Psychiatric Mental Health Practitioner

Outro raises $7M to support safe deprescribing. Outro's funding included participation from Listen Ventures, Cake Ventures, Jason Calicanis's LAUNCH, Actions Capital, Hannah Grey Ventures, SemperVirens, Brock Recovery Group and Pave Health Ventures. Outro, a neuroscience-based platform, announced last week that it raised $7 million in pre-seed and seed funding. The New York-based company helps patients discontinue psychiatric medications. Patients visit with clinicians trained in safe deprescribing and receive access to personalized tapering plans. They also gain access to compounded medication doses. "Roughly 1 in 6 Americans take antidepressants. There are tens of millions of people on these drugs, yet no science-based way to get off safely... Outro is the off-ramp that should have been built from the beginning. We want getting off a medication to be as supported as getting on it - arguably even more," said Brandon Goode, co-founder and CEO of Outro. Healthcare decision-makers, especially at pharmaceutical companies, must prioritize patient input. Data collected from social media listening is a significant step in the right direction. Outro's funding included participation from Listen Ventures, Cake Ventures, Jason Calicanis's LAUNCH, Actions Capital, Hannah Grey Ventures, SemperVirens, Brock Recovery Group and Pave Health Ventures. According to Listen Ventures, Outro is filling a gap in the healthcare system. "Outro is building the infrastructure, therapeutic options, and support for deprescribing, starting with antidepressants - a model we believe will become a standard part of modern healthcare," said Ellen Wilcox, partner at Listen Ventures, in a statement. With the financing, Outro will expand its network of deprescribing-trained clinicians and create AI clinical decision support for deprescribing, Goode said. It will also expand beyond antidepressants into other areas. Several other drug classes require safe off-ramps, such as benzodiazepines, gabapentinoids and GLP-1s, Goode noted. presented by We have the opportunity to design systems that give people greater capacity for the work where human presence matters most: listening, understanding, reassuring, deciding, and caring. Research from Outro's co-founder, Dr. Mark Horowitz, shows that four in five long-term antidepressant users were unable to stop their medications due to withdrawal symptoms. Horowitz helped create the hyperbolic tapering method that the company's platform is based on. Hyperbolic tapering is a method of gradually reducing a medication dose by smaller and smaller amounts as the dose gets lower, rather than reducing it by equal increments. "Deprescribing guidance has existed in countries like the U.K. for years," Horowitz said in a statement. "Yet in America, where antidepressant use is widespread, tapering support is very hard to come by, so millions of patients are left without support when they are ready to come off. As someone personally impacted by a lack of tapering guidance, I am proud to be building a service to bridge this gap." Ultimately, Outro aims to make deprescribing a normal part of healthcare, Goode said. "More than that, we want to empower patients with a fair opportunity to safely and sustainably transition to a life free from medication, if that's what they want," he said.

Outro raises $7M for antidepressant tapering. The virtual clinic plans to expand its clinician network, develop AI workflows and extend its deprescribing model to additional drug classes. By Eve Bender, Healthcare Reporter | October 9, 2026 | 3:52 PM New York-based Outro, a virtual clinic that helps patients taper off antidepressants, announced $7 million in pre-seed and seed funding. Investors included Listen Ventures, Cake Ventures, Jason Calacanis' LAUNCH, Actions Capital, Hannah Grey VC, SemperVirens, Brock Recovery Group and Pave Health Ventures, among others. WHAT IT DOES Outro will use the capital to grow its deprescribing clinician network, develop AI applications for deprescribing workflows, expand into additional medication classes and strengthen partnerships with universities and advocacy groups. The company connects patients with clinicians who develop personalized plans for reducing antidepressant doses. Its virtual care model includes an initial evaluation, ongoing monitoring, dose adjustments and clinical support, according to the company's website. The company also incorporates psychosocial support into its deprescribing model. The company uses hyperbolic tapering, an approach designed to reduce withdrawal symptoms. Rather than setting a fixed schedule at the outset, clinicians adjust the plan based on patients' responses to each dose reduction. The timeline varies with the medication, length of use, individual sensitivity and personal circumstances, according to Outro's help center. Cofounded by CEO Brandon Goode and psychiatrist and researcher Dr. Mark Horowitz, Outro said its flagship Taper Management program is available in 14 states. "Today, patients are asking a different question: if starting medication deserves support, why does stopping often happen without it?" Goode said in a statement. MARKET SNAPSHOT Outro's funding comes as researchers and digital health companies explore tools to support medication management and individualized mental healthcare. Researchers at the University of South Australia developed an AI tool to help identify patients likely to successfully discontinue long-term antidepressants. The researchers trained and tested machine learning models using dispensing records covering 100,000 patients over a decade. Other companies focus on optimizing medication regimens. FeelBetter, which uses machine learning to analyze patient information, pharmacology and clinical guidelines for people taking multiple medications, raised $5.9 million in August 2023. In the broader digital mental health market, Tava Health secured $40 million in Series C funding in April 2026. The company offers online and in-person mental health services and launched products for providers, employers and care coordinators. Eve Bender, healthcare reporter for MobiHealthNews Email: [email protected] MobiHealthNews is a HIMSS Media publication. Follow MobiHealthNews on LinkedIn: MobiHealthNews HIMSS is hosting the one-day AI Executive Leadership Summit in San Diego on Oct. 21, 2026, followed by its AI in Healthcare Forum Oct. 22-23. Register separately for the two events here and here. WATCH NOW: Taiwanese hospital emphasizes AI in community care