Like Iman Abuzeid’s Incredible Health platform, Quit Genius is changing the healthcare game. The digital addiction treatment app is the first online clinic for treating addictions to nicotine, alcohol, and opioids. Quit Genius just raised $64 million in their latest investment round backed by several firms.
Founders Dr. Yusuf Sherwani, Dr. Sarim Siddiqui, and Dr. Maroof Ahmed launched the company in 2017. Today, the platform partners with 55 employers and assists 2.1 million members through health care plans.
Quit Genius plans to use this new funding to further expand access to the platform through provider networks across the nation. “Our goal is for everyone to have access to evidence-based treatment for tobacco, alcohol and opioid addiction on their own terms,” Sherwani said in a statement.
Quit Genius provides effective addiction treatment
Quit Genius is the first app produced by the New York-based company DigiThera. The platform offers Medication-Assisted Treatment combined with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and devices to measure progress. Quit Genius employs therapists, coaches, and clinicians, available at all hours through text message-based communication. Tools such as salivary tests, blood samples, and breathalyzers measure long-term success.
Quit Genius reports 20% higher effectiveness over traditional methods. In fact, they claim an average of 52% of tobacco users overcame their addiction using the platform’s technology-supported treatment plan. Quit Genius is widely used across Europe and the United States, with more than 60,000 users having quit since 2020.
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Dr. Sherwani initially envisioned Quit Genius as a solution to nicotine addictions by targeting the root cause, while also lessening cravings through medication. The app has since expanded from treating addiction to smoking and vaping to treating alcohol use disorder and opioid use disorder.
“We’ve taken all the lessons learned from our tobacco and vaping programs and applied them, through a creative approach, to alcohol addiction, which is the third leading cause of death in the U.S.” Sherwani says.
Three college friends team up against addiction
Sherwani began Quit Genius after a family member died prematurely from a smoking-related illness. He soon teamed up with his friends and fellow medical school graduates, Dr. Siddiqui and Dr. Maroof, to launch the app.
In addition to becoming successful entrepreneurs, CEO Sherwani, COO Ahmed, and CPO Siddiqui are all medical doctors. The three attended a six-year program at Imperial College London to earn their Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (M.B.B.S.)
During their program of study, they also attended the Imperial College’s Business School. Sherwani and Siddiqui earned their Bachelor of Science in Healthcare Management while Ahmed completed his degree in Management.
Following university, Ahmed worked as a private mathematics and science tutor. Later, in 2015, he funded Interview Doctors to assist prospective students get into medical school. Sherwani worked in clinical research and entrepreneurship prior to creating the app. He founded a customized in-ear headphone company Unique Melody UK in 2012. Siddiqui began work as a medical doctor in 2011 and remains in practice while working for Quit Genius as Chief Product Officer.
Quit Genius plans to cover all Americans
The fourth and latest investment round Series B raises the company’s total funding amount to $78.6 million. Sweden and London-based investment companies Kinnevik and Atomico led the round. In addition, European venture capital firms Octopus Ventures and Triple Point Ventures, as well as New York-Based Startup Health all participated.
“As physicians, my co-founders and I saw firsthand the devastating effects of substance abuse,” Sherwani stated. “We designed Quit Genius to be the program we wish we had as physicians, that’s dedicated to helping individuals conquer their addictions and payers bend the cost curve.”
“In the near term, we are aggressively expanding our provider network to cover the entire U.S. population across all 50 states,” said Sherwani.
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