NewsVoir
Bangalore (Karnataka) [India], April 4: Wysa announces the successful development and launch of its leading conversational AI for mental health in Hindi. Wysa Hindi will significantly improve access to quality mental health services in underserved communities, particularly in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities across India. The development was co-funded by ACT Grants, British International Investment, and USAID.
The development project has underscored the critical need for accessible mental health support, revealing that the top challenges faced by users include anxiety, motivation, stress, relationships, and depression. 90 per cent of users returned to have more than one session with Wysa, of which 30.5 per cent of users sought continuous support. Furthermore, 75 per cent users reported that “using the app was very simple and easy”.
These results reflect the pressing need for mental health solutions and Wysa’s effectiveness in addressing these needs, laying the foundation for its expansion into the Hindi-speaking regions of India. Smart Staff, Azad Foundation, and Royal Rajasthan Foundation are the first three organizations to adopt Wysa Hindi and ensure the app reaches those who need it most. Smart Staff primarily focuses on blue-collar migrant workers in India, while Azad Foundation and Royal Rajasthan Foundation work to empower women from low-resource communities.
Jo Aggarwal, Co-founder and CEO of Wysa commented, “The introduction of the Hindi version is a huge leap towards making quality mental health care affordable and accessible for every individual in India’s underserved regions. By leveraging our AI and collaborating with leading partners, we are transforming the landscape of mental health support, one AI conversation at a time.”
Arpit Dave, Co-founder and CEO of Smart Staff highlights that “Migrant workers face immense challenges, navigating new environments, building new communities, all while often being separated from their families. At Smartstaff, we’re dedicated to creating a safe and reliable experience for our workers. We’re thrilled to partner with Wysa to provide them with 24/7 access to clinically effective mental health support directly on their phones. This partnership has the potential to be a significant step forward in improving the quality of life for our workers.”
“At the Royal Rajasthan Foundation, we are deeply committed to enabling empowered women in the most resource-scarce areas of Rajasthan. Understanding the realities these rural women face daily, we recognize the role of mental resilience in their journey toward overcoming barriers. Wysa’s platform offers a unique blend of anonymity, security, and accessibility, making it an ideal solution for the women we serve. We are excited to explore the feasibility of a tech solution for our community, and hopeful that Wysa can make mental health support accessible for every woman,” Dalip Pande, Mentor, Royal Rajasthan Foundation mentions.
Rhea Yadav, Director of Strategy and Impact, says “India’s a country where mental health is still not well understood, but loneliness (or akelapan) is. Wysa Hindi is foremost an empathetic friend in everyone’s pocket, someone who can listen 24×7, that we’ve built specifically for the Bharat user. Our aim was not simply to translate Wysa English into Hindi, but to take a human-centered approach, with a renewed user journey and experience. Given the extremely low levels of mental health awareness and shared vocabulary, Wysa Hindi has psychoeducation built into the onboarding. After developing new AI models in Hindi and rigorous testing with real-world users to ensure clinical safety, we’re thrilled to take our best-in-class support to the most underserved people.”
Shrinivas Rao, National Programmes Lead, Azad Foundation said, “Through this collaboration, we are hoping to have heightened attention and awareness to community’s mental wellbeing as we move the needle on social support and economic empowerment. Especially for women from low-resource settings, we’re keen to offer an anonymous, stigma-free, and private space through Wysa.”
“The launch of Wysa Hindi is a milestone. It is not just a technological advancement but a testament to our commitment to addressing the critical mental health needs across India. The insights from our pilots have illuminated the profound challenges individuals face, emphasizing the urgency of accessible mental health support. Partnering with organizations like Royal Rajasthan Foundation, Smart Staff, and Azad Foundation, we are embarking on a journey to foster mental well-being, reduce stigma, and create a supportive ecosystem for individuals in need,” says Smriti Joshi, Chief Psychologist, Wysa.
Wysa is a global leader in AI-driven mental health support, available to individuals directly, through healthcare providers and employer benefits programs. Wysa supports users with the help of an “emotionally intelligent” conversational agent. The bot uses evidence-based cognitive-behavioral techniques (CBT), meditation, breathing, and mindfulness exercises, as well as micro-actions to help users build mental resilience skills. For employers, Wysa offers a workplace solution that caters to the full spectrum of mental health needs. Wysa has facilitated over 500 million conversations in 95 countries across the globe. Wysa works with 50 enterprise partners and 6.5 million users worldwide, with partners that include Aetna International, Bosch, SwissRe, Travelers, the UK’s NHS and the Ministry of Health in Singapore.
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