60+ specialties and 30+ languages. The core product, the Wellbeing Hub, is a customisable employer-branded portal where employees use company-purchased session credits to book secure video consultations with practitioners of their choice, bypassing the triage and gatekeeping that typically limit traditional EAP utilisation. The platform uses an open-source video protocol with AES encryption, hosted on AWS in Germany, and is ISO 27001 certified and GDPR compliant. Specialised sub-hubs target Women's Health, Neurodiversity, Leadership, Redundancy, and Crisis Management scenarios.

The company generates revenue through three primary streams: (1) per-employee subscription fees from employer Wellbeing Hubs, billed monthly or annually with a three-month cancellation notice; (2) monthly subscriptions from individual practitioners, with Kara Pro priced at €39/month and higher tiers (Kara Team, Kara Enterprise) for practices and institutions; (3) transaction fees on practitioner payments processed via Stripe through the integrated KaraPay system. The go-to-market combines direct enterprise sales targeting HR and wellbeing leaders at mid-to-large companies (with dedicated Customer Success Managers and a structured 4-week onboarding) and a product-led self-serve motion for small businesses and solo practitioners via pro.karaconnect.com with a 30-day free trial.

Kara Connect has raised approximately $9.7 million in disclosed funding across multiple rounds since 2015, with the largest being a $6.3 million round in May 2022 led by Iceland's Idunn Venture Fund, earmarked for expansion into additional European markets beyond the company's Iceland and Ireland base. The company reports 200,000+ users across its two operating geographies and has built named enterprise relationships across financial services, recruitment, renewable energy, utilities, healthcare, hospitality, and technology consulting, including Linked Finance, FuturEnergy Ireland, Reykjavik Energy, Akureyri Hospital, Fallon & Byrne, and Zartis.

Name

Kara Connect

Legal name

Kara Connect ehf.

Website

https://karaconnect.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Kara Connect ehf. is an Icelandic health tech company that provides employers with a secure digital wellbeing platform as an EAP alternative, connecting employees directly to a network of 3,000+ vetted practitioners across 60+ specialties and 30+ languages, with WHO-5 outcome tracking and ISO 27001/GDPR compliance.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Employee Wellbeing Software

NAICS

Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (518)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Behavioral Health & Psychiatry Virtual Care (Payer Network) (HLALACAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Membership/Subscription Concierge Virtual Care (HLALAAAH)

Keywords

• Employee wellbeing platform
• EAP alternative services
• Corporate wellness software
• Therapist booking platform
• Practitioner network marketplace

Headquarters

HQ city

Reykjavík

HQ country

Iceland

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Employer Wellbeing Hub Subscription: Companies subscribe to a custom Wellbeing Hub and purchase a per-employee credit package (1 credit = 1 session). Employers receive anonymised usage reports and aggregated wellbeing data. Subscription invoiced monthly or annually with a 3-month notice period.
2. Practitioner Platform Subscription (Kara Pro / Kara Team): Individual practitioners pay a monthly subscription (€39/month for Kara Pro) to access the platform for scheduling, video sessions, secure notes, and payment processing. Kara Team adds team management, analytics, and client queue features at a higher tier.
3. Transaction Fee on Practitioner Payments: Kara Connect adds a small transaction fee on top of the practitioner-set session price when paid by credit/debit card, processed via Stripe. Professionals invoice Kara Connect monthly for employer-sponsored sessions under Wellbeing Hub credits.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Kara Connect provides a cloud-based digital wellbeing platform (Wellbeing Hub) that enables employers to give their employees direct, self-served access to a network of more than 3,000 vetted practitioners across 60+ mental health, wellbeing and specialist areas and 30+ languages, bypassing traditional EAP triage and gatekeeping. The platform also serves practitioners directly through paid subscriptions (Kara Pro, Kara Team and Kara Enterprise) that include client matching, scheduling, secure video sessions and integrated payments via KaraPay, while the employee experience remains free at the point of use through employer-sponsored credits.

Product overview

Kara Connect is a digital health and wellbeing platform offering a unified ecosystem of products for both employers and practitioners. The core platform enables secure video sessions between professionals and clients/employees. For employers, the Wellbeing Hub serves as the primary product—a customisable platform connecting employees with over 3,000 professionals across 60+ specialties in areas including mental health, career coaching, financial wellbeing, and physical therapy. The platform includes specialized hubs (Women's Health, Neurodiversity, Crisis Management, Redundancy, Leadership) that can be tailored to specific workforce needs. For practitioners, Kara offers subscription tiers: Kara Pro (€39/month for individual practitioners), Kara Team (for practices with additional management features), and Kara Enterprise (for larger institutions). The ecosystem also includes KaraPay for integrated payment processing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Wellbeing Hub: A customized platform where companies offer their employees 1:1 mental health and wellbeing sessions with access to over 3,000 experts across 60+ fields
• Wellbeing Hubs
• Women's Health Hub
• Neurodiversity Hub
• Leadership Hub
• Redundancy Hub
• Crisis Management Hub

Products and services

• Wellbeing Hub Cloud-based corporate wellbeing subscription product sold to employers, providing their employees with direct access to 3,000+ vetted practitioners across 60+ specialties and 30+ languages via credits, with special hubs for Neurodiversity, Women's Health, Leadership, Redundancy and Crisis Management.
• Kara Pro Subscription product priced at €39 per month for individual practitioners (therapists, psychologists, coaches and other wellbeing professionals), providing access to clients, scheduling, secure video sessions, WHO-5 tracking and KaraPay payouts, subject to a 2.6% + €0.30 transaction fee on card payments.
• Kara Team

Quantifiable outcome

• 32% utilisation rate vs <3% for typical EAPs (~10× benchmark)
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

AI capability3 records

Feature7 records

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Modern Health: U.S.-headquartered global mental-health benefits platform offering employer-sponsored access to therapists, coaches and digital tools. Direct competitor to Kara Connect's Wellbeing Hub in the employee mental-health benefits category, with overlapping value proposition (direct access, network of providers, employer billing).
• Lyra Health: Enterprise mental-health benefits platform providing employees with therapy, coaching and medication management via a vetted provider network. Comparable to Kara Connect on the B2B2E model, network-based care delivery, and employer subscription pricing.
• Spring Health: Global employer-focused mental-health benefits company combining a provider network, digital self-service tools and measurement-based care. Closely comparable to Kara Connect's direct-access, outcomes-tracked (WHO-5-equivalent) EAP alternative for HR buyers.

Broad incumbents

• Headspace Health: Large consumer and employer mental-health platform combining a meditation/coaching app with on-demand therapy (via the Ginger acquisition). Comparable to Kara Connect on employer-sponsored mental-health delivery, though Headspace is broader and not solely marketplace-led.
• Calm Business: Wellness app with a dedicated employer channel offering subscriptions to meditation, sleep and mental-health content for workforces. Adjacent to Kara Connect on employer mental-health benefits, though delivery is app-based rather than human-practitioner network-led.
• TELUS Health (formerly LifeWorks): Global EAP and mental-health benefits provider offering counselling, digital tools and wellbeing programs to employers. Comparable to Kara Connect as a traditional EAP incumbent being displaced by direct-access, network-led alternatives in the European mid-market.
• HealthHero: Pan-European digital health platform combining telehealth, mental-health and primary-care services for insurers and employers. Comparable to Kara Connect on European employer- and payer-sponsored virtual care, though broader in scope and infrastructure-led rather than practitioner-marketplace-led.

Emerging players

• Spill: UK-based workplace mental-health platform offering employer-funded therapy, Slack-delivered support, and group sessions. Comparable to Kara Connect as a European-focused, employer-sponsored EAP alternative with a curated practitioner network and HR-friendly pricing.
• Oliva: European platform that matches employees with vetted therapists and offers employer-sponsored sessions plus business tools for practitioners. Directly comparable to Kara Connect on the practitioner marketplace model, subscription tiers for clinicians, and European employer-buyer focus.
• Wysa: AI-chatbot-led mental-health platform with employer, health-plan and provider offerings, including escalation to human therapists. Comparable to Kara Connect in the employer-sponsored mental-health category, though differentiated by an AI-first approach rather than a 100% human-practitioner model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@karaconnect3849
• Facebookfacebook.com/karaconnects
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kara-connect

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds4 records

Investors6 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 Kara Connect