Wysa

Wysa
Company typePrivate
IndustryDigital mental health
Founded2015 in Bengaluru, India
FoundersRamakant Vempati, Jo Aggarwal
HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
Area served
105 countries
Key people
Jo Aggarwal (CEO)
Ramakant Vempati (President)
ProductsAI conversational agent, Wysa Navigator, Wysa Gateway, Wysa Copilot
ServicesDigital mental health solutions, human coaching, clinical support
Websitewww.wysa.io

Wysa is a global digital mental health platform offering evidence-based therapeutic support through an emotionally intelligent chatbot, human coaching, and digital healthcare integration. The platform is designed to increase accessibility to mental health tools for individuals, employers, and healthcare systems worldwide.

History

Wysa was founded in Bengaluru, India, in 2016 by husband-and-wife team Jo Aggarwal and Ramakant Vempati. Both formerly worked in corporate roles at Tata Group and Goldman Sachs before launching Wysa. The platform publicly launched in 2016 on World Mental Health Day, inspired by early chatbots such as ELIZA and designed to create a "safe space" with AI-guided tools based on evidence-based techniques, including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), mindfulness, and coaching exercises.[1][2]

In 2017, a pivotal moment occurred when a 13-year-old user contacted Wysa, crediting them with saving her life, prompting the team to focus exclusively on their mental health chatbot. Over the subsequent years, the platform earned clinical safety certifications and privacy validations, and was adopted by the UK’s NHS and Singapore’s Ministry of Health.[1][3]

In 2021, Wysa raised $5.5 million in Series A funding and $20 million in a Series B round in 2022.[4]

In 2022, Wysa received the U.S. FDA Breakthrough Device Designation for its AI-based digital therapy for patients with chronic pain, depression, and anxiety.[5][6] The company was also recognized by the Mozilla Foundation with the Best of Privacy Award in both 2022 and 2023 for its data privacy and security practices.[7]

In 2023, Wysa launched the Wysa Navigator employee wellbeing hub, followed in 2024 by the Wysa Gateway digital intake platform and Wysa Copilot, a hybrid clinical workflow integrating AI tools as therapeutic homework.[8]

In March 2025, Wysa acquired April Health, a U.S. behavioural health company that integrates virtual psychiatric and care management services into primary care practices, to create a hybrid model combining Wysa’s AI-enabled platform with human-led care coordination under the sub-brand “April Health by Wysa.”[9][10]

In September 2025, Wysa acquired Kins, a U.S. physical-therapy company, to integrate its AI mental-health technology into physical-therapy care pathways and expand digital interventions across musculoskeletal and behavioural-health populations.[11][12]

Wysa partners with enterprises, health insurers, workers' compensation insurers, and public healthcare providers globally, including Vitality, Accenture, Allianz, the UK’s National Health Service (NHS), Swiss RE, Singapore Ministry of Health, and Travelers Insurance.[13][3][14]

Products and services

Wysa’s core product is an AI conversational agent that utilizes CBT, DBT, and meditative exercises to support self-management of mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression, and chronic pain.

Key services:

  • Wysa App has an AI chatbot that is available 24/7, providing anonymous self-help exercises, meditation, and techniques based on cognitive-behavioral therapy, DBT, and other evidence-based methods.[1]
  • Human Coaching, launched in 2022, offers wellbeing coaching via text and video in conjunction with AI-guided self-help.[15]
  • Wysa Navigator is a centralized wellbeing platform for employers and employees, launched in 2023, increasing engagement with benefits and employee assistance programs.[3]
  • Wysa Gateway is a digital referral assistant and patient intake tool implemented at healthcare providers like the NHS from 2022 onward.[16]
  • Wysa Copilot, launched in 2024, is a care platform that enables therapists to assign AI-guided tools, automates assessments, provides secure messaging, and personalizes care pathways to improve patient engagement and extend support between and beyond therapy sessions.[17]
  • Multilingual Support works over 20 languages including Spanish, Hindi, and multiple Indian regional languages, coupled with WhatsApp and voice integrations to reach underserved groups globally.

