Announcing Our Investment in Open
It is difficult to write objectively and authoritatively on mental health, and how we are understanding that in the context of our current society. However, we know that these two things are true, and at the same time: Society, and the individuals that compose it, is finding it increasingly necessary to chemically intervene to more effectively manage their emotional health. Similarly, we are also destroying ourselves in greater numbers than we have ever seen. When we talk about “mental” or “emotional” health, what we are really talking about is a culturally-rooted phenomena of how we are collectively reporting our experience of the world, and in whatever ways we try and measure quantitatively, the trendlines are going down.
The mental health crisis in America is at an all-time high, with the pandemic causing a sharp rise and ongoing stressors onto the majority of people’s everyday lives. Around three-quarters of adults (76%) said they have experienced health impacts due to stress in the prior month, including headache (38%), fatigue (35%), feeling nervous or anxious (34%), and/or feeling depressed or sad (33%).
Without being too prescriptive, we believe that mental health is best ameliorated by two things: practice and community. We at TXV take the perspective that regulating one’s emotional health is rooted in the things that we know contribute to human flourishing: being socially well-integrated and having regular practice: physical, spiritual, etc. We believe that by taking care of both of those things, body and mind, heart and soul, etc, you are able to build up emotional resilience in a world such as ours.
When we look around at the great social, spiritual, and emotional practices that have endured through the ages, meditation has to be near the top of what is probably a very short list. By definition, meditation is the act of remaining in a silent and calm state for a period of time so that you are more able to deal with the problems of everyday life such as the effects of stress, anxiety, and pain.
Enter: Open, a mindfulness studio offering experiences that combine breathwork, meditation, yoga, pilates, and more to support transformation and personal development. Open’s method, which is supported by proprietary technology and is directed by experienced teachers, connects old wisdom and current science. Classes are created to stimulate the senses and control the neurological system in order to successfully enter a meditative state, which many people find difficult to achieve. Every session incorporates breathing exercises to improve the mind-body connection by combining mental and physical training. The goal of Open is to simply "be present, together."
The studio delivers the most immersive audio and visual experience for livestream, on-demand and in-person classes, designing digital and physical spaces to facilitate community and presence for all levels. Practicing together is core to Open's ethos. The team prioritizes the development of features to connect users and teachers, such as in-class live chats, groups of friends, synchronous meditation and breathwork sessions, and the ability to turn on your camera and view others while practicing—all to encourage presence through connection.
Combining both in-person studios and a subscription-based iOS application with community features, Open is one of the first IRL and digital combined platforms addressing mindfulness. “Open exists to make collective well-being an accessible reality. We envision a world where everyone, everywhere, Opens every day. We are inspired by the opportunity to make an impact and proud to be partnering with investors who not only believe in our vision, but can help us realize it,” says Raed Khawaja, Co-Founder, and CEO of Open.
Why We Invested
Meditation platforms, both digital and analog, have been around for a while, but we were impressed with the perspective that Open founders Raed and Peter had. While they believed in the power of meditation, what really animates their vision is creating new forms of community. While they are building a meditation app, they realized that they were creating rituals and community for others above all else. Their tri-partite understanding of health: bodily, emotionally, spiritually, mirrored ours in ways that were really exciting for us.
We found the deal by way of Harpreet Rai, the former CEO at Oura who said that the team at Open was “redefining a space in the same category defining fashion that Oura has done.” As our first investment in the mental health category, we believe that the proven value of breathwork and meditation, combined with a best-in-class platform, will allow Open to win the category. And we are not alone in that conviction, with top venture funds joining us in the round.
Founders
Founders: Peter Tseng & Raed Khawaja
Raed Khawaja Raed is the CEO and Co-Founder at Open, a mindfulness studio designing a new way to practice well-being, together. Inspired by his love for music, fascination with art and architecture, and a practice of prayer cultivated while growing up Muslim, Raed began building Open in 2018 with a vision to amplify the benefits of meditation through community. With career foundations in global consumer goods and technology consulting, he first focused his strategic expertise on crafting the Open breathwork experience as the mindfulness studio’s inaugural teacher. Raed seeks to inspire millions to find presence and connection with themselves and with each other through Open.
Peter Tseng is the CTO and Co-Founder at Open. Prior to creating Open, he was an Associate at SV Angel and worked as an early employee at DoorDash as both a software engineer and data scientist. Peter studied computer science with a concentration in artificial intelligence at Stanford and graduated in 2014.
Increasing Cultural Adoption
Mindfulness is something that is only going to have increased cultural relevance, and it is the fastest-growing practice in America. When we think of the growth of mindfulness, we think of the growth of another physical and spiritual practice that emerged from India: yoga. The mindfulness meditation market size is projected to grow from $533.2 million in 2022 to $2,633.4 million by 2028; it is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 30.5% from 2022 to 2028 (source). As we all have seen the benefits and cultural adoption of yoga, we see a similar trend for mindfulness. In the future, we see mindfulness studios as something that will be as common as yoga ones- and we are better for it.
To learn more about Open, visit their website at https://o-p-e-n.com/
For more info on TXV Partners, visit txv.partners or email us at connect@txvpartners.com