Bridging the Mental Health Talent Gap Through AI-Driven Training Innovation

Interview with the Founder of Octopi.Health-Lokesh Naidu

Summary:

What happens when mental health demand rises but trained psychologists remain scarce? This interview explores the structural challenges in psychology education, the lack of practical training opportunities, and how AI simulation platforms could help bridge this gap. From scaling supervision to improving clinical readiness, the conversation provides a practical look at how technology could enable the next generation of mental health professionals.

This interview features Lokesh Naidu, Founder of LokSun Technologies and Octopi Health, who shares his journey from corporate product leadership at global companies to building AI-driven healthcare products. In this conversation, he discusses the motivation behind entering the mental health technology space, the market opportunity, product innovation, business model, and the future of AI-enabled psychology training and care delivery.

Founder Background

Interviewer: Could you briefly share your professional background and what led you to start your own company?

Lokesh:
Sure. I have over 18 years of corporate experience. I started my career with Robert Bosch GmbH in Germany and later worked at Boeing Aerospace in the US as a Senior Product Manager.

Early in my career, I always wanted to build a product company rather than just provide services. That pushed me from engineering into product management and product marketing.

Eventually, I decided to leave Boeing, even though it was a comfortable position, because I didn’t want to have regrets later about not trying entrepreneurship.

So, on January 1, 2018, we started LokSun Technologies Pvt Ltd. Our early focus was on AI solutions, especially computer vision. At that time, very few startups in India were working in this space mostly large companies like NEC, Panasonic, and Bosch.

We grew steadily and now have Fortune 500 customers, mostly in security and safety solutions using video analytics.

Shift to Healthcare

Interviewer:
How did you transition from computer vision into healthcare?

Lokesh:

About three years ago, I wanted to move from custom solutions to scalable products. Solutions require starting from scratch for every client, even when using prebuilt models.

Since we already had patents in computer vision in India and the US, I explored how we could apply this expertise in healthcare.

Initially, we worked with physiotherapists to track exercise movements and the range of motion. While the technology worked well, customers saw it as a nice-to-have rather than an essential and were not willing to pay.

That made us rethink the problem we wanted to solve.

Personal Motivation

Lokesh:

Then something personal changed my direction. A cousin of mine who was a psychologist struggled with burnout from seeing patients daily. Eventually, he died by suicide.

That made me think deeply about mental health not just for patients but also for professionals.

Mental health challenges affect almost everyone in some way. Even professionals struggle, but very few solutions address their needs.

Mental Health Market Opportunity

Lokesh:

If you look at statistics, during COVID in India, about 5.3 lakh people died due to the virus, but around 6.3 lakh died by suicide during the same period.

That shows the scale of the mental health crisis.

So we asked:

Instead of going B2C, which requires significant marketing investment, we chose a B2B approach that helps healthcare providers do their jobs better.

That’s how Octopi Health started two years ago.

We currently have five different products in the mental health space, each designed for different customer segments and user groups.

Product Portfolio

Interviewer:
What products have you built so far?

Lokesh:

We currently have five mental health products targeting different user groups.

One example is our AI Patient Simulation Lab. This helps psychology students practice patient interactions.

We recently launched it at PES University in Bangalore. Thousands of students are using it.

The problem we identified is that psychology students rarely get practical exposure because patient sessions are confidential. Unlike other medical fields, students cannot easily observe real consultations.

Our simulation helps bridge that gap.

We have also signed MoUs with around four major colleges and universities in India. Additionally, we are working with a few county schools in the US to address different types of mental health challenges.

What we are particularly seeing is that the Gen Z population is facing significant mental health challenges. While it is difficult to predict how this will evolve, it is clearly becoming a major global concern.

At present, after the US and China, India ranks third in terms of the scale of mental health challenges globally.

Digital Therapy App

Interviewer:
Do you also have solutions for the general public?

Lokesh:

Yes. We built an app called ZALK, available on Android and iOS.

It acts like a digital therapy companion available 24/7. Users can talk freely while maintaining data privacy (HIPAA-compliant).

We launched it recently and already have over 1,000 conversations from about 150 users.

We specifically want to help people who hesitate to seek therapy due to stigma.

We are particularly targeting the Gen Z population, especially college students. It is not limited to psychology students any student or, in fact, anyone who needs mental health support can use the platform.

