Irish workplace mental health technology startup Lua Health has secured €500,000 (about $541,000) in pre-seed funding to address workplace well-being using AI-powered algorithms that can detect well-being issues based on how an employee speaks or writes.
Founded by Fionn Delahunty and Dr Mihael Arcan, the startup’s funding round was spearheaded by Enterprise Ireland, Growing Capital— a private investment firm founded by Gianni Matera.
Leveraging their expertise in psychology, data analytics, and artificial intelligence (AI), the team put together a platform that could help employers monitor their employees’ workplace well-being at a lower cost than other conventional means.
Lua’s Workplace Mental Health Platform
Based at the University of Galway’s Business Innovation Centre, Lua Health’s team has developed a suite of AI algorithms capable of tracking and detecting signs of workplace mental issues such as stress, anxiety, burnout, and depression based on how someone speaks or writes.
According to a report published last week by Siliconrepublic, Delahunty, the startup’s co-founder, said that the company firmly believes that the future solution to workplace mental well-being lies in the prevention and early detection of such issues. This could allow human resource leaders to offer necessary support at the right time in a proactive and pre-emptive way.
Gianni Matera, founder of Growing Capital, which co-led the round, also affirmed his confidence in Lua Health’s mental health technology, adding that it would allow individuals to understand their mental well-being better and seek timely interventions before the situation worsens.
Lua Health’s funding announcements come as mental health is increasingly becoming a top priority for human resource managers, with the latest research showing the ineffectiveness of the existing workplace mental health programs.
As a result, companies are seeking better ways to address workplace mental health to increase workforce productivity. This makes AI-powered mental health monitoring technologies vital to help spot employee health issues in advance.
Mental health-focused technologies can help leaders better address workforce mental health issues, boosting productivity by reducing attrition and absenteeism rates.
