Startups > BetterUp

BetterUp

BetterUp connects employees with personal coaches through an AI-powered platform.

Series E $632M total Founded 2013 United States

BetterUp is a digital coaching and workforce development platform that delivers personalized one-on-one coaching at scale through a SaaS model combining human coaches with AI-powered insights. The platform serves enterprise customers seeking to develop leadership, resilience, and performance across their workforce. BetterUp differentiates itself by integrating coaching and mental health support in a single platform, moving beyond traditional workshop-based L&D to personalized 1:1 development delivered through a messaging-based interface with video sessions.

Problem solved

Organizations struggle to scale personalized professional development and leadership coaching across their workforce while traditional group training fails to address individual needs.

Target customer

Fortune 500 and mid-market enterprises seeking personalized employee development, leadership coaching, and mental health support programs; particularly companies with 1,000+ employees.

Website LinkedIn Crunchbase

Founders

Alexi Robichaux

CEO & Co-Founder

Former Director of Product Management at VMware leading enterprise collaboration software; BA in Political Science and Non-Profit Management from USC; founded Youth Leadership America nonprofit in 2003.

Eduardo Medina

Co-Founder & COO

Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer; limited public background information available.

Funding history

Seed $2.9M January 2016 Led by Unknown · Unknown

Series A $12.9M November 2016 Led by Unknown · Unknown

Series B $26M March 2018 Led by Unknown · Unknown

Series C $103M June 2019 Led by Unknown · Unknown

Series D $125M February 2021 Led by Unknown · Unknown

Series E $300M October 2021 Led by Wellington Management, ICONIQ Growth, Lightspeed Venture Partners · Salesforce Ventures, Mubadala Investment Company, Sapphire Ventures, Morningside Group, SV Angel, PLUS Capital

Total raised: $632M

Industries

Corporate Training Education Personal Development Training

Pricing

Enterprise custom pricing. No per-seat rates publicly disclosed. Flexible pricing models available based on organizational requirements and scale.

Notable customers

Meta, Salesforce, Hilton, US Air Force, NASA, Google, Chipotle, Pfizer, and 750+ enterprises total

Website

betterup.com/

Competitors

CoachHub

Berlin-based competitor founded 2018 offering 1:1 coaching for performance and organizational transformation with $333.5M funding, but lacks BetterUp's integrated mental health focus.

Lyra Health

Mental health-focused platform with $910.1M funding offering therapy, coaching, and medication management, but does not integrate comprehensive coaching for organizational performance and L&D.

Why this matters: BetterUp is the largest mental health and coaching company globally with $632M in funding, representing the enterprise shift toward personalized development and employee wellbeing at scale. The company's positioning of coaching plus mental health in a single platform addresses a significant gap in traditional L&D, making it a bellwether for how Fortune 500 companies are rethinking workforce development.

Best for: Large enterprises (1,000+ employees) needing to scale personalized coaching and development programs while integrating employee mental health and resilience-building initiatives.

Use cases

Executive Leadership Development

Organizations deploy BetterUp to provide personalized coaching to high-potential leaders and executives, helping them develop critical skills for high-stakes roles. The platform enables one-on-one coaching aligned to individual development needs rather than generic leadership programs.

New Manager Onboarding and Enablement

Companies like Hilton use BetterUp to equip newly promoted managers with coaching in real-time as they transition into leadership roles. The personalized approach addresses specific gaps in managing teams and maintaining company standards.

Organizational Resilience and Culture Transformation

Organizations including Pfizer use BetterUp to democratize coaching access across management levels, enabling culture change initiatives and helping employees develop resilience during challenging periods or transformation efforts.

Military and High-Stakes Mission Preparation

The US Air Force partners with BetterUp to prepare leaders for high-pressure missions and retain critical talent through tailored coaching strategies and data-driven insights specific to their operational needs.

Alternatives

CoachHub Choose CoachHub if you prioritize a pure coaching platform without integrated mental health services and prefer a newer, more agile vendor.

Lyra Health Choose Lyra if your primary need is employee mental health and therapy services rather than coaching for performance and leadership development.

LinkedIn Learning Choose LinkedIn Learning if you need scalable, self-paced learning content and skill-building rather than personalized one-on-one coaching.

FAQ

What does BetterUp do? +

BetterUp is a digital coaching platform that connects employees with personal coaches through a SaaS application, providing one-on-one personalized coaching combined with AI-powered insights, assessments, and educational resources. It serves as an alternative to traditional group training by scaling personalized development at the enterprise level.

How much does BetterUp cost? +

BetterUp uses enterprise custom pricing with no publicly disclosed per-seat rates. Pricing varies based on organizational size, number of employees, program duration, and specific coaching requirements. Contact sales for a custom quote.

What are alternatives to BetterUp? +

CoachHub offers similar 1:1 coaching services without integrated mental health focus. Lyra Health specializes in mental health services and therapy. LinkedIn Learning provides scalable self-paced training content. Each serves different organizational needs.

Who uses BetterUp? +

Fortune 500 and enterprise organizations with 1,000+ employees seeking personalized leadership development and employee resilience programs. Notable customers include Meta, Salesforce, Hilton, US Air Force, NASA, Google, Chipotle, and Pfizer. Over 750 enterprises use the platform.

How does BetterUp compare to CoachHub? +

Both offer 1:1 coaching at enterprise scale, but BetterUp integrates mental health support alongside coaching for performance and development, while CoachHub focuses primarily on coaching. BetterUp has raised $632M versus CoachHub's $333.5M and serves 750+ enterprises. CoachHub, founded in 2018, is newer and faster-moving but smaller.