An international AI-powered startup is opening its headquarters in the DMV after participating in a local Techstars accelerator.
Mindframe, a software “triage” for mental health care founded in 2024, will likely establish its base of operations in the region in mid-2026. The startup’s leaders are in talks with local commerce organizations to gauge which jurisdiction would be the right fit, said cofounder and CEO Pinar Gorgulu.
“I find DC to have an incredibly high quality of life with a lot of great access to a variety of resources, both professionally and personally.”
Pinar Gorgulu, Mindframe
She recently wrapped Techstars’ first healthcare accelerator in DC, where her company was one of 10 startups selected out of more than 800 applicants.
“I find DC to have an incredibly high quality of life with a lot of great access to a variety of resources, both professionally and personally,” Gorgulu told Technical.ly. “So the three months I spent there, I was actually quite taken with DC.”
The AI-powered platform focuses on intake, where patients submit symptoms to get suggestions on specific solutions including group therapy or psychiatric care. