PETALUMA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Shift Network, a global leader in transformational education and media, today announced an investment of $8.7M in Series A funding led by Evolve Ventures and Bridge Builders Collaborative, two groups that have invested in numerous groundbreaking health, wellness, and meditation companies.
The Shift Network, which has served more than 3.5 million people in 180 countries, will deploy this investment to expand the company’s educational offerings, enhance its team, and invest in next-generation technologies.
“We are at a point in history where we must evolve our consciousness if our planet is to meet our challenges,” says Evolve Chairman Bo Shao. “This is at the heart of Shift Network’s mission — to help humanity wake up. Evolve is proud to be a part of their mission to uplift 100 million worldwide and create a thriving world for future generations.”
Evolve’s Managing Director Julius Mokrauer, who also teaches at Columbia Business School, added, “As impact-first investors, we’re intrigued by how Shift offers a journey of long-term transformation for customers. We’re excited by how this can accelerate human development and inspire the field of conscious capitalism.”
"We are grateful that the investors coming into this round recognize that the only lasting way to shift our society forward is with wiser human beings,” says Stephen Dinan, CEO of The Shift Network. “This investment will help us broaden our reach and make more wisdom accessible to all who can benefit."
“We appreciate how The Shift Network supports spiritual exploration and transformation with a remarkable group of world-renowned teachers,” says Charlie Hartwell, Managing Director of Bridge Builders Collaborative. “We’re also impressed that they have grown so much with little outside investment, which makes us confident they can scale in the years ahead.”
As part of the investment, Julius Mokrauer will join The Shift Network Board of Directors, and Charlie Hartwell will join as a Board Observer.
About The Shift Network: Founded in 2010, The Shift Network has empowered over 3,500,000 people in 180 countries. It features teachers and thought leaders in domains as diverse as spirituality, holistic health, psychology, energy medicine, Qigong, somatics, Indigenous wisdom, sound healing, yoga, herbalism, and peacebuilding. The Shift Network launches new courses and summits several times per week, as well as a rich array of podcasts and other media offerings, including through its Shift App, which is available in both the Apple and Google App Stores. The Shift Network is committed to empowering 100 million people in the next five years in order to accelerate the transition to a peaceful, sustainable, and thriving planet for all.
About Evolve Ventures: Evolve Ventures is a $100 million early-stage venture fund focused on impact. With a presence in the San Francisco Bay Area, New York, and Shanghai, Evolve supports conscious, mission-driven visionaries who use technology to create platforms, applications, and initiatives focused on alleviating inner suffering and facilitating personal transformation. While they prioritize impact over profit, they believe that in the coming decade, many important and profitable companies will be created to address the world’s growing mental health challenges and to facilitate the evolution of human consciousness. The principals of Evolve co-founded one of China's most successful venture capital funds and co-managed one of the first large early-stage impact venture funds in the U.S. Recent investments include Insight Timer, Parent Lab, Fabriq, and 10% Happier.
About Bridge Builders Collaborative: Bridge Builders Collaborative has been pioneering investors in the space of mindfulness, consciousness, mental health, and spirituality, having been early investors in such companies as Headspace, Pear Therapeutics, Happify Health, Insight Timer, and Interaxon. This unique group of experienced investors has come together to collaborate with each other to make transformative investments that can create global paradigm shifts to support human flourishing.
