Bliss, a Finland-headquartered mental health startup, has raised €232.4k ($270k) in angel funding to build what it calls “culturally intelligent” AI infrastructure for therapy.
The angel funding was led by Keiretsu Forum, Finest Love VC, and Plug and Play. The round combines angel investment with non-dilutive grants.
“We’re not building another chatbot. We’re building AI that understands the cultural layer of mental health, because that’s where most systems fail,” said Jona Doda, founder of Bliss.
Bliss, originally founded in Albania, is on a mission to make mental health care accessible, affordable, and culturally sensitive by combining real therapy sessions with AI-powered tools monitored by clinicians.
It’s a culturally attuned therapy platform helping diaspora communities and companies with diverse, international workforces access mental health care that understands their language, culture, and background.
The startup claims that, unlike the numerous generic AI therapy bots available in the market, Bliss positions its AI as infrastructure that amplifies human care rather than replacing it.
According to Bliss, it’s tackling a crucial problem that other mental health startups overlook. It states that more than 800 million people worldwide live outside their home countries, but most therapy platforms and AI mental health tools are created for monolingual, culturally homogeneous markets.
It notes that translation isn’t enough; cultural context matters, especially in therapy. Bliss combines licensed therapists across more than 10 countries with AI-powered cultural and linguistic matching.
“But our bigger bet is on what we call therapist-trained digital companions. These are supervised AI systems designed to extend the support therapists provide between sessions. Instead of generic chatbots, these companions are trained on a therapist’s tone, therapeutic approach, and philosophy, while remaining under professional oversight,” says the company.
Bliss operates between Tirana and Helsinki. It reports it has over 50 licensed therapists onboarded, serving users across 10 countries. It has early B2B traction, including clients like Raiffeisen Bank and We Love Mondays. Development is in progress for its first supervised AI companion release.
“People are already turning to AI for emotional support, but most systems were never designed for real care. Bliss is building what the long-term model should look like: clinically grounded, culturally aware AI with strong human guardrails, and access to world-class therapists when it matters,” said Dr Ravik Mima, CEO, Keiretsu Forum SEE.
With the fresh funding, the company plans to launch the first version of therapist-trained AI companions, expand into additional diaspora markets, including the US, scale B2B partnerships with multinational employers, and strengthen AI governance and clinical oversight frameworks.
Read the orginal article: https://www.eu-startups.com/2026/03/albanian-finnish-startup-bliss-raises-e232-4k-to-build-ai-that-understands-the-cultural-layer-of-mental-health/
