PRESS RELEASE
Cambridge, UK
Published: 02 March 2026
Press & Media
As Meta Alerts Parents, Cambridge Mind Technologies Provides the Missing Piece: Real-Time Support for Teens in Distress
Cambridge Mind Technologies, developer of AI mental health companion Cami, says Meta's new parental notification system highlights a critical gap that its technology is uniquely positioned to fill - providing empathetic, psychological first aid to young people at the very moment they are exposed to harmful online content.
Meta's announcement this week that Instagram will begin alerting parents when teenagers repeatedly search for suicide and self-harm content has been welcomed by mental health experts. But Cambridge Mind Technologies (CMT), the Cambridge-based mental health AI company, says the initiative, while a meaningful step, leaves the most important moment unaddressed.
Parental notifications tell adults that something has already happened. They do not help the young person who, right now, in that moment, is experiencing distress.
"Meta can now tell a parent that their teenager searched for self-harm content three times in an hour. But who is with that teenager in the hour before the parent sees that notification? That is the window where Cami operates and where the real difference can be made." Professor Robert Batt, Founder and Chief Clinical Officer
Detecting Distress Is Not the Same as Addressing It
Meta's new feature is part of a broader package of teen safety measures, including restricted content settings and Teen Accounts on Instagram. But independent testing by the Molly Rose Foundation and other organisations has raised serious questions about whether these measures go far enough in practice - finding that harmful content continues to reach young users at scale.
CMT's AI companion, Cami, works at the intersection of technology and psychological first aid (PFA), providing real-time, empathetic support to adolescents at the first signs of emotional distress, before emotions escalate into crisis. Built over 20 years of clinical practice by Professor Robert Batt, drawing on more than 30,000 hours of adolescent therapy and validated through research at the University of Cambridge, Cami is designed specifically for the moments that shape young people's decisions and wellbeing.
A Natural Partnership for Platform Safety
CMT believes its technology represents a natural complement to the safety infrastructure that social media platforms are under pressure to build. While platforms like Instagram can detect concerning behaviour and alert parents, Cami can provide the immediate, empathetic response that a young person needs in that same moment - listening, helping them regulate their emotions, and connecting them to appropriate support before distress becomes crisis.
Cami has already been trialled in schools and mental health clinics across the UK, where early results show improved emotional regulation and decreased escalation to crisis support. The company is now scaling its reach to tens of thousands of pupils and patients, backed by investor support through Republic Europe.
"We are not critics of what Meta is doing - parental awareness matters. But awareness is not support. The platforms are building detection; we have built the response. Together, those two things could genuinely keep young people safer." Professor Robert Batt, Cambridge Mind Technologies
About Cambridge Mind Technologies
Cambridge Mind Technologies is a UK-based mental health AI company dedicated to early emotional support for young people. Its clinically informed AI companion, Cami, delivers psychological first aid in real time - empathetic, ethical, and always available. Built on evidence and grounded in clinical psychology, Cami is designed to bridge the gap between distress and support, long before a young person reaches crisis point.
Cambridge Mind Technologies is an Organisational Member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and is progressing toward medical certification as a regulated digital mental health device.
Contact: info@cambridgemindtechnologies.com
Interviews with Professor Robert Batt and other members of the CMT team are available on request. Supporting data on Cami's clinical trials, efficacy metrics, and ethical framework can be provided under embargo.
PRESS RELEASE
Cambridge, UK
Published: 15 January 2026
Cambridge Mind Technologies: Appointment of new Non-Executive Director
Cambridge Mind Technologies is pleased to announce the appointment of Henry Sands to the Board as an Independent Non-Executive Director, with immediate effect.
Henry is Founder and Managing Director, of SABI Strategy Group, a leading strategic communications agency which represents international corporations and investors around the world.
Robert Batt, CEO and Founder of Cambridge Mind Technologies, commented: "We are delighted to welcome Henry to the Board as a Non-Executive Director. His breadth of knowledge and network, built up over twenty years in the world of strategic communications, will be highly complementary to the existing Board. His insight and experience, also as an entrepreneur, will be critical to our journey at Cambridge Mind Technologies as we navigate an increasingly multifaceted stakeholder environment."
Henry Sands commented: "I am excited to join the Board of Cambridge Mind Technologies at this pivotal time. Young people today face unprecedented pressures - unhealthy social media comparisons, academic stress, low self-esteem, loneliness, and uncertainty about the future.
