DeepWell DTx

What DeepWell DTx does

DeepWell DTx is a Seattle-based digital therapeutics company, founded in 2019 and publicly launched in March 2022, that develops video games and immersive media intended to deliver mental health treatments at scale. The company operates under the NeuFluent venture studio and is led by co-founders Mike Wilson (former co-founder of Devolver Digital, with 100+ games and 80M+ unit sales across his career) and Ryan Douglas (former founder/CEO of medical device company Nextern, holder of 26+ patents across robotics, AI, and medical applications).

DeepWell's technology stack centers on the Immersive Medicine platform, which deploys biostimulation to activate the user's vagus nerve and deliver stress-reduction and resilience-building effects through gameplay mechanics. Its two commercial products are Zengence, a VR mental wellness action shooter available on the Meta Quest 2 and 3 app stores that uses vocal meditation and breathwork as core game inputs, and the ABS (Adaptive Biofeedback System) SDK, which received FDA 510(k) clearance in September 2024 for over-the-counter stress reduction and adjunctive blood pressure treatment. The ABS SDK is also positioned for licensing to third-party media and gaming companies to embed FDA-cleared biofeedback capabilities into their own products, and becomes eligible for CMS Digital Mental Health Treatment reimbursement beginning in 2025.

The business model combines direct-to-consumer over-the-counter game sales (one-time license, no prescription required), B2B SDK licensing to media companies, publishing revenue share with independent developers sourcing titles through the Mental Health Game Jam partnership with Global Game Jam, and a forthcoming reimbursable digital therapeutics channel via physicians. Customer segments span individual consumers with stress, anxiety, and depression concerns, healthcare providers who can prescribe DeepWell-powered treatments, first responder and high-stress occupational groups (exemplified by the NYC First Responders deployment in June 2024), and media/gaming companies licensing the SDK.

Name

DeepWell DTx

Legal name

DeepWell Digital Therapeutics (DTx)

Website

https://deepwelldtx.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

DeepWell DTx develops video games and immersive media that deliver mental health treatments, using FDA 510(k)-cleared vagus nerve biofeedback technology to serve consumers, first responders, healthcare providers, and media companies licensing its SDK.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Digital Therapeutics for Mental Health

NAICS

Software Publishers (5132), Custom Computer Programming Services (541511)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370), Surgical & Medical Instruments & Apparatus (3841)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYHLACANAI

Behavioral Health & Neurocognitive Therapeutics (Digital)

Healthcare & Life Sciences/Digital Health & Health IT/Digital Therapeutics (DTx) & Software as a Medical Device (SaMD)

SECONDARYHLACANAO

DTx/SaMD Deployment, Integration & Reimbursement Enablement

Healthcare & Life Sciences/Digital Health & Health IT/Digital Therapeutics (DTx) & Software as a Medical Device (SaMD)

Keywords

• Digital therapeutics
• Mental health games
• Therapeutic VR games
• Biofeedback software
• Immersive medicine

Headquarters

HQ city

Seattle

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Direct Game Sales (Over-the-Counter): Zengence and future DTx games sold directly to consumers through app stores (Meta Quest) without prescription at low cost, accessible at home.
2. SDK Licensing to Media Companies: Licensing DeepWell's FDA-cleared biofeedback SDK to media companies to embed or use adjacently with their products for commercialization of video games and other immersive media as FDA-cleared digital therapeutics.
3. Publishing Revenue Share: DeepWell publishes DTx-enabled games from independent creators, working with developers worldwide to publish new titles. Opens research-driven technologies to assist developers in designing and repurposing games to magnify their innate therapeutic value.
4. Reimbursable Digital Mental Health Treatments: Media featuring DeepWell technology will be reimbursable as physician service under CMS Digital Mental Health Treatment (DMHT) codes beginning in 2025, enabling doctors to prescribe and patients to receive coverage for treatments incorporating DeepWell technology.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

DeepWell DTx develops and publishes video games and immersive media that function as digital therapeutics for mental health. Its core products are Zengence, a VR action-shooter for Meta Quest that uses breathwork and vocal meditation to activate the vagus nerve for stress reduction, and the FDA 510(k)-cleared ABS biofeedback SDK that is licensed to other media companies to embed therapeutic mechanics into their games. The company also publishes DTx-enabled games from independent developers and is positioned for CMS DMHT reimbursement starting in 2025.

Product overview

DeepWell DTx is a digital therapeutics company that develops video games and immersive media technology for mental health treatment. The company offers two core products: Zengence, a VR mental wellness action shooter that uses vocal meditation and breathing mechanics to activate the vagus nerve for stress reduction; and the ABS (Adaptive Biofeedback System) SDK, an FDA 510(k)-cleared biofeedback software development kit that media companies can integrate into games and immersive media for digital therapeutic applications. The company also hosts an annual Mental Health Game Jam in partnership with Global Game Jam to inspire therapeutic game development.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Zengence: First-of-its-kind mental wellness action shooter for Meta Quest 2 and 3 that uses breathing-based gameplay to reduce stress and build resilience through vagus nerve stimulation.

