Clearhead
“Can a clinician-founded EAP marketplace displace legacy EAP incumbents in ANZ by combining AI-driven wellbeing tools, transparent therapist matching, and end-to-end embedded payments?”
Founded2018
HQAuckland, New Zealand
FoundersDr. Angela Lim, Michael Connolly
Total raised$39.9K (disclosed grants)
Latest roundAccelerator/Incubator
IndustryVertical SaaS / Healthcare
The story
Clearhead started in 2018 as a digital mental health platform for consumers in New Zealand, then evolved into an EAP (Employee Assistance Programme) provider serving Australian and NZ employers, insurers, and resellers. Its embedded-finance surface area is deliberately narrow: it acts as a marketplace facilitator that collects card payments from clients and pays out therapists via bank transfer + invoicing workflow. In 2026 it expanded this from EAP-only to public self-funded bookings, becoming the merchant of record for all therapy sessions on its network.
Product timeline
2018
Clearhead founded by Dr. Angela Lim (medical doctor) and Michael Connolly (software engineer) in Auckland, NZ.· pivot
2025
Achieved ISO 27001 certification for information security management.· pivot
2026
Rolling out invoicing/payments support for public (non-EAP) referrals — Clearhead handles all client payments, therapist payouts, refunds; 10% platform fee.· banking
The stack
1 layer disclosed in Clearhead’s embedded-finance stack
Payments / PSP
Accounting gap: significant