A new virtual mental health platform is betting that artificial intelligence can solve one of psychiatry's most stubborn problems: keeping patients engaged with treatment long enough for it to work.

Siggy emerged from stealth mode this week with $6 million in pre-seed funding to deliver what it calls continuous, personalized mental health care. The platform combines therapy, prescription management, and AI-powered support between clinical visits, addressing a critical gap in traditional mental health treatment where patients often go weeks between appointments with little oversight.

The timing is significant. According to the company, 16% of American adults currently take antidepressants, yet 20% drop out of treatment annually before completing the recommended course—a failure rate the startup attributes largely to fragmented care and lack of ongoing monitoring.

How the AI Monitoring System Works

At the heart of Siggy's approach is a proprietary "Siggy Score" that quantifies mental health on a 0-100 scale, similar to how fitness trackers measure physical health metrics. The system generates this score through daily one-minute check-ins that track sleep quality, mood, physical sensations, and medication side effects. The platform can also integrate data from wearable devices to build a more comprehensive picture of patient wellbeing.

Both patients and their clinicians can view the score, and the AI automatically flags concerning patterns to human providers when higher-acuity needs emerge. During the first two months of treatment, when medication adjustments are most common, the system conducts weekly check-ins to inform prescribing decisions.

The platform also deploys an AI therapy agent that provides support between monthly visits with human clinicians, though the company notes this AI does not answer medical questions. The AI begins working during the initial intake process, which is free and anonymous without requiring account creation, and maintains patient history to generate preliminary diagnoses that human clinicians then review.

Broad Insurance Coverage and Future Plans

Siggy has secured acceptance from major commercial payers across all 50 states, including Blue Cross Blue Shield, Aetna, UnitedHealthcare, and Humana, as well as Medicaid, Medicare, and TRICARE. The service is free for veterans. The platform can prescribe medications except controlled substances.

The leadership team brings significant digital health experience. CEO Jonathan Sabbagh previously co-founded Journey Clinical, a psychedelic-assisted therapy network that grew to over 3,000 practices. COO Edvard Engesaeth, M.D., was an early Journey Clinical investor and co-founder of Nurx. Chief Medical Officer Daniel Montville, M.D., is a Mayo Clinic-trained psychiatrist. Village Global led the pre-seed round, with participation from angel investors.

The company's ambitions extend beyond mood tracking. Siggy plans to use speech analytics, laboratory tests, genetic testing, and biomarkers to identify conditions including diabetes and ALS. The startup also aims to build neural datasets that could support clinical trials for emerging technologies, including brain implants.

Whether this AI-augmented model can meaningfully reduce the 20% treatment dropout rate remains to be seen, but the platform's broad payer acceptance and integration of previously fragmented services—therapy and medication management under one roof—suggests the market is ready for hybrid approaches that blend human clinical expertise with continuous algorithmic oversight.

Sources

  1. AI-enabled virtual mental health startup Siggy launches from stealth — Fierce Healthcare