Entrepreneurship On Tap - Technology in Mental Health

As part of the "Entrepreneurship On Tap" meetup within the "Tel Aviv SPARKS Innovation Summit" events, we gathered at "Levontin 7" to discuss the important integration of technology in mental health.

In her opening remarks, Miri Polachek, Co-founder and CBO of BrainValue Neurotech, who developed the program of this event, provided an overview of the mental health technology field, which is growing globally and in Israel. She highlighted a wide range of opportunities for impact in making treatments more accessible and preventative across a broad spectrum of mental health conditions. Today's developing technologies have the potential to enable precise and personalized wide-ranging solutions, replacing therapist-dependent solutions, from products that reduce stress and maintain a healthy lifestyle to treatments for those dealing with severe mental illnesses.

"Suddenly we started seeing information about mental health everywhere," shared Dr. Talia Cohen Solal, Co-founder and CEO of NeuroKaire. "This field was previously silenced. We saw increased awareness and a desire to serve the mental health domain, and a search for every possible way to help people suffering from mental challenges, which created strong motivation to do what we do."

The entrepreneurs and investors in the panel, each from their own perspective, shared with us initiatives that are developing real solutions for everyone who needs them. Noga Sapir, Founder and CEO of Reflect Innovation, who began her journey in the American market, noted that following the October 7 attack on Israel and the war led to a wave of new opportunities in the local market as well: "We were in the American market, not looking at the Israeli market at all, but we started receiving local inquiries, which led to collaborations with 'Clalit' Health Services and then with 'Sheba' medical center, and at some point, the kibbutzim also joined as customers."

In a reality where people turn to chatgpt to get advice about their mental state, relationships and emotional pain—as Gal Noyman - Veksler, PhD, Partner at LionBird Ventures, explained—and in a situation where drug development takes a very long time, 

the need to find immediate solutions is critical. We must continue to lead the way to technological solutions that can help people in distress.

Thank you to all panel participants, Miri Polachek, Noga Sapir, Dr. Talia Cohen Solal, and Dr. Gal Noyman-Veksler, for the fascinating content we were exposed to, the deep significance of the work in this field, and how to do it right. Thank you to the excellent audience who were engaged and contributed enriching and focused questions. Thanks also to "Levontin 7" for hosting, to Orel Elimelech, who produced the 16 meetup gatherings, and to Yossi Vardi, for the SPARKS initiative.