Investment from Zetta Venture Partners, LionBird, PsyMed, BoxGroup, Arkitekt Ventures, SCB, and others Drives New Era in Clinician-Led, AI-Augmented Therapy
Jimini Health co-founders Luis Voloch, Mark Jacobstein, and Sahil Sud. Photo credit: Jimini Health.
NEW YORK, Nov. 19, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Jimini Health, a digital health company setting a new standard in mental healthcare with its unique, clinician-led therapy model augmented by responsible AI, today announced its launch with $8 million in pre-seed funding, including from Zetta Venture Partners, LionBird, PsyMed, BoxGroup, Arkitekt Ventures, SCB, and others.
Jimini Health is creating a radically better mental health experience for patients with various mental health conditions and improving outcomes through an innovative blend of expert human therapists and safe, clinically-integrated AI. The company has combined evidence-based therapy and continuous support in between sessions with its clinically supervised AI therapist assistant, Sage, to provide patients with a safe, immersive experience that is impossible with traditional therapy. Therapy is far more effective when practiced outside of sessions, but until now these approaches were not scalable.
"Therapy has been constrained by a traditional once-a-week model that leaves patients unsupported between sessions- a shortcoming that can be overcome with LLMs,” said Luis Voloch, CEO and co-founder of Jimini Health. "We're thrilled to attract a top-tier syndicate of AI and healthcare investors who support our approach. Our mission is to integrate responsible AI to superpower our clinicians, rather than replace them, to offer a new standard of continuous, higher quality care.”
Jimini Health will use its funding to develop its AI, data, safety operations, and product to serve its initial clients. Led by a human therapist, Jimini's AI-supported approach combines traditional evidence-based therapy modalities, such as cognitive behavior therapy, with an AI therapist assistant, Sage, to provide users with tailored prompts and exercises aligned with their therapeutic goals. This engaging model keeps patients involved daily in clinically helpful activities, reinforcing their progress.
Co-founded by industry leaders Luis Voloch, Mark Jacobstein, and Sahil Sud-each with a background in AI, healthcare, and biotechnology-Jimini Health brings together expertise from healthcare and technology to create an evidence-backed, clinician-led mental health model. Voloch, formerly co-founder at Immunai, an AI-driven cancer immunotherapy company valued at over $1 billion, brings deep AI and biotech experience alongside Jacobstein (ex-Guardant Health, Immunai) and Sud (ex-Ribbon Health, Palantir Technologies). Together, the founding team aims to redefine therapy through a modern, science-based approach.
"Mental illness is a global health emergency, but is too often treated by startups as a consumer marketing problem,” said Dylan Reid, Partner, Zetta Venture Partners. "Coming from a unique AI and biotech background, the founders of Jimini understand the challenges of managing complex diseases and are bringing the same level of scientific rigor, technological sophistication, and clinical excellence to Jimini. The promise and perils of AI for treating mental health conditions have become painfully clear recently, and the stakes could not be higher for doing it safely.”
Jimini Health product image. Photo credit: Jimini Health.
Unlike many standalone AI chatbots that may lack clinical oversight and escalations, Jimini Health's AI is integrated directly into a patient's care plan and overseen by a licensed therapist. This structure ensures that Sage reinforces therapeutic objectives safely, adapting to each patient's unique needs without jeopardizing clinical rigor or patient privacy. Through this model, Jimini Health mitigates the risks of unsupervised AI tools that may offer generic advice or, worse, unsafe responses during times of patient distress.
Jimini Health is also collaborating with renowned psychology experts from leading research institutions like Harvard, Yale, and Stanford, ensuring that its therapeutic practices are backed by the latest clinical research. Sage is designed not as a substitute for human therapy but as a supporting element to keep patients engaged and reinforce therapeutic skills between sessions.
"This approach is a significant step forward in mental health care, combining the advantages of technology with evidence-based psychology,” said Johannes Eichstaedt, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology at Stanford University. Dr. Gal Noyman Veksler, Partner at LionBird and a trained Psychologist, added, "For over 10 years, we have seen the same kind of mental health delivered online over and over again. Jimini is the first to harness AI to provide the best foundations for new forms of therapy in the 21st century, anytime, anywhere.”
"LLMs coupled with clinicians have the potential to radically improve outcomes in therapy for the first time in decades,” said adviser David Feinberg, previous CEO at Geisinger and now Chairman at Oracle Health. "The Jimini team is doing just that.” Jimini's AI, Sage, was developed to offer real-time, evidence-based support, with supervision and safety as core principles. It does not deliver care or substitute for a provider. It provides tools for managing immediate concerns and reinforcing therapeutic techniques, supporting a continuous care model that is both effective and patient-centric. The AI assistant's actions are shaped by each patient's unique treatment plan, which the therapist develops.
About Jimini Health
Jimini Health is setting a new standard in mental healthcare with its unique, clinician-led therapy model enhanced by responsible AI. Founded by psychology, AI, and healthcare experts, Jimini Health combines evidence-based therapeutic methods with continuous, AI-supported engagement to provide a secure, clinically validated mental health experience. With the AI-driven virtual assistant Sage™, Jimini Health offers personalized, immersive support that bridges the gap between therapy sessions. For more information, visit www.jiminihealth.com.
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