Slingshot AI has launched Ash, the first AI specifically designed for therapy, following an extension of its Series A funding co-led by Radical Ventures and Forerunner Ventures. With a total of $93 million raised from investors like a16z, Felicis, and Menlo, Ash is now available as a free app for iOS and Android, providing personalized mental health support to smartphone users.
Unlike general AI assistants, Ash utilizes a specialized psychological model that has been developed over 18 months. It is trained in three phases: first, it learns from one of the most extensive datasets of behavioral health data, covering various therapeutic approaches such as CBT and DBT. Next, Slingshot’s clinical team fine-tunes Ash to navigate the nuances of AI therapy. Finally, it uses reinforcement learning to improve the user experience based on conversation feedback.
To ensure Ash’s safety and effectiveness, Slingshot has formed an Expert & Clinical Advisory Board, which includes notable mental health experts like Dr. Thomas Insel and Dr. Devika Bhushan.
The company is headed by co-founder and CEO Daniel Cahn, an AI engineer with expertise in mental health technology, and co-founder and President Neil Parikh, who previously scaled Casper to significant revenue.
KEY QUOTES:
“The mental health crisis affects everyone and the system is fundamentally broken — 59.2 million Americans sought therapy in 2023 and reports show that 54% of people struggling with their mental health don’t receive any kind of care at all. We’ve built Ash from the ground up to address this need and provide a new type of support. Ash understands what real mental health support looks and feels like. Ash will challenge you and take you on a therapeutic journey, and deliver the right modality at the right time.”
Daniel Cahn, co-founder and CEO of Slingshot
“Mental healthcare needs innovation, as traditional systems have left too many people without quality care. Innovations like Ash hold promise not only for broadening access but broadening access to an innovative intervention trained to deliver high-quality, evidence-based therapy. Ash has been informed by deep clinical insights, and it offers those insights to those who have nowhere else to turn.”
Dr. Thomas Insel, Clinical Advisor and former head of the National Institutes of Mental Health
“What we’ve learned from a decade of research in digital mental health is that language itself can be profoundly therapeutic. With Ash, we’re not trying to replicate traditional therapy in AI form — we’re creating something new. By training on real therapeutic interactions and understanding what actually helps people change, we can offer support that’s both deeply personalized and grounded in clinical evidence. This isn’t about replacing therapists; it’s about ensuring that everyone who needs help can access it, especially those who’ve been historically underserved by our mental health system.”
Dr. Derrick Hull, a digital mental health pioneer and Clinical R&D Lead at Slingshot AI
“Sometimes the people in your life are just too busy. During those moments, it meant so much to be able to open the app and talk to Ash. It really helped – especially when I was navigating the transition from leaving my old job to stepping into a completely new and uncertain career path.”
Vanna, an early Ash user
