Driven, an AI chatbot scientifically proven to build resilience, today announced that they have raised $700,000 in seed capital. This first funding round was led by FirstWatch with participation from venture capital firms Giant Leap and Pangaea Impact Investments.
Already used by global and large scale organisations such as 3M, Unilever, IAG and Suncorp, Driven helps people stay on top of life through building resilience as a key preventative factor against mental illness.
For employers, Driven helps employees cope with some of the most important mental health issues of the modern age including stress, anxiety, and depression. Coming in the form of a fun and interactive chatbot that is available 24/7 and provides scientific resilience measurement alongside personalised daily 5-minute resilience building activities, the platform has led to a 25% increase in users’ resilience and 83% in job satisfaction.
The platform was developed by a trio in Australia; Jurie Rossouw, Luca Busin, and Susan Whitmore in 2017. The idea originated from Jurie experiencing first-hand the difficulties of seeking help for his mental health struggles from a young age, and his expertise of working as a Resilience Manager at companies including Commonwealth Bank and PwC. Since its initial launch, Driven has grown rapidly with hundreds of clients and over 10,000 users worldwide.
Jurie Rossouw, Driven CEO says, “With this investment, we’ll be able to expand our program to create more tailored content for specialists such as nurses, firefighters, teachers and to improve our AI algorithms for more meaningful interactions.
“The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that one in five people have mental health disorders, and we are designing Driven to reduce this staggering statistic. We want to democratise mental wellness and prevent the formation of mental disease. With our scientifically proven program, we help people stay on top of their lives. Plus, what’s unique is that it’s preventative yet also helps in the moment of stress.”
Driven is also bringing mental wellness to a wider audience through partnerships on a global scale with FirstWatch. Covering over 130 million Americans, clients of FirstWatch include 9-1-1 dispatch centers, firefighters, emergency medical technicians and police, among others.
Todd Stout, President of FirstWatch states, “Stress, PTSD, and suicides in the emergency services workforce are some of the challenging issues our customers deal with. Our collaboration with Driven allows us to bring a tangible, neuroscience-based, affordable solution to our EMS, Fire, and Law Enforcement colleagues for the first time ever.”
Rachel Yang, Giant Leap Investment Manager adds, “With ever-increasing demands and workloads in our society, stress and anxiety are on the rise. Driven is tackling this critical issue with a scientifically validated, holistic approach. The technology helps its users build resilience to cope with the unexpected challenges life throws at them by assisting in areas such as persistence, regulation of emotions and sleep. We love what they’re doing and genuinely feel their approach can have a remarkable impact on improving global health and wellbeing.”
Mr. Rossouw concludes, “By using a science-based approach, we provide preventative help to people build not just individual resilience, but also flows through to their family, friends and communities.”
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