Pear Therapeutics
FDA-approved digital therapeutics don't matter if insurance companies refuse to pay for them.
2013 → 2023
$418M
Healthcare/Digital Therapeutics
USA
IdeaProof AI Failure Score
What Happened: The Timeline
2013
Pear Therapeutics founded to create prescription digital treatments
2018
First FDA-cleared prescription app (reSET for substance abuse)
2021
Goes public via SPAC at $1.6B valuation
2022
Revenue only $12.4M, insurers refuse reimbursement
Apr 2023
Files for bankruptcy
Root Causes
Pear Therapeutics was a pioneer in FDA-approved prescription digital therapeutics (PDTs) — software-based treatments for substance abuse and insomnia. Despite being the first company to receive FDA clearance for prescription apps (reSET, Somryst), Pear couldn't get insurance companies to reimburse for digital treatments. Doctors were unfamiliar with prescribing apps. Revenue reached only $12.4M in 2022 while burning $30M+ per quarter. Pear filed for bankruptcy in April 2023, casting doubt on the entire digital therapeutics industry.
Sources & References
Could This Failure Have Been Prevented?
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