Adi Ostry Matalon, founder of ALMA Ventures, highlights Israel's potential as a leader in mental health innovation, attributing this to a unique fusion of advanced healthcare and technology alongside a wealth of lived experiences. After nearly two decades in finance and investment, Matalon has shifted her focus to revolutionizing mental health care.
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"Israel is a uniquely powerful living lab for the future of mental health," Matalon told The Media Line. She noted the country's capacity to convert challenges into solutions, echoing the entrepreneurial spirit that has made Israel known as the Startup Nation.
Advancements in neuroscience, biomarkers, artificial intelligence, and real-world data are opening new avenues for diagnosis and treatment, allowing for more personalized care. Matalon emphasized the urgency of redesigning mental health care, which has historically relied too heavily on observation and trial-and-error methods. "We now have the tools to change that," she said.
Matalon's journey into mental health was catalyzed by the October 7, 2023, attacks when she and her family returned from Los Angeles to Israel. Recognizing that the ensuing trauma affected the entire nation, she felt compelled to take action. She began by organizing a successful webinar aimed at connecting startups and investors to sustain investment flowing into Israeli mental health technologies.
As she explored how to implement successful foreign mental health technologies in Israel, Matalon faced challenges in adapting these solutions to local needs. This experience underscored the necessity of creating an infrastructure to support mental health tech development in Israel.
In Sderot, a city near the Gaza border known for its long-standing trauma, Matalon was instrumental in establishing the Resilience and Health Innovation Hub, or RISE Hub. This initiative aims to leverage local experiences to foster innovation in mental health technology. “Sderot has a vision very similar to what I was describing,” she said, focusing not just on technology for technology's sake but on applying it to improve lives.
Today, the RISE Hub hosts various resilience and mental health tech ventures, positioning Sderot as a potential center for mental health technology innovation. Matalon predicts that within ten years, the city could become a model for resilience education.
Beyond Sderot, Matalon is also collaborating with the Kibbutz Movement to create a data collection tool to address community recovery needs across southern Israel. This initiative will enable communities to monitor their evolving requirements and assess the effectiveness of interventions.
Recognizing the broader implications of mental health challenges, Matalon and her partner, Esther Barak Landes, are working on ALMA Ventures—Israel's first venture capital fund exclusively dedicated to wellness and mental health technologies. This fund aims not only to invest in promising startups but also to build a supportive ecosystem for them.
Matalon envisions a future where mental health care undergoes transformative changes, driven by technological advancements and the urgent need for innovative solutions. The World Health Organization estimates that up to 5% of adults worldwide suffer from depression, with the economic cost of mental health conditions projected to reach $6 trillion by 2030.
Matalon’s work continues to evolve as she advocates for a comprehensive approach to mental health that transcends traditional methods. "If you want to build innovation solutions, you need to build an ecosystem around them," she emphasized, underlining the importance of collaboration in achieving lasting change.