Research

Independent and collaborative studies have evaluated Wysa’s AI-enabled, CBT-based conversational agent across multiple populations and settings, reporting statistically significant clinical efficacy on validated measures (e.g., PHQ-9, GAD-7, PROMIS), and high engagement and retention compared to other DMHIs. The app also demonstrated feasibility and acceptabilityand a measurable therapeutic alliance equivalent to in-person treatment,

  • An empathy-driven AI agent (Wysa) for digital mental well-being: real-world mixed-methods — Higher-engagement users showed greater PHQ-9 improvement vs lower-engagement users; qualitative feedback indicated the app was helpful. JMIR mHealth and uHealth (2018), e12106.[18]
  • Digital mental health in an orthopedic setting: feasibility cohort — High engagement/retention; greater improvement among high users on PROMIS Anxiety at 2 months. JMIR Formative Research (2022), e34889, doi:10.2196/34889 {{doi}}: unflagged free DOI (link)[19]
  • Digital intervention + usual care vs comparators in orthopedic patients: retrospective cohort — Clinically meaningful gains on PROMIS domains vs usual care and in-person counseling. JMIR Formative Research (2022), e36203.[20]
  • Multi-stakeholder preferences for orthopedic clinic delivery: qualitative analysis — Clinicians and patients viewed a digital modality as feasible, scalable, private, and accessible. BMC Psychiatry (2023), doi:10.1186/s12888-023-04868-9 {{doi}}: unflagged free DOI (link)[21]
  • mindline.sg in a clinical population (Singapore): usability/acceptability — High perceived usability; previously hospitalized participants rated it more positively. JMIR Human Factors (2023), doi:10.2196/42167 {{doi}}: unflagged free DOI (link)[22]
  • Healthcare workers during COVID-19: service evaluation — 80% completed ≥2 sessions; mean 10.9 sessions over ~3.8 weeks; strong reuse of sleep/anxiety tools. JMIR Formative Research (2024), e51858, doi:10.2196/51858 {{doi}}: unflagged free DOI (link)[23]
  • Language adaptations (English vs Spanish) — Spanish users had more sessions, longer messages, and more distress disclosure; greater negative affect/self-harm mentions. Digital Health (2024), doi:10.1177/20552076241255616 [24]
  • Brief web + longitudinal app intervention (Singapore, COVID-19): mixed-methods — Brief web widget increased downstream app engagement; >90% successful cognitive restructuring. (Submitted, J Med Internet Res, doi:10.2196/50641 {{doi}}: unflagged free DOI (link))[25]
  • Messages about autism spectrum disorder: qualitative analysis — Users frequently discussed ASD diagnosis/help; 80% negative-valence emotion words among self-identified ASD users. Frontiers in Digital Health (2023), 1251016[26]
  • ASD user utilization patterns — Regular engagement; most-used tools were mindfulness, thought recording, sleep, grounding, social support.[27]
  • Workers’ Compensation: pilot feasibility — High need for psychosocial support; screened-positive injured workers showed higher onboarding/retention/engagement. Journal of Occupational & Environmental Medicine (2023), doi:10.1097/JOM.0000000000002762[28]
  • Therapeutic alliance with a free-text CBT agent: mixed-methods — Alliance bond scores increased over time and were comparable to face-to-face CBT benchmarks. Frontiers in Digital Health (2022), 847991.[29]
  • User feedback analysis (app store reviews): qualitative — Strong acceptability/usability/usefulness themes; majority 5-star ratings. JMIR Human Factors (2022), e35668.[30] Chronic pain users: mixed-methods real-world — Greater engagement vs non-pain users; significant pre–post PHQ-9/GAD-7 improvements (medium effect sizes). JMIR Human Factors (2022), e35671.[31]
  • Chronic pain adherence/engagement: survival analysis — Median retention 51 days; morning check-ins associated with longer retention (p=.001). JMIR Formative Research (2022), e37302.[32]
  • Chronic pain protocol (AI-CBT via Wysa only): pilot design — Prospective 8-week study to assess pain, interference, depression, anxiety, alliance, and adherence. JMIR Research Protocols (2022), e36910, doi:10.2196/36910 {{doi}}: unflagged free DOI (link)[33]
  • Maternal event users: mixed-methods real-world — Higher-engagement group showed significantly greater PHQ-9 reduction; themes included reframing and seeking support. Frontiers in Global Women’s Health (2023), doi:10.3389/fgwh.2023.1084302 {{doi}}: unflagged free DOI (link)[34]

References

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