AI for Social Good. Part 2: Mental Health and Loneliness Prevention

Humanity faces global economic crises, natural cataclysms, unknown pandemics, and the evolving loneliness and mental health epidemic. The latest U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory points towards the survey’s findings that half of U.S. young adults experience loneliness, but only less than 20% consider it a problem. Also, approximately 20% of adults experience a mental illness. 

You can also value the scale of the problem from a business point of view. In 2021, mental health-focused digital startups obtained over $5 billion in venture capital, double more than other medical disorders. 

Let’s meet closer with these heroes of our days — tech companies that have developed AI-powered tools to help people who struggle with loneliness and mental issues.

Wysa is an Indian startup founded and presented on World Mental Health Day in 2016 by Jo Aggarwal and her husband, Ramakant Vempati. 

Wysa is a mental platform that provides mental support for individuals and employees in coping with stress and difficult emotions. Its approach is creating a therapeutic alliance with a conversational AI bot, evidence-based exercises, and sessions with human therapists. All this together aims to prevent the escalation of mental health difficulties. 

Charles Antoine-Janssen, chief investment officer, HealthQuad:
“The needs for Wysa are present all across, from high-income to low-income countries. Mental health triaging of patients using AI which is fast, effective and non-stigmatising for patients living in unaccepting societies answers a huge need in India, the rest of low-income Asia, Africa as well as the wealthiest countries of the world.”

Reflectly is an AI-driven app for daily journaling and reflecting so that users can track and improve their mood changes and overall mental state. The more you use the app, the more it provides personalized motivational practices and insights based on your diary notes.    

Founded in 2017 in Denmark, Reflectly has achieved incredible results and a 10 million user base within the next three years. According to the 2020 list of “Top English-Language Mental Wellness Apps” of a SensorTower, Reflectly was the 3rd after Calm and Headspace in the US downloads. 

In his latest interviews of 2020, Jakob Brøgger-Mikkelsen, CEO and co-founder of Reflectly, mentioned plans to expand their business in the Asian market and go public.

Founded in 2018 by Kavi Misri, Rose Health is an AI-driven platform that unites patients, providers, and health systems to stay connected for providing complex mental health care and its continuous monitoring. 

Leveraging AI and machine learning, Rose finds the right therapists for patients and provides them with appropriate mental help. It helps to detect early signs of depression and mood disorders and intervene in time. 

Rose Health has proven to be an effective tool for fighting against depression, as 75% of its users reported improving their state from severe to moderate or mild depression.

A young startup Clare&me was founded by Emilia Theye and Celina Messner in 2021 in Berlin. Clare is an AI-powered voice bot that talks to you and guides you through any hard feelings. It helps cope with anxiety and mild depression through self-reflective exercises and grounding techniques based on CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy). 

There is no app to download because Clare becomes one of your WhatsApp contacts, so you can have calls or chats whenever you need. This kind of communication creates a safe space for users to talk themselves out of thoughts that worry them. 

In February 2022, Clare&me completed a $1.1M pre-seed funding round led by health-tech fund YZR Venture Capital which supports health-tech businesses.

Woebot Health was founded by clinical research psychologist Dr. Alison Darcy in 2017 in San Francisco, California. It’s a mental health platform that merges advanced artificial intelligence, years of clinically validated therapeutic studies, and an interactive relational bot named Woebot. 

The platform is based on psychology and technology symbiosis — the bot interacts with users conversationally, providing therapeutic techniques and strategies based on CBT. The aim is to help users understand their feelings, manage their thoughts, and improve their mental well-being to prevent or manage anxiety and depression.

In 2021, Woebot Health acquired a $90 million in Series B funding round led by JAZZ Venture Partners and Temasek.

Meghan Reynolds, Partner at JAZZ Venture Partners:
“We have long believed in Woebot Health’s mission to transform mental health care. At a time when so many people around the world lack critical mental health support, the company’s work to deliver scalable, accessible, and quality care has been truly impressive. With this new funding accelerating growth, it will be easier than ever for people to get the on-demand support they need and deserve.”