Leon Jacobson went through nearly two dozen doctors before he found answers to his chronic pain. That exhausting journey shaped what would become Nerveli, a science-backed, AI-powered platform aiming to change how pain is treated.

Now Jacobson’s Dallas-based startup has closed an oversubscribed $540,000 pre-seed round, backed by 20 investors in a new special purpose vehicle led by DFW Angels, a group spun out of TiE Dallas Angels. Additional investors include 2 the Moon Ventures and George Baker Sr., as well as the founder of FreightWaves and the former CEO of Xpress Technologies, the Nerveli co-founder and CEO told us.

The company was also previously selected to join the Techstars Physical Health Fort Worth Accelerator, receiving $120,000 in funding, according to UT Dallas and Jacobson. Techstars has a sub-1% acceptance rate, and Nerveli was one of just 11 startups selected globally for the 2024 cohort.

A broken system—and a better path

Jacobson said his own struggle with unresolved pain shaped Nerveli’s approach. Consultations with twenty-three different doctors left him with no clear answers. “In that process, I saw a number of issues in the treatment of pain, and I knew there had to be a better solution,” he said in a news release last year.

That solution became Nerveli: a mobile app that combines AI, gamified cognitive behavioral therapy, and clinical assessment tools to help users understand and manage chronic pain. According to Jacobson, the app starts with a video-guided sensory test and a series of interactive survey questions developed by the company’s clinical team. From there, it delivers personalized coaching and daily exercises based on each user’s data and needs.

“It provides daily recommendations and education for users on how to more effectively manage their pain and is a supportive coach every step of the way,” Jacobson explained.

A clinical and tech-heavy founding team

Jacobson assembled a crew of pain psychologists, physicians, data scientists, and technologists. Together, he says, they engineered Nerveli.

The founding team includes Chief Science Officer Dr. Desiree Azizoddin, a Harvard-affiliated pain psychologist at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. The company holds exclusive IP rights to her research on cognitive behavioral therapy for pain, adapted for mobile use.

The company has also filed a provisional patent for its body pain assessment tool with plans to complete the full patent application using funds from this round, according to Jacobson.

The Nerveli CEO co-founded the company with Dr. Ted Price, who serves as a senior advisor and is director of the Center for Advanced Pain Studies at UT Dallas, and Dr. Amol Patwardhan. Price said in a UT Dallas interview that he saw the potential early on: “I immediately recognized that the combination of Leon’s personal story, his unique background and training, and the way we clicked on the idea… made him the perfect person to bring this idea to reality.”

Nerveli’s backers also include a notable list of tech and business veterans, according to the company. Key investors include Doug Moore, former CEO of Fujitsu; Dean Jacobson, managing partner at Accel-KKR; Mike Murphy, former VP of Global Sales at Facebook; George Brody of Turbostart VC, and Paul Golden, former CMO of Samsung, according to materials provided by the company. Techstars is also listed as an investor.

Market focus and pilot plans

According to Jacobson, the startup is targeting a B2B SaaS model focused on employers, payers, providers, health systems, and personal injury attorneys. Nerveli’s first pilots are expected to launch this October with a back pain institute and an employer partner.

The company estimates a total addressable market of $250 billion for chronic pain management, with a serviceable available market of $1 billion and a serviceable obtainable market of $250 million, according to Nervali materials.

Building from personal experience and local roots

Jacobson, a serial entrepreneur and former VC who earned his MBA from UT Dallas’ Naveen Jindal School of Management, previously served as assistant director of the university’s Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. He said his time there helped shape his approach as a founder.

“I was able to work with so many amazing students, faculty, staff, and alumni and see a tremendous number of innovative ideas coming out of the university,” he said last year.

According to Jacobson, Nerveli’s goal is to become the trusted name in digital pain recovery. “If someone is dealing with chronic pain and wants to have a better quality of life and get back to partaking in activities that they enjoy,” he said, “they will know they just need to get the Nerveli app.”

The Nervali CEO says the fragmented state of pain care—including short specialist visits, long wait times, and a lack of training in non-invasive approaches—has created space for a more holistic and accessible solution.

“There is just not enough education around how to come up with non-prescription or invasive options to help patients who suffer from chronic pain,” Jacobson told UT Dallas last year. “The vast majority of the 50 million Americans who suffer from chronic pain on a daily basis don’t have a great understanding of how they can handle their pain more effectively. Many of them end up having to Google their symptoms.”

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