Sane AI, a fast-rising Nigerian health-tech startup, is reimagining mental health care through accessible, AI-powered support tools.
Founded by Victor Babatunde, Boluwatife Adekola-Ojo and Gbotemi Babatunde, the company was born out of Victor's personal battle with severe depression after losing his life savings due to a failed investment.
Her recovery, guided by the woman who later became Sane's clinical co-founder, revealed a harsh truth that early detection and timely intervention in mental health remains difficult for most Nigerians.
This experience inspired the founders to create a platform focused on affordability, early diagnosis, and continuous mental health monitoring. Their mission is simple but urgent, to make mental health care accessible and preventative rather than reactive.
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At the heart of Sane AI's offering is Companion, an AI-powered mental wellness assistant designed to check in on users daily through push notifications, text or voice conversations. The partner acts as an always-on emotional monitor, trained to detect subtle signs of stress, anxiety, irritation, and other early indicators of mental strain.
As users interact with the system, the AI gradually learns their communication style, emotional triggers, and day-to-day mood swings. This evolving understanding helps the tool provide personalized insights, allowing users to better express their feelings and track changes over time.
Features like goal-setting prompts and a built-in journal support reflection and progress tracking.
Sane AI works on a human-in-the-loop model; When the system identifies signs that the user may need more than self-directed support, it immediately refers the case to a licensed therapist within its network. In high-risk situations, such as language suggesting self-harm or suicidal thoughts, the platform responds immediately, offering emergency contacts, crisis hotlines and clear next steps.
A new feature in development will also allow users to add trusted personal emergency contacts, adding another layer of protection at critical moments.
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Sane's emergence comes at a time when Africa faces a staggering mental health gap. An estimated 150 million people are living with mental health problems across the continent, yet there are only 1.4 mental health workers per 100,000 people.
Against this backdrop, Sane is positioning itself not as another therapy marketer, but as an early-intervention system designed to catch emotional distress long before it becomes a crisis.
By focusing on prevention, real-time monitoring and early detection, Sane aims to help reduce the number of individuals who reach breaking point before receiving help.
As mental health challenges continue to rise across Africa, the startup hopes to fill a critical void by offering a practical, scalable way to bring mental health care closer to those who need it most.
