Alongside
Alongside is a clinician-developed AI wellness coaching platform serving U.S. K-12 students (grades 4-12) and the educators and families who support them, offering 24/7 multilingual AI coaching, crisis alerts, and ESSA-validated outcomes on a per-student subscription now distributed via TimelyCare across roughly 500 campuses.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2022
- HeadquartersSeattle, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingSoftware
What Alongside does
Alongside, legally Guide Care, Inc. and operating as 'Alongside, by TimelyCare' since its May 2026 acquisition, is a Seattle-based, clinician-developed AI coaching platform serving K-12 students in U.S. grades 4-12. The product combines a generative AI wellness chatbot ('Kiwi') with guided chats across 40+ topics, skill-building activities, universal mental health screening, and a proprietary crisis detection and alert system governed by the S.U.R.E. Framework (Safe, Understandable, Restricted, Ethical). Underlying chat interactions are powered by OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google Gemini APIs, while authentication and notifications flow through integrations with Clever, Classlink, Google SSO, Microsoft SSO, Twilio, and SendGrid. The platform is FERPA, COPPA, and CCPA compliant and has accumulated third-party validated ESSA evidence at Levels 2, 3, and 4, with a Level 1 RCT in progress.
The business model is a B2B/B2B2C subscription sold primarily to U.S. school districts at under $10 per student per year, supplemented by a self-serve parent/family subscription for children under 13 and a free 7-day trial. Go-to-market combines direct enterprise field sales to district administrators, a self-serve educator demo funnel, channel partnerships with school counselors and SEL leads, and event-driven demand generation through webinars and FETC participation. Post-acquisition, Alongside is distributed through TimelyCare's virtual care platform, which is deployed across nearly 500 U.S. campuses. Disclosed outcomes include a 20% reduction in student absences, 25% reduction in student anxiety, 76% drop in suicidal ideation patterns, 70% fewer disciplinary referrals, and a 2% increase in district ADA revenue, all anchored in independent research from Northwestern University and Instructure.
The company was founded in 2022 by Jay Goyal and raised a single $5.5M seed round led by Trilogy Equity Partners with Madrona Venture Labs and Pack Ventures. It operates with 11-50 employees led by a clinical product team including a Ph.D. psychologist VP of Product and Clinical, and was awarded the 2025 District Administration Top EdTech Product Award for Student Support Technology (Startup). Its competitive positioning rests on safety differentiation (Common Sense Media low-risk rating) and an evidence base that general-purpose AI competitors lack.
Alongside firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Alongside
- Legal name
- Guide Care, Inc.
- Website
- https://alongside.care
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2022
- Operating status
- Acquired
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Alongside is a clinician-developed AI wellness coaching platform serving U.S. K-12 students (grades 4-12) and the educators and families who support them, offering 24/7 multilingual AI coaching, crisis alerts, and ESSA-validated outcomes on a per-student subscription now distributed via TimelyCare across roughly 500 campuses.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Alongside industry classification
Industry- Product category
- K-12 Student Mental Health and Wellness Software
- NAICS
- Child and Youth Services (62411), Other Individual and Family Services (624190), Educational Support Services (611710)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Health Services (8000)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Student Support Hotlines & Digital Wellbeing Tools (EDAJAIAL)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- General Mental Health Therapy Platforms (Talk Therapy) (HLALAEAA), AI Tutoring Systems (Conversational Tutors, Homework Helpers) (EDAFAFAC)
Keywords
Where Alongside is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Seattle
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Alongside business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Operations
Revenue model
- School/District Subscription: Alongside is offered to schools and districts on a subscription basis (annual or monthly prepaid). Schools pay for student access, and students lose access if the school terminates its agreement. Districts pay per student enrolled. Financial terms are not publicly disclosed.
- Parent/Family Subscription: Individual parents can register and pay for access on behalf of children under 13. For children under 13, an access code from a parent is required. Payments are by credit card with automatic renewal.
- Freemium / Free Trial: Alongside offers a free trial period of up to seven days. Districts can start a free demo account (30-second sign-up) before committing to a paid subscription.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Per-student annual subscription for schools and districts |
| Freemium | Monthly | Free 30-second demo for educators |
| Subscription | Monthly | Parent/family subscription for individual child access |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels7 records
Alongside product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Alongside sells a clinician-developed AI wellness coaching platform for K-12 students (grades 4-12) that delivers 24/7 personalized mental health support via a chatbot (Kiwi), covering 40+ topics in 37+ languages. The platform includes life-saving crisis alerts, skill-building activities (journaling, mood tracking, mindfulness), universal screening tools, and an ESSA-aligned outcomes dashboard for school administrators. It is sold as a per-student subscription to schools and districts and as a direct family subscription, all governed by the proprietary S.U.R.E. Framework for AI safety with youth.