For example, LGBTQ+ users often open up faster to AI than to humans because they feel less judged.

AI Clinical Support Tools

Interviewer:
Do you also support psychologists directly?

Lokesh:

Yes. We have tools that:

This helps psychologists understand patients better.

We also built a screening tool called PsycAI, where patients can take self-assessments before visiting a psychologist. This provides useful pre-consultation insights.

Wearable Technology

Interviewer:
You also mentioned a smart device?

Lokesh:

Yes. We developed a smart ring and a smart band for mental health monitoring.

These track:

Unlike consumer devices like Whoop or Oura, our device is designed as a medical-grade healthcare product.

We provide these to psychologists, who may recommend them to patients for continuous monitoring.

This enables continuous treatment rather than just periodic sessions.

Interviewer:
How is this different from devices like Gabbit, Whoop, or Oura?

Lokesh:

Those are mainly B2C consumer wellness devices. Our device is designed as a medical-grade healthcare product with higher clinical relevance.

Our approach is B2B2C. We sell these to psychologists, who prescribe them to patients when needed. This allows objective monitoring instead of relying only on patient self-reporting.

Psychologists can also intervene early if they see risk patterns like poor sleep or high stress over multiple days.

Flagship Product

Interviewer:
Which product would you consider your flagship offering?

Lokesh:

Our flagship product is PsyClinic, the AI patient simulation platform.

It uses multimodal AI:

Universities and colleges are our main customers for this product.

Market Size

Interviewer:
How large is the market for this product?

Lokesh:

In the US, about 10,000 universities offer psychology programs.

In India, around 3,000 colleges offer psychology programs, with roughly 500–600 being strong potential customers.

The number is growing as more institutions add psychology programs.

Product Capabilities

Interviewer:
What complexity level does your simulation address?

Lokesh:

Currently, psychology education is mostly theoretical. Practical exposure is limited.

Our software converts theory into simulations.

Students can:

We also simulate different patient personalities:

Students receive ratings and supervision reports after sessions.

Professional Training Gap

Interviewer:
Are there any gaps in how psychologists are trained or upskilled after getting their licenses?

Lokesh Naidu:

Yes. As per RCI guidelines, psychologists are supposed to undergo supervision every year. But in reality, many are not doing it.

There are several reasons:

Also, there is no structured upskilling requirement after licensing. Many psychologists may be practicing based on what they learned 10 years ago, even though the field is evolving rapidly.

Lokesh Naidu:

In our software, we have integrated the latest standards like DSM-5 (US standards) and ICD-11 (global clinical standards). We continuously update the platform because new disorders and diagnostic frameworks keep emerging.

What we are seeing is that many professionals are not staying updated because there is no structured mechanism pushing them to upgrade their knowledge.

Lokesh Naidu:

We are also exploring discussions with government bodies to see if simulation-based training like ours could become part of mandatory upskilling requirements for licensed psychologists.

This could help ensure continuous learning even after professionals receive their licenses.

Government & Future Plans

Interviewer:
Are you engaging with government bodies?

Lokesh:

Not yet, but we are exploring opportunities. If simulation training becomes part of the curriculum requirements, it could significantly expand the market.

Pricing Model

Interviewer:
How are you thinking about pricing and recurring revenue?

Is the person using the app your customer, or is the college your customer? Who is the payer here?

Lokesh:

The payer is the students, but the decision-makers are the colleges. So the first-level customer is the college leadership, such as the university dean and HODs. Once they confirm the product is useful and can be added to the curriculum, students naturally follow the college’s decision.

Interviewer:
Do you have to give any incentive to colleges to convince them to offer this to students?

Lokesh:

No. We collect payment from the colleges, and we are not concerned about how much they charge students. Colleges decide their pricing as part of their investment.

For example, some of our paid customers, like PSU, Surana College, and Dayananda Sagar University in Bangalore, also use this as a marketing tool. They showcase that they are early adopters of AI in education and use it to attract more admissions and publicity.

Customer Value Proposition

Interviewer:
What is the benefit for students?

Lokesh:

Today in India, about 99% of psychology students have to pay clinics ₹10,000–₹20,000 per month just to get internship certificates, often without real learning.

What we offer instead is:

We also plan programs where students can directly enroll with us, get mentorship, and access job networks.

