An AI assistant for medical and psychological care. How Ukrainian startup Sympto.me was created
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In our recurring Who Are These People segment, Vector offers founders the opportunity to discuss their projects, covering aspects such as their products, marketing strategies, monetisation, investments, and plans. The focus this time is on Sympto.me, a Ukrainian startup, which provides an AI-powered mobile app to support patients before and after doctor’s appointments.
Editor-in-chief Yuliia Tkach interviewed Dmytro Serheiev, CEO and co-founder, about the product’s features, promotion, investments, and plans.
Conception
Sympto.me has two co-founders:
- Dmytro Serheiev, CEO. He has 9 years’ expertise managing and developing IT products.
- Serhii Serheiev, CTO. He is a software architect with 7 years’ expertise in the e-health sector. He has a strong background in statistical analysis and machine learning.
Dmytro explains that Sympto.me was created to address a pressing challenge in Ukrainian medicine: the need for a tailored approach to high-quality medical and mental care. According to the founder, the service delivers personalised recommendations and explanations informed by the user’s medical history. Examples include preventive and vaccination programmes that are customised based on criteria such as gender, age, parental status, etc. The system suggests psychological exercises and stress-relief techniques derived from the user’s answers.
The founders had previously worked on med-tech projects, namely the medical chatbot Marta.
«In fact, this project is still operational, and it provided the foundation for Sympto.me, where we were able to implement functionalities not supported by the chatbot. In other words, Sympto.me is the evolution of “Marta”», — says Dmytro.
Work on the Sympto.me project began in 2022. «With the understanding that many people will seek psychological support as a result of Russia’s full-scale invasion, we brought together IT specialists, physicians, and therapists.
In just 2,5 years, the project has evolved from an idea into a viable product. The project launched in May 2024 following clinical studies held at two municipal healthcare institutions which demonstrated promising results».
The Sympto.me team consists of five key specialists and four medical consultants, including physicians and therapists. The team is looking for react developers and marketers to assist in scaling up the product.
Product and audience
Sympto.me is a mobile app featuring AI avatars designed to communicate with its users. The app supports patients before and after their visits to healthcare providers, assists in assessing symptoms, provides recommendations and clarifications, and helps in managing their emotional well-being. Psychological support includes tests and self-regulation techniques.
Dmytro explains: Sympto.me employs algorithms developed by healthcare practitioners to automate everyday tasks, such as collecting medical histories, explaining diagnoses, and offering preventive care programmes. He emphasises that the app should not be used as a diagnostic tool or substitute for a physician or therapist; rather, it functions as supporting tool for their clinical practice. Sympto.me helps to assess symptoms in adults and children, identify possible causes, and get treatment recommendations. Where medical attention is needed, the service will generate an alert, offer suggestions for alleviating symptoms before an appointment, and send all relevant information to a healthcare provider.
«The mission of Sympto.me is to enhance public health in Ukraine and normalise consulting with therapists, making it as commonplace as visiting a GP. Sympto.me has established partnerships with various healthcare facilities, notably the Bucha Primary Care Centre and Children’s Polyclinic No. 6 in Odessa, where both patients and doctors make active use of its features», — explains the co-founder.
The team reports that the app has achieved an average monthly growth rate exceeding 1,000 patients, over 50 physicians, and provides approximately 3,000 services each month: «Our current total user base comprises about 11,000 patients and 250+ medical professionals».
Business model and marketing strategy
The product primarily functions on a B2B model. The audience includes healthcare institutions, both municipal and private, as well as individual practitioners. The team is working on a strategy for engaging with the corporate sector. Sympto.me is designed to operate on a subscription basis. Users are given a free trial period to assess the service’s efficacy.
The application is being promoted in collaboration with partner healthcare institutions and public entities. Plans are in place to increase uptake among individual practitioners and within the corporate sector.
Investments
In 2023, the project was awarded a grant of 20,000 euros through the Eastern Europe Foundation’s Act to Support acceleration programme. The team is looking into opportunities for international market entry, particularly in the UK, while also working on enhancing the B2B segment in Ukraine.
Sympto.me was among five teams that won the Open Data Accelerator in December 2024, receiving a grant worth $30,000.
Plans
Over the next six months, the team aims to:
- expand into new areas of mental healthcare;
- enhance the application’s CRM system;
- elevate the customisation of the service and promote greater inclusivity;
- expand the product’s reach throughout Ukraine.
The company aims to secure a 10% share of the Ukrainian corporate health segment and enter the EU and UK markets within the next two years.
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