Product overview
Alongside is a clinician-designed AI coaching platform developed for K-12 student mental health support. The platform operates as a unified system with core student support as the primary offering, complemented by dedicated modules for educators and families. Key capabilities include an AI-powered wellness coach (available in 37+ languages), guided chats covering 40+ topics, life-saving crisis alerts, skill-building activities, and universal screening tools. The product integrates safety guardrails through the proprietary S.U.R.E. Framework and is designed for universal Tier 1 deployment across entire student populations. Acquired by TimelyCare in May 2026.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Alongside Student Support
Quantifiable outcome
- 20% fewer school days missed (5.2 vs. 6.5 days)
- +7 more outcomes
Companies that use Alongside
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Alongside technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration15 records
AI capability4 records
Feature7 records
Alongside partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- TimelyCarecoreOn May 4, 2026, TimelyCare (a virtual care provider for education trusted by nearly 500 campuses) acquired Alongside to expand from serving students at the point of clinical need to engaging the full student population earlier through continuous, evidence-based AI coaching. Alongside is now branded as 'Alongside, by TimelyCare' and integrated into TimelyCare's virtual care platform.
- Northwestern University (Lab for Scalable Mental Health)coreNorthwestern University's Lab for Scalable Mental Health conducted independent research on Alongside's efficacy, finding a 25% reduction in anxiety among anxious students and a 76% reduction in suicidal ideation patterns. The clinical team co-developed chat modules with Dr. Jessica Schleider of Northwestern.
- ClevercoreClever serves as an identity provider enabling students and staff to sign into Alongside using their school credentials. Alongside receives identifiers for the user's district, school, and user ID in Clever, along with information explicitly shared by the school district (email, role, first and last name, grade, birth date).
- AnthropiccoreAnthropic's AI services help power Alongside's specific chat interactions. User messages are sent to Anthropic without user identification and are not stored by Anthropic.
- OpenAIcoreOpenAI helps provide specific chat interactions within Alongside. User messages are sent to OpenAI without user identification and are not stored by OpenAI.
Scale indicators14 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Alongside competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Mantra Health: Mental health platform purpose-built for college students, with expanding K-12 footprint. Comparable student-segment focus and digital-first care delivery.
- BeMe Health: Teen mental health platform combining AI-driven self-help with coach and clinician support. Comparable in targeting adolescents with a tech-augmented mental-health model.
- Daybreak Health: Online mental health platform specifically serving teens and young adults through schools and health plans. Comparable K-12 youth mental-health focus with school-channel distribution.
- Hazel Health: K-12-focused telehealth provider offering therapy and psychiatry services to students via in-school and at-home virtual visits. Closest direct competitor in the K-12 student mental-health delivery channel.
- Uwill: Mental health and crisis support provider for colleges and universities, with growing K-12 presence. Comparable buyer (institutions of education) and similar virtual-care delivery model.
- Cartwheel Care: K-12 mental health provider offering therapy, psychiatry, and care coordination to schools. Directly competes for the same school-district mental health budget as Alongside.
- Wysa: AI chatbot for mental health serving teens and adults, including employer and health-plan channels. Directly comparable AI conversational mental-health product, though Common Sense Media rated it 'unacceptable' risk vs. Alongside's low/minimal rating.
Broad incumbents
- Calm Health: Consumer mental health and mindfulness platform increasingly expanding into employer and education channels. Adjacent competitor in digital wellness for students and educators.
- TimelyCare: Virtual care provider for higher education serving nearly 500 campuses that acquired Alongside in May 2026. Directly comparable as the parent platform integrating Alongside's AI coaching into its broader telehealth stack.
- Headspace for Education: Headspace's K-12 and higher-ed offering delivers mindfulness and SEL content to students and educators. Comparable SEL/wellbeing category in schools, though primarily content-driven vs. AI conversational.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Alongside social profiles
Digital presenceAlongside compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance6 records
Alongside financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Alongside leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles7 records
Alongside funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors3 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Alongside 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 Alongside
What does Alongside do?
Alongside sells a clinician-developed AI wellness coaching platform for K-12 students (grades 4-12) that delivers 24/7 personalized mental health support via a chatbot (Kiwi), covering 40+ topics in 37+ languages. The platform includes life-saving crisis alerts, skill-building activities (journaling, mood tracking, mindfulness), universal screening tools, and an ESSA-aligned outcomes dashboard for school administrators. It is sold as a per-student subscription to schools and districts and as a direct family subscription, all governed by the proprietary S.U.R.E. Framework for AI safety with youth.
Is Alongside a public or private company?
Alongside is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently acquired.
When was Alongside founded?
Alongside was founded in 2022. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Alongside based?
Alongside is headquartered in Seattle, United States, in the North America region.
How does Alongside make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. School/District Subscription is the primary driver. The others are parent/Family Subscription and freemium / Free Trial.
Who are Alongside's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Mantra Health, BeMe Health, Daybreak Health, Hazel Health, Uwill, Cartwheel Care and Wysa. Broad incumbents are Calm Health, TimelyCare and Headspace for Education.
Does Alongside have an API?
No public API is recorded for Alongside.
What industry is Alongside in?
Alongside's product category is K-12 Student Mental Health and Wellness Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAJAIAL, Student Support Hotlines & Digital Wellbeing Tools, with a secondary code of HLALAEAA, General Mental Health Therapy Platforms (Talk Therapy). Its NAICS code is 62411 and its SIC code is 7372.