ICYMI: Startup news and resources from the week that was
What you might have missed last week on Caffeine.
Welcome to Monday!
As always, on Monday we recap a few of our favorite stories or resources from the week that was then tomorrow kick back into our full newsletter from Tuesday.
Have a great start to your week,
Finn and the Caffeine team
Groov, Sir John Kirwan and Health NZ launch AI-powered mental health support for Kiwis: I’ve talked a lot on Caffeine about how terrified I am by the mental health consequences of ubiquitous, unsafe AI chatbots masquerading as social connection and exacerbating all the mental health issues social media has already caused.
So its an absolute pleasure, on World Mental Health Day no less, to see some great Kiwis trying to turn some of this tech towards helping people who are struggling.
Groov, co-founded by Sir John Kirwan, has launched an AI powered mental health support chat bot, with support from Govt and as part of its Health New Zealand funded wellbeing app.
The app aims to provide safe, evidence-based support 24/7 for mild-to-moderate mental health needs. While similar to existing chatbots in format, this one is specialised for New Zealanders, has additional protections for their data and ensures advice always comes from information developed or approved by Groov’s clinical experts.
The tool has also undergone review by Health New Zealand’s Artificial Intelligence and Algorithm Expert Advisory Group (NAIAEAG), making it the first wellbeing AI tool of its kind for adults in the country to achieve this level of oversight. And crucially, i f someone shows signs they need more help, the tool automatically directs them to human services such as 1737.
Sir John Kirwan said “I’ve always believed that small steps every day can make a big difference to our mental health. Ask Groov takes that further, it gives people a safe place to ask their own questions, in their own words, and get trusted answers backed by science. Lots of us turn to Google or ChatGPT, but the difference here is that Ask Groov is designed for Kiwis, with content that’s proven, reliable, and focused on wellbeing. This is the kind of tool I wish I had when I was struggling.”
Outside of the obvious moral imperative to help Kiwis who are struggling, there’s also a clear economic incentive to make sure trustworthy support is more widely available.
Mental health and wellbeing is a major economic issue impacting the public sector in terms of the high cost of mental health and wellbeing within public health and beyond but also the private sector where presenteeism, unplanned absence and health and safety issues to the tune of $5.4 billion dollars in 2024 according to the The 2025 Business Leaders’ Health and Safety Forum’s State of a Thriving Nation.
“People are already turning to unsafe public AI for support - our job is to provide a safe option backed by science. We’ve now shown that AI can operate responsibly even in highly regulated, sensitive environments, supporting both public sector and enterprise clients,” says Groov CEO Matt Krogstad
“Our goal is to give people a much safer space to get trusted, quality information in the way they’ve grown accustomed to -helping to normalise looking after our minds at work and in life. Ultimately, we believe this can ease some of the pressure on New Zealand’s already stretched mental health workforce.”
Event: Pathways: a virtual interview with Ellie Brade, Co-Founder of Cleanery - As I mentioned last week, we want to ensure our events are as accessible as possible. So we’re making this one a webinar available to all. Join us for a live conversation, where we dive into the moments, missteps, and lessons that have shaped Ellie’s journey in being a founder. This session will explore what our guest wishes she had known earlier, the pivotal experiences that shifted her perspective, and the insights she carries forward today. It’s an honest, practical discussion designed to spark reflection and help others navigate their own path.
Date and time
Thu, 30 Oct 2025 12:00 PM - 12:45 PM NZDT
Location
Online
Register here.
The doom sirens are blaring: As we touched on last week, there is a growing chorus of pretty reputable voices that AI hype is well and truly becoming an AI bubble of epic proportions . Of course, sceptics have always called 50 out of the last 10 crashes but this time it feels like there’s mounting evidence.
As FT reported: With the great headline ‘America is essentially one big bet on AI’, it noted 80% of stock growth in the past year being driven by AI spend and a shocking 40% of GDP growth down to the same.
More corporate debt tied to AI than banks: Bloomberg reports $1.2 Trillion USD in corporate debt is now tied to AI, making it a larger sector than banks.
Bank of England sounds the alarm: The BoE’s Financial Policy Committee just flagged soaring AI-sector valuations as a key risk. If investor sentiment shifts or progress stalls, they say we could see a “sharp market correction.”, which seems like it is polite British for ‘Very Bad Crash’.
MIT survey gets fresh scrutiny: With this ambient doubt about, the recent MIT study which reviewed hundreds of generative AI initiatives and found 95% delivered zero meaningful financial returns is starting to do the rounds again.
“Circular” deals: Some of the biggest names in AI are entering intertwined mega deals worth hundreds of billions — Nvidia investing in OpenAI while OpenAI commits to buying Nvidia’s chips, and so on. Money being passed back and forth this way is a worrying indicator that a bubble might be peaking. Matt Levine had a great hilarious summary of the recent AMD/OpenAI deal
A nineteen year old nabs Google backing for AI startup: Look, I’m really trying to be happy for this kid and congratulations to him but I have never felt more like an ancient, desiccated corpse.
Nineteen year old founder Dhravya Shah has secured seed funding of $2.6 million USD for his startup SuperMemory, which tackles one of the core problems in AI - it can’t remember enough stuff to be truly useful.
The round was led by Susa Ventures, Browder Capital, and SF1.vc, including individual investors from Google and Deepmind. Congrats to this small child for his global success.
If anyone needs me I am going to stare at my forehead wrinkles in a mirror and regret the choices I’ve made.
Want to get in touch with a news tip, a slice of feedback or just to chat? Email hello@caffeinedaily.co