Problem Being Solved

Interviewer:
What problem are you trying to solve in the psychology field?

Lokesh:

About 80% of psychology students don’t enter the mainstream psychology profession. They move into HR, marketing, or sales because psychology knowledge helps there.

We want to bring them back into mainstream psychology careers.

Also, statistically, for India’s 1.3–1.4 billion population, there are only about 5,000 RCI-licensed psychologists, mostly in Tier-1 cities. Tier-2 cities often lack access completely.

Product Expansion

Interviewer:
Are you exploring other use cases?

Lokesh:

Yes. For example, we recently got a request from Himachal Pradesh for autism screening for school children aged 1–14. They want AI tools for bulk screening. This is in our pipeline and may be supported through CSR funding.

Awareness is growing, but there is still a long way to go.

Technology Strategy

Interviewer:
Are you using your own LLM or third-party models?

Lokesh:

We use our own proprietary models because no ready solution exists for our use case. We combine:

If it were only text, many LLMs exist. But we require multimodal AI. We are also working on multilingual models and vision-language models.

Revenue Model

Interviewer:
How do you generate revenue?

Lokesh:

We charge colleges about ₹3–4 lakhs per month.

We also charge per student usage:

About ₹350–₹450 per student per hour of usage.

Interviewer:
 Do you charge based on the number of students?

Lokesh:

No, it’s based on usage per student per hour.

Customer Feedback

Interviewer:
How is the feedback from colleges?

Lokesh:

Management is generally supportive. Some faculty members initially worry about job security or believe AI cannot understand emotions.

We explain that AI is not replacing them; it is a bridge between faculty and students.

Practical Implementation

Interviewer:
How does your simulation help practically?

Lokesh:

Traditionally, colleges bring experienced psychologists for practical exams. But bringing real patients is difficult.

Usually, students try to simulate patients, but they cannot realistically mimic symptoms.

Our AI solves this by simulating realistic patient interactions.

Interviewer:
So this is like replacing live viva practice?

Lokesh:

Yes, in a way. Students get practical exposure.

We also provide detailed dashboards showing:

Interviewer:
Does this become mandatory in the curriculum?

Lokesh:

Yes. If it’s optional, students don’t take it seriously. When it becomes part of grading, engagement increases.

Sales Strategy

Interviewer:
How do you sell this product? Is it outbound sales?

Lokesh:

Yes, mostly outbound. Education is required because this is a new category.

We build trust through:

Interviewer:
Do you have a sales team?

Lokesh:

Yes. We also use a franchise model where partners in different states sell our solution and earn recurring revenue.

Interviewer:
 Is franchise sales cheaper than direct sales?

Lokesh:

Yes. Franchise partners already have relationships with colleges, which reduces sales cycles. We typically close deals in about 45 days.

Business Operations

Interviewer:
Is your business seasonal?

Lokesh:

About 70% of sales happen during admission season (around June). About 30% can happen mid-term.

Interviewer:
How big is your team?

Lokesh:

We have about:

Financials

Interviewer:
 What are the typical margins in this business?

Lokesh:

We currently operate at around 70% gross margin because it’s a premium SaaS product.These margins are expected to strengthen further as we scale deployments and benefit from our early mover advantage

Interviewer:
 Is this a capital-intensive industry?

Lokesh:

Yes, because you need both:

Replicating our product could take 2–3 years.

Traction

Interviewer:
 How long have customers been using your product?

Lokesh:

We launched about 4 months ago. Currently, we have around 4 college customers. It’s still the early stage.

International Expansion

Interviewer:
Are you expanding internationally?

Lokesh:

Yes, we have enquiries from Dubai, though some deals were delayed due to Ramadan.

Product Vision

Interviewer:
What future use cases do you see?

Lokesh:

Beyond students, psychologists themselves can use our simulation to prepare for patient sessions.

For example, if a psychologist has a grief patient appointment, they could practice using our AI simulation beforehand.

I see this becoming a lifelong professional tool.

Buying Decision Process

Interviewer:
Who is the main decision maker in colleges?

Lokesh:

Primary decision maker:

Secondary:

HODs validate academic value, while management evaluates ROI.

Funding Strategy

Interviewer:
Do you need funding?

Lokesh:

Not immediately. Our franchise model reduces burn.

We may consider:

But we are not actively fundraising right now.

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