Origin Story

The start: 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.

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.

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.

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."