Top Mental Health Startups in India

In recent years, India has seen a surge in mental health startups trying to close the large gap between need and access. According to some estimates, over 200 million people in India suffer from mental health issues, but only a small fraction receive proper care due to stigma, lack of professionals, cost, and awareness. The startups below are among those working in novel ways to overcome these barriers.

1. LISSUN

Overview & Founders: Founded in 2021 by Krishna Veer Singh and Tarun Gupta, LISSUN is a Gurugram-based mental health and emotional wellness startup. 

What makes them unique:

• They follow a hybrid model: combining digital tools (apps, AI) and physical centres (“Sunshine by Lissun”) so users can access both remote/online support and in-person therapy / assessments when needed.

• They integrate mental health into settings where people already have pressing non-mental health needs (for example infertility/maternity clinics, chronic illness care, coaching centres for students) to reduce stigma and make access more natural. 

• Recently, LISSUN acquired Being Cares, a U.S. startup with an AI-driven model that maps over 40 emotional and behavioural conditions (anxiety, depression, burnout, parenting stress) and 2,500+ cause-effect relationships. This helps them build AI-led early risk detection and progression pathways in child/adolescent development. 

Scale & Impact:

• As of 2024-2025, LISSUN has raised a pre-Series A round of ~$2.5 million, bringing its total funding to about $5 million.

• They run 20 physical centres (Sunshine Centres) and plan to scale to over 200 over the next 2-4 years.

• Their child-focused division has delivered ~30,000+ hours of therapy across ~20 centres, and early efforts have included more than 75,000 lives impacted via various mental health & therapy programmes.

Challenges & Considerations:

●     Scaling physical centres is capital-intensive; staffing qualified therapists and special educators is tough, especially in smaller towns.

●     Ensuring consistency and quality of care across locations, especially when integrating online + offline models.

●     Navigating policy, regulation, qualifications of mental health professionals, data privacy, etc. When dealing with sensitive mental health data, trust is key.

Why it's making waves: Because LISSUN is combining technology + on-ground care + early detection, and widening its target to children/adolescents, families, for whom options have been less accessible. The acquisition of an AI mapping startup gives it a distinctive edge in creating predictive, contextually relevant support.

2. Amaha (formerly InnerHour)

Overview & Founders: InnerHour started in 2016, founded by Dr. Amit Malik (a psychiatrist) and Neha Kirpal, aiming to bring evidence-based psychological wellness to a wider population. The company rebranded / shifted name to Amaha Health in recent years. 

What they offer:

• A mixture of self-help tools, educational content, CBT-based modules, assessments, and paid therapy / counselling. The model is “step care”: some users use less intensive interventions, others move on to therapist-led support.

• Multilingual offerings, reach across many cities in India, with both digital and some in-person services.

Scale & Impact:

• ●     As of early 2024, Amaha has served 4.5 million+ users through its digital products, with tens of thousands of therapy / psychiatry sessions. 

• ●     They partner with organisations for workplace wellness, colleges, etc., to provide emotional wellbeing programmes.

Strengths:

• Broad reach and name recognition in the mental health app / platform space.

• Matters of trust: the founders are clinicians / medically qualified, which helps credibility.

• Flexibility: users can access light-touch self-help or more intensive therapy depending on need.

Challenges:

• User engagement and retention in mental health apps tends to be tricky: many users drop off.

• Cost and affordability when scaling therapy/psychiatry services.

• Ensuring privacy, clinician oversight, measuring outcomes in real-world settings.

3. Wysa

Overview & Model: Wysa is well known for its AI-powered chatbot that offers emotional support, self-help tools, guided exercises (for anxiety, depression, stress) and human therapist backup when needed. It is based partly in Bengaluru but has global reach. 

Recent Momentum:

• They raised $5.5 million in Series A (including backing from Google’s investment programs and others) to scale employer wellness programmes, the therapist network, and digital tools.

• Wysa emphasizes “clinical safety” and “patient centricity” in its tools. Their chatbot is designed to handle many routine mental health and wellness concerns, reserving human intervention for more serious cases.

Impact & Strengths:

• Because of its AI / bot-led front end, Wysa can scale cheaply for many users (lower cost than all-human therapy). This allows them to reach more people (especially where live therapists are scarce).

• Good reputation for combining technology + clinical oversight.

• Growing demand for employee wellness programmes; Wysa has been able to partner with employers to provide mental health support.

Challenges:

• Chatbots have limitations: they can help with mild/moderate issues but less so with severe or complex mental illness. Correct triaging (bot vs human) is critical.

• Some users may distrust AI-based tools or may find them impersonal; cultural fit, language, tone matter a lot.

• Regulation and ensuring ethical use of AI in mental health is still evolving.

4. YourDOST

YourDOST is one of the earlier mental wellness / emotional support startups in India. Founded in 2014, it connects people with counsellors, psychologists, life coaches, and addresses a wide range of emotional wellness topics (relationships, stress, peer pressure etc.). It offers online counselling and content tools. 

What makes YourDOST important:

• It was among the first movers in emotional wellness / life coaching + counselling in India.

• It addresses stigma by offering “anonymous” or lower-friction access.

• The platform has expanded over years, refining its offerings.

Challenges for YourDOST include staying updated with tech expectations (apps, UX), ensuring strong therapist network quality, and staying financially sustainable. But as a pioneer, it has helped set norms and user expectations in the mental health startup ecosystem.

5. TrustCircle

While there are several other startups in the ecosystem, one to mention is TrustCircle, which focuses more on participatory, community-based support, prevention, and resilience building (as opposed to just therapy) to reduce the burden and stigma. Though not all are as well funded or high visibility as Wysa / Amaha / Lissun, these contribute to the ecosystem and innovation. 

What These Startups Show About the Future of Mental Health in India

Putting them together, here are some of the trends emerging:

1. Hybrid Models (Digital + Physical): Purely digital platforms are useful, but for many mental health / child development / special neurodevelopmental needs, physical infrastructure + human professionals still matter. The combination allows reach + depth.

   
   

2. AI & Early Detection / Mapping: Startups are using AI not to replace human therapists, but to assist in early screening, monitoring, guiding low-intensity interventions and escalating care when needed.

   
   

3. Embedding Mental Health into Other Domains: Rather than expecting people to seek therapy explicitly, many startups are bringing support into more natural touchpoints (clinics, schools, exam prep centres, maternal care). This helps reduce stigma and increases access.

   
   

4. Focus on Underserved Populations: Tier-2/3 cities, children/adolescents, family contexts, people going through stress due to health issues (infertility, chronic illness). This addresses large unmet demand.

   
   

5. Funding is growing, but sustainability is a challenge: Users expect affordability; mental health care has high recurrent cost (therapist salaries, infrastructure). Startups need to prove retention, outcome measurement, and sustainable business models (subscription, B2B / employer contracts, hybrid models).