In 2004, Andy Puddicombe returned to London from a ten year expedition training as a Buddhist monk. Returning home, he established his own private meditation practice and in 2010 one of his clients, Richard Pierson (CEO), helped him establish Headspace.
Headspace was originally an events company, offering prospective clients a way to book Puddicombe. After several clients asked him for material to take come, the team (a few friends of Puddicombe and Pierson) built an app to fill that need.
The app originally came with a few offline sessions, which followed the classes conducted in London. Puddicombe delivered the sessions in his soothing British voice, which is still the default male voice on Headspace. His appearances on Jimmy Fallon and his TED Talk have made him a key ambassador for mindfulness in the West.
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The app quickly surpassed event bookings as the revenue driver for Headspace. It reached one million downloads in 2014, and received early praise from several celebrities, alongside partnerships with Virgin Atlantic and Harvard University.
Even with this growing interest in mindfulness, Headspace was still a rather niche company until 2018. In that year, it reached one million paid subscribers, a 50 percent surge over the previous year, alongside a growth in commercial clients, such as Google and LinkedIn.
As Headspace grew, so did its rival, Calm. Both built by UK entrepreneurs, Headspace and Calm are in what they describe as “mindful competition”.
Headspace has always been focused on meditation, with its exhaustive list of A-Z list of sessions. Courses for stress, anger, depression, work performance and even teaching kids how to meditate are all available on the app. Many courses are built within the three level framework: learn, practice and master.
However, in the past few years it has branched into other forms of wellness, such as adult sleeping, exercise routines and music playlists. It recently launched a podcast called Radio Headspace, in which Puddicombe discusses a few key questions from listeners. Mindful Earth launched in 2020, which combines BBC Planet Earth cinematography with Headspace’s wellness sessions.
In 2021, Headspace and on-demand mental health platform Ginger announced plans to merge. The combined entity aims to be a comprehensive mental health provider, and it seems the focus is moving from individual users to businesses, which have become more responsive to the mental health needs of their workers during the pandemic.
We have collected data and statistics on Headspace. Read on below to find out more.
Headspace key statistics
- Headspace made an estimated $235 million in 2022. It has not released financial information for three years
- 3.3 million people subscribe to Headspace and the app has been downloaded over 70 million times
- 2,100 businesses have partnered with Headspace to offer the app for free to employees
- Headspace Health, the combined company of Headspace and Ginger, was valued at $3 billion
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Headspace overview
| Title | Title 2 |
|---|---|
| Launch date | 6 January 2012 |
| HQ | Santa Monica, California |
| People | Russell Glass (CEO), Andy Puddicombe (co-founder, advisor) |
| Business type | Private |
| Industry | Meditation and wellness |
Headspace revenue
The Headspace app made an estimated $235 million in 2022, through the $10 a month subscription it charges to access its library of wellness guides.
Headspace annual revenue 2016 to 2022 ($mm)
| Year | Revenue ($mm) |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 30 |
| 2017 | 40 |
| 2018 | 60 |
| 2019 | 100 |
| 2020 | 150 |
| 2021 | 220 |
| 2022 | 235 |
Note: 2020-2022 value is an estimate. Sources: HW, Wanderlust, Fortune, NPR
Headspace subscribers
Headspace subscribers declined by 200,000 to 3.3 million paid subscribers in 2022.
Headspace annual subscribers 2017 to 2022 (mm)
| Year | Subscribers (mm) |
|---|---|
| 2017 | 0.4 |
| 2018 | 1 |
| 2019 | 1.3 |
| 2020 | 2 |
| 2021 | 3.5 |
| 2022 | 3.3 |
Sources: Company data, Forbes, TechCrunch, Bloomberg
Headspace commercial customers
Headspace increased its commercial customers by 250% in one year, as the app owner refocused the platform to support enterprise usage.
Headspace annual commercial customers 2018 to 2021
| Year | Commercial customers |
|---|---|
| 2018 | 300 |
| 2019 | 420 |
| 2020 | 600 |
| 2021 | 2,100 |
Sources: Company data, Marketwatch
Headspace downloads
Headspace has been downloaded over 70 million times, with most downloads occurring in the past three years.
Headspace cumulative downloads 2016 to 2021 (mm)
| Year | Downloads (mm) |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 6 |
| 2017 | 18 |
| 2018 | 40 |
| 2019 | 50 |
| 2020 | 60 |
| 2021 | 65 |
| 2022 | 70 |
Source: AppMagic
Headspace valuation
Headspace Health, the combined entity of Headspace and Ginger, was recently valued at $3 billion.
Headspace valuation 2015 to 2021 ($mm)
| Year | Valuation ($mm) |
|---|---|
| 2014 | 50 |
| 2017 | 250 |
| 2018 | 320 |
| 2021 | 3000 |
Sources: The Times, Forbes, TechCrunch
Headspace funding
Headspace has received $320 million cumulative funding since launch.
Headspace cumulative funding 2015 to 2023 ($mm)
| Year | Funding ($mm) |
|---|---|
| 2015 | 38 |
| 2017 | 75 |
| 2020 | 215 |
| 2023 | 320 |
Source: Crunchbase
Headspace vs Calm: revenue
Headspace FAQ
What companies offer Headspace to employees?
Google, LinkedIn, Starbucks, Adobe, GE and Turner have all partnered with Headspace for commercial use (Marketwatch)
Who has the most subscribers out of Headspace and Calm?
Calm has the most subscribers at four million, although Headspace has not updated its subscriber count since early 2020
What are Headspace demographics?
Usage demographics are evenly split between 18 to 65 year olds, gender is also a 50/50 split (Forbes, Jinhong Chen)
How many meditation sessions are available on Headspace?
There is over 300 hours of guided meditation available on the app
How many countries is Headspace available in?
Headspace is available in over 190 countries, in five languages
When was Headspace founded?
Headspace was founded in 2012 by Andy Puddicombe and Richard Pierson, who received $50,000 from friends to launch the app (Forbes)
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