Sonia

Sonia is a San Francisco-based digital health company that provides mental health support through an AI therapist accessible via a mobile application. Users can hold counseling sessions with the system by text or voice, with the stated aim of offering immediate support at any hour and at a fraction of the cost of conventional therapy, which typically involves waiting lists and higher fees.

The company was founded in 2023 and participated in Y Combinator's Winter 2024 batch, where its primary partner is Tom Blomfield. It operates in the consumer health services, digital health and AI categories, and its stated mission is to build safe, voice-based AI that makes mental health support broadly accessible. As of the Y Combinator listing, the team numbered seven people. Alongside the AI product, the company has recruited California-licensed therapists on a remote, part-time contract basis for a service identified as Sonia Care.

Founding story

Sonia was founded in 2023 by Dustin Klebe (Founder/CTO) and Lukas Wolf (Founder/CPO), described as a team of MIT and ETH researchers who published at AI conferences including NeurIPS, ICML and EMNLP. Klebe graduated from ETH Zurich in computer science, conducted AI research at MIT in Boston, was the first ML engineer at the Series B education technology startup Knowunity, and served as president of the German Excellence Scholarship KAS. Wolf studied computer science at ETH and MIT with a focus on AI and natural language processing research, and previously worked in research labs at ETH and MIT, at BMW, and at startups.

Business model

Sonia delivers AI-based counseling directly to consumers through a mobile app, positioning its sessions as available on demand and at a lower price point than traditional therapy services. It also engages licensed therapists as contractors, listing a California-licensed therapist role for Sonia Care at $150 per hour on a remote, part-time basis.

Traction

Sonia's iOS app is available on the Apple App Store. The company reported a $3.4 million seed round in July 2024 and had a team size of seven according to its Y Combinator listing.

Latest developments

In July 2024, Sonia was reported to have raised $3.4 million in seed funding, with investors listed as including YC W24 alongside undisclosed venture capital and strategic investors. The same month, the company was included in coverage of Y Combinator startups identified as potential future large-scale technology companies.