The mental health crisis has reached alarming levels across the globe. Rates of anxiety and depression continue to climb, with the World Health Organization estimating that one in eight people worldwide now live with a mental health disorder. At the same time, access to care remains limited — especially for young people and those in underserved communities. But as AI becomes more capable of mimicking human conversation and empathy, a new question emerges: could technology itself help close the care gap?

Can artificial intelligence not only simulate empathy, but actually support emotional well-being in safe, ethical, and clinically informed ways? Or does introducing AI into this most human of domains risk deepening mistrust and misinformation?

Welcome to DisruptED. In the first episode of this two-part series, host Ron J Stefanski sits down with Alex Frenkel, the CEO of Kai, an AI-powered mental health platform that blends human clinicians with conversational AI. Together, they explore whether technology can truly make mental health support more accessible — and what responsible innovation looks like when the stakes are this high.

Key takeaways…

• Human + AI Collaboration: Frenkel explains how Kai integrates clinical expertise with AI technology to offer 24/7 emotional support — ensuring that humans remain “in the loop” at every step.

• Safety and Ethics in AI Therapy: The platform uses proprietary, clinician-monitored data and safety protocols to prevent misinformation or harmful responses, a critical issue in the emerging “AI for care” space.

• Personalized and Scalable Support: Through messaging platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram, Kai tailors programs to users’ unique emotional needs, identifying when someone requires human intervention or higher levels of care.

Alex Frenkel is a seasoned technology executive and product leader with over a decade of experience driving innovation in Israel’s fast-growing tech ecosystem. As the CEO and co-founder of Kai, he leads the development of an AI-driven platform transforming how mental health care teams deliver therapy through automation, data insight, and empathetic design. Previously, Frenkel held senior product leadership roles at Kin Ecosystem, Colu, Gett, and Sears Israel, where he built and scaled user-centric digital products across AI, fintech, and mobile technology.