Wysa

Wysa, developed by Touchkin, is a startup providing behavioural and mental health support to patients who need it, by developing technological solutions. The venture is pioneering AI-driven empathetic, compassionate conversations supported by human coaches.

The chatbot uses tools drawn from evidence-based self-help methodologies including CBT, mindfulness and life coaching to hold sensitive conversations with users and provide lines of emotional support.

The service is anonymous and free to use, and was designed in collaboration with AI engineers, therapists, coaches, and users. A premium version of the app offers additional services, including direct access to mental health and well-being professionals.

In June 2019 Wysa announced it had raised RS15crore (around $2m) in a Seed round led by Pi Ventures. The funding was raised to further develop its technology and drive market expansion.

As of August 2019, the company had over 1.2 million users in 30 different countries, and Wysa had held over 80 million conversations.

In November 2019, the startup was announced as a member of Hartford Insurtech Hub's 2020 cohort.

In May 2021 Wysa announced a new $5.5m funding round. The company also revealed that it had reached around 3 million users. It also claimed around 90% of users who come to them with issues don't require any further medical diagnosis.