Photo credit: John Werner

Five years ago, Mariam Khayretdinova sat in a Harvard classroom learning about the human brain. Today, she runs a biotech company that could fundamentally change how we treat depression. The gap between those two moments tells you everything about the speed at which AI mental health innovation is moving—and why the smartest investors in the room are paying attention.

Her new book, Decoding Despair: How AI is Reshaping Psychiatry, launches in January 2026. It arrives at precisely the moment when the convergence of artificial intelligence and neuroscience is creating unprecedented opportunities in precision medicine. Furthermore, her work positions her at the epicenter of a revolution that major pharmaceutical companies can no longer ignore.

The Personal Mission Behind AI Mental Health Innovation

Khayretdinova didn’t stumble into this field by accident. Depression runs in her family. She’s lived with it. Consequently, when she talks about the desperation of trying ten different medications to find something that works, she’s not citing research papers. She’s describing her own experience.

“What got me thinking about the issues that would underpin Brainify.AI was knowing the stories of suicide attempts amongst members of my family,” she explains. “All of this made me question what’s going on inside someone’s brain. Why did they decide to go against evolution and try to kill themselves? I decided I would like to find an answer.”

That question led her from Moscow State University, where she earned a master’s in applied mathematics, through a decade in tech consulting, and eventually to Harvard. Moreover, it drove her to build Brainify.AI, a biotech startup that uses machine learning to analyze EEG data and predict which patients will respond to specific treatments.

From Harvard Labs to Cambridge Research

The academic credentials alone would impress any family office considering the space. Khayretdinova holds a Master’s in Applied Mathematics from Moscow State University and a separate Master’s in Psychology from Harvard University. She currently conducts research at Cambridge University, developing mathematical models for large-scale brain data analysis.

Her Harvard journey proved particularly transformative. The university’s innovation ecosystem provided more than classroom learning. Additionally, it connected her with Diego Pizzagalli, professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, who now serves as Brainify.AI’s science adviser. The company was also a finalist in Harvard’s President’s Innovation Challenge 2023.

“My time there actually became the main push to start Brainify.AI,” she notes. “They provided me with the knowledge and opened up that problem for me. All my professors and current advisors are somehow related to the Harvard Extension School.”

This network effect—academic excellence translating into real-world venture formation—represents exactly the pattern sophisticated investors recognize. The right educational pedigree opens doors. Nevertheless, execution separates the contenders from the pretenders.

The Science of Precision Psychiatry

Here’s the fundamental problem Brainify.AI addresses: psychiatry remains remarkably imprecise. Current diagnostic systems rely primarily on subjective symptom descriptions. Treatment selection often involves trial-and-error approaches that leave patients cycling through medications for months or years.

According to research published in Molecular Psychiatry, AI applications in mental health can analyze vast datasets and identify subtle patterns that human clinicians miss. The integration of machine learning with EEG biomarkers represents a potential paradigm shift in how we approach treatment selection.

Brainify.AI focuses specifically on female depression—a strategic choice with significant market implications. The company’s platform claims to increase the likelihood of new drug approval by 80% while reducing pharmaceutical R&D costs by $1.5 billion. Those numbers capture pharma executives’ attention for obvious reasons.

“We’re working toward technology that will help pharma companies introduce more therapeutics to the market that actually work,” Khayretdinova explains. Subsequently, the company has assembled a team that includes Kaggle Grand Masters, Harvard Medical School researchers, and advisors from Sage Therapeutics and AstraZeneca.

Why AI Mental Health Matters Now

The timing couldn’t be more significant. The World Health Organization projects that by 2030, mental illness will represent the leading contributor to global disease burden. Roughly half of the world’s population will experience at least one diagnosable mental disorder before age seventy-five.

Meanwhile, systematic reviews in BMC Psychiatry indicate that AI-driven tools are enhancing early detection, improving patient engagement, and enabling personalized interventions. Machine learning models analyzing multimodal data—including neuroimaging, electronic health records, and wearable sensors—can identify biologically grounded subtypes of mental disorders that traditional approaches miss entirely.

The old-money approach to health was reactive: develop a problem, seek treatment. Today’s sophisticated approach mirrors what we see in status symbols young millionaires actually pursue—preventative, data-driven, personalized. AI mental health applications embody that shift toward proactive optimization.

The Loneliness of the Entrepreneurial Journey

Khayretdinova doesn’t sugarcoat the founder experience. When asked about the hardest part of building Brainify.AI, her answer surprises with its candor.

