Youper
Youper is an AI-driven mental health chatbot for adults with mild-to-moderate anxiety and depression, delivering CBT-, ACT-, and mindfulness-based conversations, mood tracking, and journaling through a consumer mobile subscription app.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2016
- HeadquartersSan Francisco, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingSoftware
What Youper does
Youper is an AI mental health chatbot built around Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and mindfulness techniques, delivered as a mobile application for adults aged 18 and older experiencing mild-to-moderate anxiety and depression. The product is text-based and centers on guided conversations, mood tracking, and structured journaling, with a documented safety protocol that detects expressions of suicidal ideation or self-harm and routes users to the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline and Crisis Text Line rather than generating harmful content. Clinical research published via NIH in January 2025 reported a 48% reduction in depression symptoms and a 43% reduction in anxiety symptoms among users, based on a systematic review covering 44,773 participants.
The company was founded in 2016 in San Francisco and operates as Youper Inc. with a reported 1-10 employees. Its go-to-market is direct-to-consumer and product-led, relying on app store distribution (iOS and Android) for self-serve discovery and download, with no disclosed enterprise sales motion, partnerships, or integrations. Revenue is generated through consumer subscriptions, priced at $69.99 per year (approximately $5.83 per month) or roughly $10-20 per month on a monthly cadence, positioning Youper well below the $100-300 cost of a traditional therapy session. The company has raised approximately $3.5 million in disclosed funding, the most recent being a $3.0 million round led by Goodwater Capital in June 2019.
The platform's user base has been reported at over 3 million, though a May 2026 Forbes-sourced report indicated that Youper temporarily disappeared from app stores during a testing period conducted by Common Sense Media and Stanford Medicine's Brainstorm Lab, leaving millions of users without access. Leadership consists of founder/CEO Jose Hamilton Vargas and Chief Product and Growth officer Diego Dotta. No management team beyond these two roles is disclosed, no board or investor roster beyond Goodwater is public, and no API, SDK, or B2B channel has been announced. The company does not market itself as a medical device and explicitly disclaims that it is not a substitute for professional mental health care.
Youper firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Youper
- Legal name
- Youper Inc.
- Website
- https://youper.ai
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2016
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Youper is an AI-driven mental health chatbot for adults with mild-to-moderate anxiety and depression, delivering CBT-, ACT-, and mindfulness-based conversations, mood tracking, and journaling through a consumer mobile subscription app.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Youper industry classification
Industry- Product category
- AI Mental Health Chatbot
- NAICS
- Social Assistance (624)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Behavioral Health & Neurocognitive Therapeutics (Digital) (HLACANAI)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Crisis Support, Suicide Prevention & Acute Behavioral Triage Platforms (HLALAEAI), Conversational AI Platforms (chat/voice bots, orchestration) (HDAAAFAC)
Keywords
Where Youper is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Francisco
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Youper business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Subscription Revenue: Youper generates revenue through subscription-based pricing, with an annual plan at $69.99 and monthly pricing options around $10-20 per month. This subscription model provides recurring revenue and aligns with the dominant 62% market share held by subscription pricing in the mental health apps market.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Annual subscription plan |
| Subscription | Monthly | Monthly subscription plan |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels1 record
Youper product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Youper is a mobile AI wellbeing chatbot that delivers text-based guided conversations grounded in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and mindfulness, combined with mood tracking and a digital journaling interface for adults seeking support for mild-to-moderate anxiety and depression. The application is designed with safety as a core principle, including a suicide and self-harm prevention protocol that detects crisis expressions and routes users to crisis resources such as 988 and the Crisis Text Line.
Product overview
Youper is a single, unified AI mental health chatbot product. It provides an AI-powered conversational interface for wellbeing support, employing evidence-based therapeutic techniques (CBT, ACT, mindfulness) to deliver mood tracking, emotional reflection, and journaling capabilities through text-based guided conversations. The product is designed for adults 18+ and includes built-in safety features including a suicide and self-harm prevention protocol with crisis referral resources.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Youper AI Wellbeing Chatbot Mobile AI wellbeing chatbot for individual adults (18+) that delivers text-based guided conversations grounded in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and mindfulness, along with mood tracking and digital journaling, to help users manage mild-to-moderate anxiety and depression. The app includes a built-in suicide and self-harm prevention protocol with crisis referral to 988 and Crisis Text Line.
Quantifiable outcome
- 48% reduction in depression symptoms among Youper users
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Youper
Customer profileSegments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Youper technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability3 records
Feature4 records
Youper partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators2 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights3 records
Youper competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Talkspace: Talkspace is an established online therapy and psychiatry platform with B2B payer relationships, comparable to Youper in addressing therapy access barriers but through a human-clinician model.
- Calm: Calm is a leading consumer mental wellness and meditation subscription app with a large installed user base, comparable to Youper in subscription model and target wellness-seeker segment.
- BetterHelp: BetterHelp is a large incumbent online therapy platform connecting users to licensed therapists, comparable to Youper as an alternative therapy access channel serving the same unmet demand.
- Cerebral: Cerebral is a digital mental health platform offering therapy and medication management for anxiety and depression, comparable to Youper as a same-condition, different-modality competitor.
- Lyra Health: Lyra Health is a mental health benefits platform serving employers, comparable to Youper in addressing the same therapy access gap but through an enterprise B2B2C channel rather than direct-to-consumer.
- Headspace: Headspace is a broad incumbent in the digital mental wellness category offering meditation, sleep, and therapy services, overlapping with Youper's general wellness and mindfulness use cases but at much larger scale.
Direct peers
- Wysa: Wysa is an AI conversational mental wellness app combining CBT, DBT, and mindfulness techniques, directly comparable to Youper in modality, therapeutic approach, and consumer mental health positioning.
- Woebot Health: Woebot is an AI-powered mental health chatbot that delivers CBT-based conversations for anxiety and depression, making it the most directly comparable peer to Youper in product, modality, and target user.
- Earkick: Earkick is an AI mental health companion app using conversational mood tracking, and was specifically referenced alongside Youper in the 2026 Stanford/Common Sense Media report, making it a near-identical peer in scope and scale.
Emerging players
- Happify Health: Happify offers digital therapeutic and wellness programs using CBT and positive psychology, overlapping with Youper's evidence-based mental health focus with a partial-overlap product approach.
Market position
Strengths1 record
Weaknesses1 record
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Youper financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Youper leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Youper funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds3 records
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Youper M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Youper
What does Youper do?
Youper is a mobile AI wellbeing chatbot that delivers text-based guided conversations grounded in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and mindfulness, combined with mood tracking and a digital journaling interface for adults seeking support for mild-to-moderate anxiety and depression. The application is designed with safety as a core principle, including a suicide and self-harm prevention protocol that detects crisis expressions and routes users to crisis resources such as 988 and the Crisis Text Line.
Is Youper a public or private company?
Youper is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Youper founded?
Youper was founded in 2016. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Youper based?
Youper is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, in the North America region.
How does Youper make money?
One revenue line is on record: subscription Revenue.
Who are Youper's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Talkspace, Calm, BetterHelp, Cerebral, Lyra Health and Headspace. Direct peers are Wysa, Woebot Health and Earkick. Happify Health is listed as an emerging player.
Does Youper have an API?
No public API is recorded for Youper.
What industry is Youper in?
Youper's product category is AI Mental Health Chatbot. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLACANAI, Behavioral Health & Neurocognitive Therapeutics (Digital), with a secondary code of HLALAEAI, Crisis Support, Suicide Prevention & Acute Behavioral Triage Platforms. Its NAICS code is 624 and its SIC code is 7372.