Headspace (company)

This article is about the UK-US healthcare company. For the Australian youth mental health organization, see Headspace (organisation). For the now-defunct audio technology company formerly named Headspace, see Beatnik (company). For the web design agency formerly known as Head-Space, see Head New Media.

Headspace is a digital mental health company that provides guided meditation, mindfulness, and online therapy services. Founded in May 2010 by Andy Puddicombe and Richard Pierson, the company is headquartered in Santa Monica, California, with additional offices in San Francisco and London. It operates as a subsidiary of Headspace Health and offers services through its mobile app and online platform on a subscription basis.

Headspace

Company type	Private
Industry	Healthcare
Genre	Mental Health
Founded	May 2010; 15 years ago (2010-05) in London, England
Headquarters	2415 Michigan Avenue, Santa Monica, California , United States
Number of locations	3 (2024)
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Tom Pickett (CEO, Board Member) Andy Puddicombe (Headspace Co-Founder) Karan Singh (COO, Ginger Co-Founder) Rich Pierson (Headspace Co-Founder)
Services	Online therapy Mental health coaching Guided meditation and mindfulness
Revenue	100+ million
Number of employees	1000+
Parent	Headspace Health
Website	www.headspace.com

Headspace

Available in	English, French, German, Portuguese and Spanish[1]

History

Andy Puddicombe, co-founder of Headspace.

Founding and Early Years

Headspace was established in London by Andy Puddicombe, a former Buddhist monk, and Richard Pierson, a marketing professional. Initially, the company organized mindfulness events before launching its mobile application in 2012. By 2017, Headspace employed over 1,000 staff across its offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and London. In June 2017, Ross Hoffman joined as Chief Business Officer.^[2]

Headspace Health and Clinical Initiatives

In 2018, Headspace introduced Headspace Health, a subsidiary aimed at developing FDA-approved meditation tools for clinical use. The company began clinical trials with the goal of obtaining FDA approval for its first digital health product by 2020.^[3]

Merger with Ginger

In August 2021, Headspace merged with Ginger, an online mental health platform, creating a combined entity valued at $3 billion. The merger aimed to provide comprehensive mental health services, including therapy and coaching^[4]

Leadership Changes

In January 2021, Puddicombe and Pierson stepped back from day-to-day leadership while remaining on the Board. In May 2022, they left the Board entirely. In August 2024, Tom Pickett was appointed as CEO, bringing experience from his previous role as Chief Revenue Officer at DoorDash.^[5]

Products

Meditation and Mindfulness

Headspace offers guided meditation sessions through its mobile app and website. The app provides content in areas such as health, performance, relationships, and sleep. Notable collaborations include:

• Star Wars Mindfulness Series (April 2022): A series featuring characters from the Star Wars franchise, guided by Headspace instructor Samantha Snowden.^[6][7]

• Shine Acquisition (September 2022): Headspace acquired Shine, a mental health and wellness platform focused on inclusive mental healthcare, integrating its content into the Headspace platform.
• The Mindful Adventures of Unicorn Island (September 2023): An animated series for children, co-created with Lilly Singh and YouTube TV, teaching mindfulness-based emotional regulation skills.^[8]

• Headspace XR (March 2024): A virtual reality mindfulness game for Meta Quest, developed in collaboration with Nexus Studios.^[9][10]

Coaching and Therapy

Following the merger with Ginger, Headspace offers mental health coaching and therapy services under the brand Headspace Care. In November 2023, the platform introduced its first clinically focused program, Finding Your Best Sleep, which incorporates Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I)^[11]

Research

See also: Research on meditation

Headspace has been used in several of clinical trials investigating the effects of mindfulness training. In one such study, researchers from UCL,^[12] funded by the British Heart Foundation, examined the impact of mindfulness on workplace stress in two major multinational corporations, using the Headspace app as the intervention. The study found a significant increase in well-being, reductions in anxiety and depressive symptoms, significant reductions in diastolic blood pressures, significant increases in perceived job control, as well as a significant reduction in sleeping problems.^[13]

Publications

Three books by Headspace founder Andy Puddicombe are published by Hodder & Stoughton.^[14]

• Get Some Headspace (2011)
• The Headspace Diet (2013)
• The Headspace Guide to... a Mindful Pregnancy (2015)

Netflix shows

Poster for Headspace Guide to Meditation.

Headspace signed a three-series deal with Netflix, with each show being produced by Vox Media. The first series, Headspace Guide to Meditation was released in January 2021 with Headspace Guide to Sleep released in April 2021. The third title, Unwind Your Mind, was released in June 2021.^[15]

Media attention

Headspace has been featured on both UK and US television, appearing on The Today Show,^[16] BBC Breakfast News,^[17] ABC News, and The Dr. Oz Show.^[18] It was also featured on the BBC Two science documentary Horizon, which tested the efficacy of mindfulness using the Headspace app over 8 weeks.^[19] The product has also been mentioned on NPR^[20] and in publications such as Martha Stewart^[21] in the US.

In November 2012, Headspace founder Andy Puddicombe gave a TED Talk, entitled "All It Takes Is 10 Mindful Minutes",^[22] outlining the benefits of taking time out each day to practice mindfulness.

Controversy

In July 2023, former Headspace therapists affected by a round of layoffs accused the company of canceling patient appointments and severing relationships with clinicians without advanced notice, potentially violating ethical standards of care.^[23][24]