clare&me, a Berlin-based AI mental health tech startup, has raised €3.7M in funding. Their chatbot is designed to be used in a clinical setting, as a conversational model which which patients discuss their mental health. The capital will be invested in the further development of the technology, in particular the fine-tuning of their “empathic” LLM, as well as the expansion of a second product for the automation of clinical anamnesis interviews in order to increase collaboration with clinics and thus the trust of end users expand. The software is designed to reduce waiting times and stigma.

The effectiveness of the model will be featured in studies in collaboration with the Charité Berlin. The study shows that patients who regularly interacted with Clare as a pure voice-bot over a period of 8 weeks saw significant improvement in stress, anxiety, depression and loneliness – and especially for people overcoming psychological barriers like shame or stigma. Study results further provide initial evidence of the establishment of a therapeutic relationship.

The financing round is led by Munich-based HealthTech investor YZR and includes the participation of new investors such as Kodori Ventures and Material Ventures, as well as participation of existing angels and Antler.

clare&me has also secured grant funding from the IBB (Development Bank of Berlin), European funds and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research to continue technical research and develop the world’s first CLLM (Clinical Large Language Model), which would be trained by psychotherap.

Emilia Theye, CEO & co-founder commented, “Over three years ago we had a vision that was critically questioned for a long time – it’s hard to believe that the same vision is now a no-brainer for so many and that we have received so much great support along the way. With this funding, we continue to focus on building clinical AI that is based on the latest research and ethical foundations and has lasting psychological impact.”

Celina Messner, CEO & co-founder added: “I am proud of what we have achieved with our team. Reimagining technology in a field like mental health is not only fun but also hard work. The research funds are a seal of our technical quality and show how great our pioneering work is in the field.”