Slingshot AI

Slingshot AI is an AI company building what it describes as a foundation model for psychology, and the maker of Ash — a consumer-facing AI therapy chatbot grounded in evidence-based techniques such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). Backed by Andreessen Horowitz and others (more than $90 million raised), the company launched Ash in July 2025 and reported rapid early consumer adoption.

Slingshot sits at the center of one of the most consequential and contested areas in healthcare AI: whether conversational agents can safely deliver mental-health support at scale. Proponents point to the enormous unmet need and the shortage of human therapists; critics raise real concerns about clinical validity, crisis handling, and the risks of an always-available bot for vulnerable users. Ash's early self-published outcomes were criticized for lacking a control group, and AI therapy chatbots broadly drew regulatory scrutiny — including a November 2025 FDA advisory-panel discussion. Slingshot is a genuine, well-funded pure-play in the space; the honest framing is that the category's efficacy and safety questions are still being worked out, and tools like Ash are best understood as support, not a replacement for licensed care.