Mindfulness has money. Digital wellness company Urban Health today announced a $3.4 million funding round as it seeks to grow its business, which has one million downloads of its mindfulness app worldwide.

Founded four years ago by three Bangalore-based entrepreneurs, Kshitij Jaggi, Rishabh Sahu, and Kumar Shivang, Urban Health offers its subscribers the opportunity to improve their sleep, mental health and physical health. Provides access to a personalized program of meditation exercises. The company’s app tracks users’ sleep patterns and activity levels and recommends the most appropriate meditation and sleep sessions created by the company’s panel of experts.

“Just five minutes of mindfulness and meditation a day can improve your life by reducing stress and improving sleep,” Jaggi says. “We are surrounded by screens in our daily lives, and these bombard us with overwhelming negative emotions. Improving mindfulness acts like an antivirus for that. To do.”

The trick Jaggi claims is to engage and keep users engaged. “It’s all about taking small steps to improve your health rather than setting unrealistic goals that you feel you can’t achieve,” he says. Start by suggesting (for example, a 2-minute sleep exercise) and then encourage the user to participate in more demanding sessions over time.

“We want to be a part of people’s lives,” Jaggi says. “We believe it can be the only thing users rely on every day for their health. It’s about finding ways to make this a habit, something you do almost automatically.” ”

Its growing subscriber base seems to have taken that message to heart.While the app is available to users worldwide, it appears to have hit a specific code in the US where 100,000 people are currently using it. Subscribers pay a $100 annual fee for the service, but Urban Health charges an early discount to attract new users.

Jaggi believes subscriber numbers will continue to grow. Especially as awareness of workplace stress and mental health issues continues, Urban Health is beginning to work with employers who want to subscribe on behalf of their employees. The company has already started piloting Group His subscriptions with several large organizations.

It’s certainly an attractive market. Globally, the wellness market is estimated to be worth $1.5 trillion annually. Nearly one in three young people between the ages of 13 and 18 are said to experience an anxiety disorder, according to the National Institutes of Health, but statistics show that nearly half of the world’s population doesn’t get enough sleep. not taken. But every country is struggling to provide services that help people deal with these issues, and demand for mental health support is outstripping supply worldwide. , has a role to fill in this gap.

Investors are watching. Today’s funding was led by 3one4 Capital, with participation from Venture Highway, RB Investments, Founder Bank Capital and Disney’s Ajay Arora.

Anurag Ramdasan, partner at 3one4 Capital, said: “We are seeing a shift in sentiment. Globally, people are prioritizing their health and are open to investing in their personal health needs.”

The $3.4 million investment brings Urban Health’s total capital raised to $3.8 million, with the company planning an IPO path over the next five to six years. This funding gives the business room to continue expanding, with adoption underway and product development continuing, including further personalization and the development of one-on-one coaching services.

As for distribution, Urban Health has targeted advertising on social media, which Jaggi notes is “where people are and where they have problems.” The company also builds numbers through word of mouth. “For many people who use us, we’ve become a secret they want to tell their friends and family,” Jaggi adds.