Peter Thiel is one of the most respected investors in the world. He therefore attracts a lot of attention when he makes a major investment, particularly in potentially disruptive industries, which is why his recent investment in the budding psychedelics industry has been receiving a lot of press interest.

Mental disorders have become quite common today and the medical community has been researching psychedelics as potential treatments. The huge market for mental health treatments and the medicinal properties that psychedelics have to offer creates a crossroad for the creation of a new industry and Thiel has already jumped on board as early as possible. He recently participated in a funding round for a psychedelics startup called ATAI Life Sciences, based in Berlin.

The billionaire investor invested some cash in ATAI Life Sciences’ funding round in which it sought to raise $125 million. Srinivas Rao, Lars Wilde, Florian Branda, and Christian Angermayer founded the startup in 2018. The company focuses on drug development and its goal is to focus on psychedelics and other drugs that can treat mental health conditions, addiction, anxiety, and depression.

Past research on psychedelics indicates that they provide some therapeutic benefits, especially against mental health. Thiel is a billionaire investor who made a significant chunk of his wealth from investing in startups. His investment in ATAI Life Sciences at a time when the industry is gaining traction highlights his expectation that it will develop into a lucrative industry just like the cannabis industry. It also helps that clinical study results have so far favored the use of psychedelics for medicinal purposes.

Thiel’s venture capital firm Thiel Ventures $12 million in ATAI Life Sciences. Some of the other investors that participated in the funding round include Catalio Capital Management, Pura Vida, Falcon Edge Capital, Future Ventures, Catalio Capital Management, and Apeiron Investment Group. These are companies that are already convinced that psychedelics are the next big thing and they want to invest as early as possible.

More than 1 billion people across the globe suffer from mental health illnesses. They represent a huge market for psychedelics-based therapies, which also means that companies developing such treatments have a lot of financial upside to enjoy.

Leave a Reply