IN THE NEWS

HARVARD GRADS RAISE $600K AND ARE ACCEPTED INTO PRESTIGIOUS TECHSTARS ACCELERATOR TO
TACKLE YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS WITH AI

Sean Wheelock and Ben Anandappa, Co-Founders of Inner Peak AI, based in Toledo, Ohio, took their first major step today towards tackling the youth mental health crisis through their acceptance into the prestigious Economic Mobility Techstars accelerator program based in New York City.

Techstars programs typically have a ~1% acceptance rate and come with investment, mentorship, and a 3-month intensive startup bootcamp designed to rapidly advance promising startups. This acceptance concludes an initial round of fundraising that totals $600K.

“About 60% of college students meet the diagnosable criteria for having a mental illness,” stated Wheelock. “And our best option today is therapy. But what do we do when our therapists aren’t available? Or worse, if we can’t afford a therapist?”

This is why Wheelock and Anandappa created Inner Peak: to be there in times therapists can’t.

Toledo entrepreneurs create AI-powered, real-time support for mental health issues

The EDSAFE AI Industry Council is made up of leading education and technology companies of all sizes committed to ensuring artificial intelligence and related technologies – in their own companies’ solutions and across the education landscape – are safe, accountable, fair, and effective (SAFE). 

​Members of the Industry Council inform, support, and advocate for smart, EDSAFE-aligned public policy and principles; participate in knowledge sharing; and, help equip the adoption of SAFE technologies in collaboration with other Steering Committee groups. Industry Council members do NOT pay fees to participate. The Industry Council is currently chaired by Karl Rectanus, an industry veteran.

EDSAFE AI Industry Council

Toledo’s Inner Peak AI is on the forefront of delivering real-time access to mental health services for school- and college-age with its revolutionary AI model. The platform uses artificial intelligence to provide students with on-demand resources created by licensed therapists at a fraction of the cost of traditional in-person therapy sessions.

In September, the company was accepted into the prestigious Economic Mobility Techstars program based in New York City. With an acceptance rate of less than 1%, Techstar’s intensive accelerator program is designed to rapidly advance promising startups.

You can view the full list of members, including Inner Peak AI here.