The start: 
Authored by Rob Morris

Struggling at MIT

Despite my lack of technical qualifications, I was accepted into MIT’s master’s program. My classmates were brilliant engineers—people who could build computers from scratch. I struggled to keep up and soon found myself overwhelmed. Dropping most of my classes, I spent much of my first year feeling out of place, convinced that I didn’t belong.

On top of that, the depression that had shadowed me all my life worsened. Winston Churchill called his depression “the black dog,” and I’ve had a similar beast beside me. MIT made it worse. Along with my depression, I developed debilitating migraines that would last for days. Eventually, I was able to control my symptoms and gain some confidence which led me to spend my nights learning to code on my own.

Top right photo: classmates at MIT, probably making something insanely complicated.

Bottom left photo: a thumbs up from Rob as he made it back to MIT, ready to finish his degree!

The spark

Technology for... mental health?

That’s when I discovered Stack Overflow, a platform where people help each other fix coding bugs. It fascinated me. People were generously offering their time and expertise to solve problems for complete strangers. This sparked a thought: Could a similar platform be used to support mental health?

If Stack Overflow could help me fix bugs in my code, perhaps it could help fix the "bugs" in my mind. I hacked together a rough prototype, using Amazon’s Mechanical Turk to pay people a few cents to reframe my negative thoughts. Some responses were profound and truly changed how I saw myself and my problems. It was incredible how much a simple message from a stranger could help.

I added a feature that allowed users to give help as well as receive it, not expecting much engagement. But to my surprise, people actively wanted to help each other. Encouraged by my advisor, Rosalind Picard, and the early success, I leaned into this peer-to-peer support idea.
“It was incredible how such a simple message from a stranger could help.”
Top right: My MIT advisor, Dr Rosalind Picard.
Bottom left: my first manic sketch of Koko.
Not particularly promising at first...

The product

Koko is born

As part of my PhD, I ran a randomized-controlled trial on the platform that would eventually become Koko. The results were remarkable—not just in clinical outcomes but also in the feedback. What helped people the most wasn’t the advice they received, but the help they gave to others. It turned out that supporting others reduced their own depression symptoms. This discovery laid the foundation for Koko’s core mission: empowering people to help one another.

With this momentum, I teamed up with two seasoned entrepreneurs, Kareem Kouddous and Fraser Kelton, and Koko was officially born. The name “Koko” was chosen for its warm and approachable feel. If you look closely at our logo, you’ll notice the letters “ok” are linked, symbolizing our mission to make people feel "ok"—to offer them hope in their moments of need.

We raised funding, got press attention, and soon had thousands of people on a waitlist. The Koko community was passionate about helping each other, and we began to experiment with AI to moderate conversations and identify users in crisis. Our AI, Kokobot, wasn’t perfect, but it allowed us to scale quickly and partner with platforms like Tumblr and Pinterest. In just a few years, we had reached nearly two million people.

The results were staggering. We published academic papers, garnered praise from leading psychologists, and appeared in books, podcasts, and documentaries. But as we grew, our mission remained the same: to provide immediate, actionable mental health support through peer-to-peer encouragement and evidence-based tools.
“It turned out that supporting others reduced their own depression symptoms.”

The future

Where Koko is headed

Koko’s mission is to help end the youth mental health crisis by reaching people where they are, on the platforms they already use. We’ve partnered with major digital platforms to integrate Koko’s tools, allowing us to meet young people where they are in their moment of need. We’ve also built a team of passionate individuals—some of whom were Koko users themselves—who are committed to scaling this vision.

In many ways, our journey is just beginning. We’ve proven that people are not only willing but eager to help one another, and that small actions can lead to big outcomes. With the right support, there’s no reason we can’t reach millions more young people around the world.

The road ahead is long, but together—with donors, partners, and advocates—we can ensure that no young person has to face their mental health struggles alone.
“We’ve proven that people are not only willing, but eager to help one another, and that small actions can lead to big outcomes.”

Mental Health Musings:

you can help others struggling.

We’re on a mission to help end the 

youth mental health crisis.
Join us by donating to fuel our work.
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team & advisors

A team driven by impact and excellence.

Koko is made up of an exceptional group of dedicated individuals all fueled by the same passion - ending the youth mental health crisis. Together, we’re creating the most accessible online mental health intervention.

Our Team

Our team is composed of seasoned professionals, including product designers, engineers, and researchers. We have dedicated ourselves to the development and evaluation of online interventions tailored specifically for mental health. Many of our team members found Koko by first being users - who better to help create the future of our product?

Rob Morris, PhD‍

Co-founder & CEO

Kareem Kouddous

Co-founder & CTO

Sarah Lee

CMO

Rob Knowles‍

Growth

Debra Barker

Community

Sabrina Muriithi

Operations & Design

Maggie Farah

Partnerships

Danielle Armour

Development

Mallory Dobias, PhD

Research

Haley Rowland

Project Management

Rachel Lu

Moderation

Our Advisory Board

At Koko, we are honored to have a distinguished panel of advisors who offer invaluable support. Drawing expertise from diverse domains, including academia, technology, and healthcare, Koko advisors play a crucial role in guiding our mission and ensuring excellence in our endeavors.

Margaret Laws

President & CEO, HopeLab

Fraser Kelton

former Head of Product, OpenAI

Mike Nolet

Founder, LiveBetter

Gina Sanders

Founder, Gina’s Collective

Jessica Schleider, PhD

Associate Professor of Medical Social Sciences, Pediatrics, & Psychology, Northwestern

Matthew Nock

Edgar Pierce Professor of Psychology, Harvard

Stephen Schueller, PhD

Associate Professor, UC Irvine

Tom Insel

former Director of NIMH, 
Co-founder Humanest

Melissa Thomas-Hunt

Professor of Public Policy, John D. Forbes Distinguished Professor of Business Administration

Rosalind Picard

Grover M. Hermann Professor in Health Sciences and Technology, Co-founder of Empatica, Inc, and Affectiva, Inc.

Andy Grygiel

Chief Marketing Officer, Causaly

Tom Siegel

Co-Founder and CEO, Trust & Safety Laboratory Inc.

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We’re only as strong as the people who partner with us.

Interested in joining us as a donor, partner, team member, or advisor?