20 Things You Didn’t Know About Ginger

Ginger is an American startup that provides clients with mental health services on-demand. It is a timely service that is currently experiencing success in its growth and development. If you haven’t heard about this online emotional support service, here are 20 things that you probably didn’t know about Ginger to bring you up to speed.

1. Ginger is a versatile business

According to Crunchbase, Ginger is listed across four different industries. It is a health care company that is also categorized as a mental health business as well as wellness and mobile apps. It is a versatile company that adds a modern twist to mental health with digitization and around-the-clock services available.

2. Ginger has been in business for a decade

Ginger has been active and operational for ten years. The company was founded in 2011. It is also known as Ginger.io. The legal name is Ginger.io, Inc. the headquarters is located in San Francisco, California. The company has been well-received but it has grown even more with a higher demand for its services since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. It provides the public with the needed mental health services that have been so hard to obtain for the past few years.

3. Ginger has three co-founders

The founders of Ginger are Alex Pentland, Anmol Madan, and Karan Singh. Each founder brings their strengths to the company with years of professional business experience and a passion for helping others. Their combined skills and experience have helped to make Ginger the raging success that it is today.

4. Anmol Madan is an MIT graduate

Anmol Madan is a co-founder of Ginger. He graduated from Pune University with his bachelor’s in engineering degree. He earned a Motorola Medal for academic excellence. He went on to earn a master of science degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a Ph.D. from the same institution in modeling human behavior/machine learning. He also co-founded a company called iMetrico in 2004 and served as the chief technology officer. He has years of experience serving as a researcher, mentor, CEO of Ginger.io for 7 years and various other highly responsible positions. He was also a chief data scientist at Livongo.

5. Alex Pentland is a serial entrepreneur

Alex Pentland has founded 9 organizations including Ginger. He currently serves on 5 boards of directors in advisory roles. He is a professor at MIT’s Toshiba of media arts and sciences and also serves as director of human dynamics research. He is a faculty sponsor of the Next Billion Network and the EPROM entrepreneurship program in Africa. He served as the head of the MIT Media Laboratory formerly. His work is among the 30 most cited and helps in high regard for his research in the field of computer science. He pioneered mobile information systems, smart environments, health informatics, and tech for developing countries. Pentland has won multiple international awards in sciences, arts, and engineering and has over 200 scientific articles published in his name. He earned his Ph.D. from MIT and founded the Thasos Group and several other companies.

6. Karan Singh has a healthcare background

Karan Sing is the third co-founder of Ginger. He brings more than 13 years of professional experience in healthcare to the table. He is a former management consultant for biopharma and data analytics. He has worked with leading healthcare firms and is frequently requested as a keynote speaker for entrepreneurship, new models of care, and health innovation. He earned his MBA from MIT and attended the Harvard Medical School as well as UC Berkeley where he studied economics and business administration.

7. Ginger uses a complex array of technologies for its website

The Ginger website is powered by the use of 65 active technologies. The complexity of the operations requires a lot of different technologies to ensure that users have a smooth and seamless experience. These technologies are distributed across 17 technology products and services including jQuery, Google Analytics, HTML5, Viewport Meta, SPF, iPhone Mobile Compatible, and several others. Although the cost of IT overhead has not been disclosed, we know from experience that the high number of technologies used can quickly cost over $100,000 per year.

8. Ginger maintains an edge over the competition

Ginger offers unique services that stand out from other providers in the mental health field. This is large because it has secured two registered trademarks in the scientific and electrical apparatus and instruments category. Ginger owns the legal rights to two types of intellectual property that make them unique within the industry. Rivals cannot use this technology nor copy or imitate it without the permission of Ginger.

9. Ginger’s download growth rate is up

Ginger provides a convenient app that makes using its mental health and support services easy for clients. The analytics for the company shows that over the last 30 days, there has been a total of 6,897 downloads of the apps made. This represents a download growth rate of 29.13 percent. The most popular apps that are downloaded include Ginger Emotional Suppor, and Listener: Connect with highly trained listeners instantly. Apps are most frequently downloaded from the Itunes Connect and Google Play app stores.

10. Interest in Ginger is growing

The analytics for the Ginger website shows that the number of monthly visits is experiencing a growth spurt. Over the past 30 days, a total of 31,277 people have visited the website. This represents a monthly visitors growth rate of 6.91 percent in the past 30 days. This has resulted in Ginger achieving a ranking of number 608,310 of the millions of websites registered on the world wide web.

