Vijay Sharma

10 Years of Building Mental Health Tech in India

About this series

Between 2015 and 2025, I co-founded and scaled Silver Oak Health into India's largest B2B mental health platform. 600+ enterprise clients. 4.5 million employees. 14+ languages. Along the way, I wrote about what it's actually like to build technology for mental health in India... the clinical challenges, the cultural complexity, the privacy paradoxes, and the moments that remind you why it matters.

> The Scale Challenge

Building Mental Health Solutions in India: The 5-Layer Problem

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Building mental health tech in India isn't one problem. It's five simultaneously: clinical, cultural, linguistic, economic, and infrastructure. Get 4 out of 5 right and you still have nothing.

If You Can Build Mental Health Tech in India, You Can Build It Anywhere

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In India, you're not just building technology. You're building tech that people actively hide from colleagues due to stigma. We had to engineer discretion, not just functionality.

Mental Health in Indian Corporates Is Still a Checkbox

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In Indian corporates, mental health is sold like it used to be in the US 25 years ago. Awareness posters in the cafeteria. One annual workshop on stress management. It's not support. It's a checkbox.

> The Human Side

Welcome to Indian Family Therapy

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Where everyone has a PhD in your life problems, but no one has a license to practice. Family can hold space for your pain. But they can't be your entire healing journey.

2 Minutes & 19 Seconds

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That's how long our APIs were down this year. Also that's how long someone's suicidal thoughts lasted while trying to reach help. Regular APIs serve data. Mental health APIs serve hope.

In India We Don't Say "I Am Stressed"

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In India we don't say "I am stressed". We say "थोड़ा काम का प्रेशर है यार". And this is exactly what Western mental health companies get wrong about India.

Am I a Bad Parent or Is Technology Replacing Me?

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"My daughter told an AI app things she never told me." This was not a product question. This was a parent standing there, feeling replaced by code. And that question still sits with me.

> The Industry View

Most Mental Health 'Innovation' in India Is Just Noise

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I've been building in the mental health industry for 10 years and it's frustrating. Awareness campaigns aren't impact. Wellness days aren't treatment. Chatbots aren't therapy. Most of what we call innovation is surface-level work dressed as progress.

Dear Therapist, You Are Competing With a Jyotishi

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While mental health apps stay steady, more Indians are turning to astrology for emotional support. You can't copy-paste Western solutions and expect them to work in India. Meet people where they are, culturally and economically.

All HealthTech Companies Are Going to Become Hospitals Soon

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Pristyn Care just opened 5 hospitals and wants 50 more. PB Healthcare raised $218 million for a 1,000-bed hospital. For years, tech startups hated big upfront spending. So why are they all doing it now?

Is Curing Somebody a Good Business Model?

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Goldman Sachs analysts suggested effective cures could harm biotech business long-term. As the patient base shrinks, so does revenue. Is it morally justifiable to treat drug development purely as a business?