Products and services

• Zengence VR action-shooter game for Meta Quest 2 and 3 in which players hum, chant, or sing to activate the vagus nerve for stress reduction, with breathwork-driven combat across 30 levels, daily challenges, leaderboards, and a Zen Garden training mode. Sold over-the-counter without prescription at low cost to consumers seeking accessible mental health treatment.
• ABS (Adaptive Biofeedback System) SDK FDA 510(k)-cleared biofeedback software development kit that monitors, provides recommendations, and deploys biostimulation through interactive media to activate the vagus nerve, reduce sympathetic nervous system activation, and release dopamine for coping and resilience. Licensed to media and game companies to embed into their products for commercialization as reimbursable digital therapeutics.

Quantifiable outcome

• Zengence recommended usage: 3 sessions per week, 15 minutes per session for best stress relief and sustained resilience.
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 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.

• Global Game JamcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 March 2022DeepWell DTx partnered with Global Game Jam Inc. (an international non-profit based in San Luis Obispo, California) to host the Mental Health Game Jam. This partnership engaged global game developers to create therapeutic games addressing stress, anxiety, and depression. The inaugural event ran May 1-22, 2022 and received 100+ entries.
• NeuFluentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDeepWell DTx is part of NeuFluent, a venture studio dedicated to reshaping the neurological landscape through novel treatment solutions for the mind, brain, and spine. NeuFluent develops neuroscience innovation including neuro prosthetics, brain-computer interfaces, and pharmaceutical technology. DeepWell commercializes immersive medical media under this umbrella.
• Meow WolfminorGTM or Marketing PartnerVince Kadlubek, Founder and Director of Meow Wolf, is an endorser of DeepWell. Meow Wolf specializes in immersive art experiences. Kadlubek noted that 'art can be medicine' and DeepWell's technology allows immersive experiences to be legitimized and reimbursed for their healing value.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Big Health: Big Health (Sleepio, Daylight) is a digital therapeutics company focused on mental health conditions delivered through mobile software, pursuing both consumer and prescription/reimbursement channels. Its mental health focus and dual OTC/Rx model parallel DeepWell's strategic positioning.
• BehaVR: BehaVR develops VR-based digital therapeutics for mental and behavioral health conditions including anxiety, depression, and chronic pain. Its combination of immersive VR delivery, clinical evidence generation, and prescription/reimbursement pursuit is structurally aligned with DeepWell's Immersive Medicine platform.
• AppliedVR: AppliedVR is an FDA-authorized VR-based digital therapeutics company (EaseVRx for chronic pain). Like DeepWell, AppliedVR combines VR hardware delivery with FDA-cleared therapeutic claims and pursues reimbursement, making it the most relevant peer for VR-format DTx commercialization strategy.
• Akili Interactive: Akili Interactive is the most direct peer in prescription digital therapeutics delivered through interactive media (its EndeavorRx product is an FDA-cleared video game for ADHD). Like DeepWell, Akili pursued FDA clearance for game-format therapeutics and commercialized through both consumer and prescription channels, making it the closest comparable in business model and category.
• Pear Therapeutics: Pear Therapeutics was a prescription digital therapeutics company that developed FDA-cleared software-based treatments (including reSET and reSET-O for substance use disorder). It pursued FDA clearance and prescription reimbursement for software-delivered therapeutics and ultimately filed for bankruptcy in 2023, providing the most instructive cautionary comparable for DeepWell's DTx reimbursement thesis.
• Click Therapeutics: Click Therapeutics develops prescription digital therapeutics across multiple indications including mental health (depression, migraine, schizophrenia), pursuing FDA clearance and reimbursement for software-only treatments. Its prescription DTx model and mental health focus make it a directly comparable peer in regulatory strategy and commercialization approach.

Others

• Meta (Reality Labs / Meta Quest): Meta operates the Meta Quest VR app store through which DeepWell distributes Zengence. While not a competitor, Meta is the critical infrastructure and distribution partner whose VR hardware adoption trajectory directly determines DeepWell's consumer commercial ceiling.

Emerging players

• Limbic: Limbic is a UK-based digital mental health company developing AI-powered cognitive behavioral therapy tools. While not VR-based, it pursues a similar evidence-based, prescription-grade mental health DTx model and serves comparable end users through digital channels.
• Happify Health: Happify Health delivers gamified mental health interventions through a consumer mobile app with enterprise and payer channels. Its gamification of mental wellness overlaps with DeepWell's positioning, though Happify has not pursued FDA clearance.

Broad incumbents

• Headspace Health: Headspace Health (merged Headspace and Ginger) is a broad mental health platform offering meditation, mindfulness, and therapy services to consumers, employers, and payers. It represents the mainstream mental wellness incumbent against which DeepWell's gamified/clinical approach differentiates.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCtcpwHb3GTUrtMDYAcBabFQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/DeepWellDTx
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/deepwelldtx
• Instagraminstagram.com/deepwelldtx
• Xx.com/deepwelldtx

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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 DeepWell DTx