Edgar Jorba worked for a mental health clinic. His work consisted of introducing innovative techniques in the treatment of this type of disease. “Despite the great need, he saw how the solutions were not incorporated due to a lack of political commitment,” laments Jorba. To get existing progress to reach patients, the entrepreneur contacted computer engineer Carlos Mourin. Together they have developed a platform that uses artificial intelligence for the early diagnosis and personalized treatment of mental illnesses.
“Since 2016 we have been immersed in the project, but we did not set up Aimentia until 2019,” explains Jorba. Aimentia (artificial intelligence AI in English and mentia) is a platform that “identifies people who suffer from a mental health problem and are in a possible situation of risk, in order to carry out effective follow-up”. The service is operational in Spain, Argentina, Mexico and Chile, and already has more than 31,000 registered users, including patients and professionals.
They are addressed to mental health professionals and primary care centers, but also in schools and companies. In fact, they already work for more than 120 schools and thanks to the great growth they are registering in these centers, they expect to bill more than 700,000 euros this year, almost triple the 250,000 euros with which they closed in 2022. In the case of schools , the solutions are aimed at detecting and avoiding self-injurious behavior, one of the warning indicators of possible suicidal ideas or attempts. On the other hand, in the business world, the platform helps organizations in the early detection of workers with stress, depression or anxiety.
In order to reach more territories and increase the number of mental health pathologies addressed, Aimentia has closed a round of private financing of 500,000 euros, a figure that could be increased to 800,000 euros. Currently, 25% of the business already comes from third countries and they have set themselves the goal of growing in Europe and Latin America.
The startup has the support of the Open University of Catalonia, where Jorba is studying a master’s degree in Business Administration and Management, the Agency for Business Competitiveness (Acció) and the Center for the Integration of Medicine and Innovative Technologies (Cimti). In addition, she has won the Unicef ??Lab program, the Ramon Molinas Foundation award for social impact, as well as the audience award for the UOC’s annual entrepreneurship support program, the SpinUOC.
