Slingshot AI completed an extension of its Series A funding round, raising $93 million in total capital. Radical Ventures and Forerunner Ventures co-led this latest investment. Previous investors include a16z, Felicis, and Menlo. The company simultaneously launched Ash, an artificial intelligence platform designed for therapy.
Ash, the first AI designed for therapy, is now publicly available. Slingshot AI developed Ash over 18 months with 50,000 beta users. This free app offers personalized mental health support on iOS and Android devices. Ash aims to address the significant mental health care gap.
Ash AI Therapy Platform Debuts
Ash operates on a specialized foundation model for psychology. Slingshot AI developed this model over the past 18 months. The system trains in three distinct phases. First, it pre-trains on a vast dataset of behavioral health data. This includes styles like CBT, DBT, ACT, and psychodynamic therapy. Next, Slingshot’s clinical team fine-tunes Ash for AI therapy nuances. Finally, reinforcement learning continuously improves user experience. This approach distinguishes Ash from general-purpose AI assistants, similar to how digital therapeutics differ from general health apps.
Slingshot AI also formed an Expert & Clinical Advisory Board. This board ensures Ash’s safety and clinical grounding. Members include Dr. Thomas Insel, Dr. Devika Bhushan, and Former Congressman Patrick Kennedy. Competitors include Talkspace and BetterHelp. Woebot Health also focuses on AI-driven mental health.
Daniel Cahn, co-founder and CEO, leads Slingshot AI. Neil Parikh serves as co-founder and President.
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Ash expands access to evidence-based mental health tools.
