Wysa, the AI-powered mental health companion platform, has partnered with Imperial College London to receive a £5.3 million grant for a large scale randomised controlled trial evaluating an adapted version of Wysa’s conversational AI tool specifically designed for adolescent girls in rural India. The study will assess the intervention’s effectiveness in reducing symptoms of anxiety, depression, and stress among girls aged 13–19 in low resource settings, with the goal of generating rigorous evidence to support scalable, culturally appropriate digital mental health solutions.
Glimpse:
The three year project, funded by a major international grant announced on January 26, 2026, will deploy a localised, voice enabled, multilingual version of Wysa (supporting Hindi, regional dialects, and English) across rural schools and community centres in multiple Indian states. The trial will enrol thousands of participants, measuring clinical outcomes (PHQ-9, GAD-7 scores), engagement rates, stigma reduction, and cost effectiveness. Results are expected to inform national policy on digital mental health interventions for adolescents in low and middle income countries.
Wysa, the Bengaluru and Boston based AI mental health startup, has partnered with Imperial College London to secure a £5.3 million grant for one of the largest ever randomised controlled trials of a digital mental health intervention targeted at adolescent girls in rural India. The funding, awarded by a consortium of global health philanthropies and research bodies, was announced on January 26, 2026, and will support a three year study evaluating the impact of an adapted version of Wysa’s conversational AI tool on symptoms of anxiety, depression, and psychological distress.
The project addresses a critical gap: adolescent girls in rural India face exceptionally high rates of mental health challenges driven by gender based stressors, limited access to counselling, social stigma, and lack of confidential support options. Traditional in person services are scarce outside urban centres, making scalable digital tools a promising solution if proven effective and culturally acceptable.
The trial will deploy a specially adapted version of Wysa featuring:
- Voice-first interface for low literacy users
- Multilingual support (Hindi and key regional dialects)
- Culturally tailored content addressing issues such as academic pressure, menstrual health stigma, family expectations, and early marriage risks
- Offline capabilities for intermittent connectivity
- Built-in escalation pathways to human counsellors or helplines when high risk indicators are detected
The randomised controlled trial will involve thousands of girls aged 13–19 across multiple rural districts, comparing the AI intervention against usual care (school-based awareness sessions). Primary outcomes include changes in validated symptom scales (PHQ-9 for depression, GAD-7 for anxiety), while secondary measures cover school attendance, self-efficacy, stigma perception, and healthcare seeking behaviour. The study will also assess cost effectiveness and acceptability through qualitative feedback from participants, families, and community leaders.
Jo Aggarwal, Co-founder and CEO of Wysa, said: “Girls in rural India often have no safe space to express distress. This trial will provide the rigorous evidence needed to show whether an AI companion accessible on low-cost phones and speaking their language can meaningfully reduce suffering and build resilience at scale.”
Professor Michael Sharpe from Imperial College London, co-principal investigator, added: “This is one of the most ambitious trials of digital mental health in a low-resource setting. By partnering with Wysa and local communities, we can generate high-quality data that informs not just India’s policy but global approaches to adolescent mental health in underserved populations.”
The project is supported by strong ethical oversight, community consent processes, and safeguards including human in the loop escalation for crisis detection. Results are expected to influence national guidelines on digital mental health under the National Mental Health Programme and Ayushman Bharat framework.
“Adolescent girls in rural India deserve mental health support that is private, accessible, and stigma free. This trial will show whether AI can deliver that at scale safely, effectively, and affordably.”
By
HB Team
Related News
