2025 Startups to Watch: Raise Health tasks AI tools with a multiplier mission — detecting mental health struggles early

Editor’s note: Startland News editors selected 10 Kansas City scaling businesses to spotlight for its annual Startups to Watch list. Now in its 10th year, this feature recognizes founders and startups that editors believe will make some of the biggest, most compelling news in the coming 12 months. The following is one of 2025’s companies.

Click here to view the full list of Startups to Watch — presented by Morgan Stanley, and independently produced by Startland News — and see how the companies (including this one) were selected.

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Craig Mason’s journey to launching Raise Health came from a collision of his personal life and professional experiences — a combination that shaped the Kansas City startup’s mission to address mental health through proactive, AI-powered tools.

“Professionally, I’ve been in the health tech space for a long time, and on the personal side, I’ve had my own struggles with mental health,” said Mason. “I absolutely believe that earlier detection is the best way to help people, and finding those who need that ‘Are you OK?’ moment to help us get upstream and tackle mental health.”

Raise Health’s platform is designed to help organizations like colleges and health systems identify and address mental health challenges in their populations earlier and more efficiently.

“We do that through embeddable early detection and resource connection technologies,” Mason explained. “It’s tools that plug into existing communication systems to understand the nuances of communication, detect mental health needs, and automate coordination to the right resource in real time.”

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• Elevator pitch: Raise Health delivers the ability to detect mental health conditions based on the way people communicate and this mental health detecting copilot embeds into existing communication tools to connect the right person to the right resources at the right time to ensure life impacting support is provided. 
• Founders: Craig Mason and Christa Williams
• Headquarters location: Kansas City, Missouri
• Founding year: 2022
• Current employee count: 5
• Funding amount raised to date: $278,500
• Noteworthy investors: Brad Hampton, CEO of Helzberg; Dick Flannigan, CEO of Digital Health KC
• Noteworthy programs/accelerators/incubators completed: Digital Sandbox KC, Social Venture Studio, Pure Pitch Rally (also received People’s Choice Award), ACYB (AltCAP Your Business) Change Maker Award

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By integrating seamlessly into systems people already use, Raise Health offers a proactive solution for institutions that often struggle to identify and intervene in mental health crises, he said.

Raise Health has already made strides in 2024, focusing on research and product readiness. One major milestone: a research partnership with the University of Missouri-Kansas City involving more than 1,000 students.

“That’ll be really exciting to see over the next year,” Mason said. “We’ll be able to start publishing some of our results at the beginning of 2025, so stay tuned.”

Craig Mason, Raise Health Innovations, pitching during the 2023 Pure Pitch Rally; photo by Taylor Wilmore, Startland News

Christa Williams, Raise Health

The study compares AI-powered early detection tools with traditional survey methods to identify mental health needs. The findings are expected to validate and refine Raise Health’s offerings, Mason said.

The company is also gearing up to launch a partnership with Talkspace, a national online therapy platform.

“It’s a great symbiotic relationship between our early detection capabilities and their follow-through support services — a great match to tackle the mental health space together,” said Mason, crediting a LinkedIn message he sent for sparking the connection.

The coming year will be pivotal for Raise Health as it scales its beta partnerships in higher education and healthcare. Mason also looks forward to publishing insights from the UMKC research study and further validating the platform’s impact.

“I think mental health is the multiplier that impacts everything else,” said Mason. “If you’re struggling inside, you’re going to do worse at work, in your relationships, and with your physical health. If we can figure out how to ensure people are well, it is the answer to solving so many other challenges.”

As Raise Health grows, Mason remains driven by the startup’s potential to change lives.

“We’re doing work that matters,” he said. “Every day, I look in the mirror knowing we’re helping save lives and helping people be better. It’s something I’m incredibly lucky to be a part of.”

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10 Kansas City Startups to Watch in 2025

• Good Oak scales social venture to boost biodiversity in farming, herd ag industry toward change
• Hilltop Technologies targets cybersecurity for Main Street (with help from next-gen talent)
• Icorium matches a complex environmental threat with Kansas-powered innovation
• LPOXY Therapeutics punches back at gut infection (and a foe with a billion-year head start)
• Marma pushes women’s nutrition to the forefront, birthing resources on demand
• Noonan scores under par success with digital caddie as golf market earns deepage
• OLEO roasts plans for slow-drip craft retail concepts, starting with coffee (and soon a diner)
• Scout charts early adoption with digital veterinary workflow platform, diagnosing industry burnout
• Trially combines founders’ lived experiences, AI to streamline critical stage of health care advancements