100. Cogs AI: mental health support for every neurodivergent person

Founders: Zareen Ali and Felix de Grey
Year founded: 2021
Website: cogs-ai.com

Here’s a statistic that might shock you: neurodivergent people are twice as likely to experience poor mental health than neurotypical people.

Zareen Ali, founder of Cogs AI, says this is because existing mental health therapies have not been developed for those without neurotypical brain function. Traditional therapies, she argues, are ineffective for those with conditions such as ASD, ADHD, ADD, Dyslexia, Dyscalculia and Dyspraxia.

Cogs AI is a mental health support app that’s been specifically designed for the neuro-atypical; to help them build lasting self-care habits and manage overwhelming emotions.

Ali herself is autistic and her personal experiences, combined with a Masters in Educational Neuroscience and Developmental Psychology plus a previous role as a teaching assistant for neurodivergent children, helped her see a gap in the market for mental health support for her community.

“We’re the only tech company specifically targeting neurodivergent mental health,” says Ali. “Competitors are either creating general-purpose mental health solutions that don’t work for neurodivergent users, or creating neurodiversity productivity solutions (mainly targeted at ADHD) that don’t address mental health.”

We’re the only tech company specifically targeting neurodivergent mental health.

In other good news, Cogs AI has raised £650k in early stage funding from backers including Bethnal Green Ventures and The Francis Crick Institute, as well as funds like Innovate UK.

Ali notes a particular highlight as having Cog AI’s NHS contract renewed. This was based on the results of its successful impact evaluation, showing that the Cogs AI app was four times more popular than the alternative NHS offering. No wonder, when patients who used the Cogs app showed a 30% improvement in mental health outcomes after just two weeks of usage.

Looking ahead, Cogs AI will expand in the US, targeting the direct-to-consumer market. By 2030, Ali hopes the platform will be the dominant brand for neurodivergent mental health across both ponds.