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Ukraine's Elomia Health buys US app Earkick to boost AI wellbeing API

What's the deal? Ukrainian startup Elomia Health has acquired EarkickDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a US-based AI companion app used by more than 250,000 people to track mood, sleep, activity, and daily habits. Terms were not disclosed.

The deal gives Elomia access to Earkick's AI models and its Mia21 memory technology, which factors in a person's state and how it changes over time.

What's the endgame? Elomia is shifting from a consumer app into an API provider, letting healthcare facilities, employers, and educational institutions embed AI emotional-support chatbots into their own products. Earkick's technology strengthens that infrastructure play.

What each side brings: Earkick was founded in 2021 by Herbert Bay, a developer of the SURF computer vision algorithm, and Karin Andrea Stefan. Elomia, founded in 2019 by Taras Pohrebniak, has tested its technology for safety and effectiveness in studies, including work with the University of Pennsylvania.

Why now? Many US states introduced chatbot rules in 2026, focused on disclosure, self-harm safeguards, and limits on AI presenting itself as therapy. That raises the bar on proving tools are safe and compliant across markets.

"We are committed to helping organizations launch safe AI solutions for emotional support that people will actually use," Pohrebniak said, adding that combining Earkick's technology with Elomia's safety mechanisms helps "reduce the risk of over-reliance on AI."

Bay said Pohrebniak "was one of the first to use large language models in this area" and "built a company that shares our vision and pays attention to safety."

The signal: The acquisition is a product-and-technology expansion rather than proof of commercial traction or a wider consolidation wave. But as regulators tighten the rules around AI mental health tools, safety and B2B deployment are becoming the ground on which these companies compete.

Read more: Tech.eu

Image credit: Generated with Gemini

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