“I wouldn’t really call myself successful—we’re just doing our best. There are many challenges, but the hardest one is loneliness. Unfortunately, entrepreneurship is a lonely journey. You don’t fully understand it until you’re in it—it’s like willingly putting yourself through pain, creating obstacles, fighting, and surviving when there’s always an easier path available.”

She references Elon Musk’s famous description: “Being an entrepreneur is like eating glass and staring into the abyss.” The acknowledgment of difficulty, paired with continued pursuit, signals the kind of grit that distinguishes founders who build lasting companies from those who chase trends.

This authenticity resonates with anyone who has built something from nothing. Indeed, the ability to discuss challenges openly often correlates with the self-awareness required for long-term success.

A Book for Innovators and Investors

Decoding Despair: How AI is Reshaping Psychiatry isn’t written for clinicians alone. Khayretdinova explicitly targets innovators, investors, and inventors interested in bringing mental health to the same scientific level as other medical fields.

The book’s three-part structure addresses distinct audiences. Part one examines the current psychiatric system’s scientific, clinical, and structural challenges from both patient and institutional perspectives. Part two introduces AI fundamentals—how modern models work, what data they require, what limitations they face. Part three connects psychiatry and AI, showing how these technologies can reshape diagnostics, clinical trials, and drug development.

“This book is also for those who, like I was five years ago, may not realize the depth of complexity within psychiatry,” she writes. “Or understand the real reasons behind the lack of diagnostics, the limited effectiveness of treatments, and the growing number of people suffering from mental disorders.”

For those evaluating investment opportunities in the AI mental health space, the book promises to provide the foundational understanding necessary for due diligence. Similarly, founders in adjacent spaces will find the intersection of technology and healthcare economics particularly relevant.

The Future Khayretdinova Envisions

Looking ahead, Khayretdinova articulates a vision that resonates with the precision medicine movement’s broader ambitions. “Everyone in the field shares the same hope—that AI and large-scale biological datasets will finally uncover the true nature of mental disorders,” she explains. “They will reveal what lies beneath symptoms, likely identify new conditions, and shed light on detailed biological mechanisms.”

This vision of moving beyond symptom-based diagnosis to biologically grounded understanding represents the holy grail of psychiatric medicine. The parallel to innovations in regenerative medicine—explored in our feature on Dr. Gaurav Goswami’s stem cell work—highlights how technology increasingly enables personalized, precision approaches across medical disciplines.

The regulatory landscape continues evolving to accommodate these innovations. Moreover, major pharmaceutical companies are actively partnering with AI startups to accelerate drug development. The question isn’t whether AI will transform psychiatry. The question is which companies will lead the transformation.

Where Harvard Meets the Hamptons

Khayretdinova’s trajectory from international student to Cambridge researcher to biotech CEO follows a pattern familiar to this readership. The combination of elite academic credentials, personal mission, and scientific rigor creates the foundation for meaningful impact.

Her work joins a tradition of Harvard-educated entrepreneurs making waves in traditionally underserved fields. The path recalls other featured innovators like Elizabeth “Lizzie” da Trindade-Asher, whose philanthropic work similarly bridges institutional excellence with real-world impact.

TEDx appearances, Davos recognition, and Wall Street Journal Health Forum participation have already elevated Khayretdinova’s profile among the healthcare innovation community. Nevertheless, the January 2026 book launch promises to introduce her work to broader audiences interested in the intersection of technology, health, and investment opportunity.

About Mariam Khayretdinova

Mariam Khayretdinova is the CEO and co-founder of Brainify.AI, a company pioneering the use of artificial intelligence and EEG analysis to transform psychiatric drug development and advance precision psychiatry. She holds a Master’s Degree in Applied Mathematics and a separate Master’s Degree in Psychology from Harvard University. With more than a decade of experience in technology and data-driven innovation, she continues her research at the University of Cambridge, developing mathematical models for large-scale brain data analysis.

The Brainify.AI team includes advisors Dr. Maurizio Fava, Psychiatrist-in-Chief at Massachusetts General Hospital; Dr. Diego Pizzagalli, Director of the Depression and Anxiety Center at Harvard Medical School; Dr. Conor Liston of Weill Cornell Medicine; and Dr. Ajit Singh, Partner at Artiman Ventures and Adjunct Professor at Stanford School of Medicine.

Decoding Despair: How AI is Reshaping Psychiatry launches January 2026.

Press Contact: Lily Ravas | lily@lilyravas.com

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