11. Ginger is the most popular in the United States

The Ginger website is most frequently visited by people from the United States. Eighty-seven percent of the web traffic comes from within this country with a monthly visit growth rate of 8.1 percent. Six percent of the web traffic is from people in India, reflecting a 5.61 percent monthly visits growth rate. Two percent of the visitors are from France, one percent from Poland, and one percent from Canada. The statistics show that interest in the products and services provided by Ginger is growing in other countries. The information is useful for key decision-makers for plotting the strategic plans and goals of the company regarding expansion into other parts of the nation and the world. It gives them an idea of where the greatest interest lies.

12. Ginger has an 8-member core executive leadership team

The core executive leadership team at Ginger consists of 8 members. Kran Singh is a co-founder and the chief operating officer. Russell Glass is the chief executive officer. Christine Hsu Evans is the chief marketing officer. Dana Udall is the chief clinical officer. Peter Bridges is the chief commercial officer. Scott Robers is an investor. Puneet Thapliyal is the chief information security officer. Justin Hunt is the head of psychiatry and medical director. The core team of leaders is supported by other executives and various levels of the management team at Ginger.

13. Ginger has a strong and experienced board of directors

Ginger has a strong board of directors that is made up of advisors from various professions. Ryan Phillips joined the board of directors on August 1, 2019. He is the principal at WP Global Partners. he currently serves on 10 boards of directors in advisory roles. Molly Coye is a social entrepreneur in residents for Network for Excellence in Health Innovation. She has founded one organization and currently serves on 4 boards in advisory roles. Steven Locke joined the board in May of 2021 as an advisor. He is a professional advisory board member for Frame Health. He currently serves on two boards of directors in advisory roles. Josh Cohen is a board observer. He is a founder and partner at City Light Capital with one portfolio company. He currently serves on 5 boards of directors in advisory roles. Saurabh Bhansali joined the board as an observer in October of 2019. He currently serves on 4 boards of directors in advisory roles. David Ibnale joined the board in August of 2020. He is a founding and managing partner at Advance Venture Partners. He has founded one organization and currently serves on 13 boards of directors in advisory roles. Sam Brasch joined the board in May of 2016. He is a senior managing director at Kaiser Permanente Ventures. he currently serves on 10 boards of directors in advisory roles. Stephen Kraus joined the board in 2020. He is a partner at Bessemer Venture Partners and currently serves on 11 boards of directors in advisory roles.

14. Ginger received $220.7 million in VC funds

Ginger has participated in 11 rounds of venture capital fundraising. The most recent funding round closed on March 23, 2021, in a Series E round. The total amount raised is $220.7 million. Remarkably, Ginger has 8 lead investors and a total of 27 investors.

15. Ginger has secured high investor confidence.

Investors view Ginger as a good investment and they have high confidence in the likelihood that the business will continue to grow and become profitable. They’re anticipating a healthy return on their investments. 27 investors are supporting the growth and expansion of Ginger. Blackstone Group and transformation Capital are the most recent investors to join the fundraising efforts. They are joined by Advance Venture Partners, Cigna Ventures, Jeff Weiner, Bessemer Venture Partners, Kaiser Permanente Ventures, City Light Capital, Next Play Ventures, and several others.

16. Ginger provides employers with telehealth services

According to Techcrunch, Ginger has contracted with a variety of corporate clients to provide their workers with mental health options in an online format. Over 200,000 people gain access through their employer wellness plans through Ginger. The company has contracted with some of the larger companies in the US including Sephora, Twilio, Yelp, BuzzFeed, Netflix, CBS, Pinterest, and many others.

17. Ginger serves international clients

Ginger does not reserve its services only to clients in the United States. It serves clients from 25 countries throughout the world. The app and services are active in Canada, India, Japan, Australia, and the United Kingdom. It is a service that is open to millions.

18. Ginger is an MIT spinout

Ginger is a company that got its start at the MIT Media Lab. It was first used to monitor smartphone interactions to detect potential mental health issues. The advanced technology would help connect a smartphone user in crisis with somebody to talk to. Since the early years, the technology was altered to give the user the choice about getting help. Users must make the first move. The platform allows an employee to send requests for help through a text message. responses to the texts are immediate and available 24 houses per day and 7 days a week. It’s an alternative to traditional mental health services which can take days or weeks for appointment scheduling.

19. Ginger also provides live clinicians

The technology used by Ginger provides help through artificial intelligence and machine learning, but it’s not a real person that people are first talking to. Ginger has committed to connecting users with a live clinician within 72 hours of sending a text. Other mediums are used to help people in crisis with coaching to get them through rough moments, along with video therapy and video psychiatry services involving licensed clinicians. Often, clients find relief through text-based coaching.

20. Ginger is an alternative mental health service

Ginger provides a unique mental health service via a telehealth platform that uses multiple media types to provide on-demand services. Overall, the client surveys show that seventy percent of the members completing the surveys claim that they saw a significant reduction in the symptoms of depression within 12 weeks of using the service. It’s an alternative mental health service that gives people in need immediate access to help.