The result is a global epidemic of anxiety, self-harm, and depression. Millions of adolescents experience emotional distress, but most do not receive any meaningful help until a crisis point is reached. Robert's vision in the development of Cami stands to directly benefit millions of individuals around the world and I am excited to have the opportunity to contribute towards the company’s evolution”.
Built on research from the University of Cambridge, combined with over 30,000 hours of clinical experience working with adolescents, Cami is designed to provide psychological first aid at the earliest signs of distress before clinical intervention is needed.
Having already been rolled out across schools in the UK and the Middle East Cami AI is in the process of concluding a fundraise to support its expansion across global markets.
For more information on the investment opportunity see here
Cambridge Mind Technologies crowdfunds Cami for progress
Cambridge Mind Technologies has launched a crowdfunder to accelerate deployment of Cami, its AI companion for early-stage adolescent mental health support in schools and clinics.
Built on research from the University of Cambridge, Cami is designed to provide psychological first aid at the earliest signs of distress before clinical intervention is needed.
Prof Robert Batt, a Cambridge researcher and clinician with more than 30,000 hours of experience working with adolescents, founded the company in 2018. In 2023 he was joined by fellow directors Prof Sabine Bahn, a director of the Bahn Laboratory at The University of Cambridge, entrepreneur Jeremy Davies and Cambridge Future Tech.
The campaign invites individuals to invest from as little as £20, with funds helping expand Cami’s reach in schools and clinics across the UK. The Cami device has been built to serve the ‘second dozen years’ (12–24), now widely considered to cover adolescence.
Prof Batt leads The Recovery Centre, a London-based group of mental health practitioners that give support with ADHD and autism, eating disorders, therapy for anxiety, depression, OCD and trauma. His view is that intervention – or at least support – needs to be introduced earlier, before a formal diagnosis is made, when a young person is having a difficult time rather than being unwell per se.
“What is needed at this point is psychological first aid rather than psychotherapy,” Prof Batt told the Cambridge Independent. “Other companies try to replicate psychotherapy models, and this is a significant way in which we are doing things differently. Once a set of negative behaviours has become chronic, psychotherapy is indicated. However, our focus is on pre-clinical support for young people, often years before psychotherapy is required.
“If there is no intervention when a young person is not unwell but simply having a difficult time, then these negative emotions can lead to compensatory behaviours.” He adds: “Over the last two years, our psychology team has built and iterated multiple psychological models to make Cami safer than LLMs.”
Cambridge Mind Technologies aims to make early emotional support “safe, empathetic and scalable”. But how far can a computer in its quest to be empathetic without actually having empathy?
“You’re absolutely right that computers don’t feel empathy,” replies Prof Batt. “What Cami does is replicate the language and tone of empathy – not to replace human connection, but to keep young people safe until that connection can be made.”
Cami’s ability to respond appropriately is based “partly using our own dataset of 133,000 messages between clients and mentors providing psychological first aid. “The system continuously analyses messages for indicators of distress, hopelessness or suicidal ideation, and if risk is detected, the designated safeguarding lead at the school or clinic is immediately alerted through a secure reporting process,” Prof Batt notes. “That human oversight is integral – no conversation ever exists in a vacuum.
“So while the interaction feels conversational, Cami’s real value lies in its ability to spot risk early, flag it in real time, and trigger a human response. It’s precisely this partnership between psychology, AI, and safeguarding that makes the model both scalable and safe.”
While Cami was conceived to meet “a very obvious gap in mental health provision”, turning the idea into a business has been an odyssey which has secured validity as the wellbeing of young people is increasingly a source of concern. In 2023 an NHS England report concluded that around one in five children and young people aged eight to 25 years had a probable mental disorder. This number has been rising since 2017, most notably in the 17-19 age group.
Prof Sabine Bahn is a practising psychiatrist, chair in Neurotechnology and director of the Cambridge Centre for Neuropsychiatric Research. Dr Batt pays tribute to Prof Bahn, a practising psychiatrist, chair in neurotechnology and director of the Cambridge Centre for Neuropsychiatric Research.
“Sabine was my first hire, as her experience allowed me to turn a concept into reality,” says Robert. “The team is fairly small to preserve runway, but currently stands at seven in total. Crowdfunding will allow for a further three roles.”
The product is sold B2B. Guidelines set by OFSTED and NICE for risk reporting are adhered to. If Cami is used in a school or mental health clinic, the designated safeguarding lead is immediately alerted if risk is detected.
View the Republic Europe crowdfunding campaign.
Get a PDF copy of the full article here.
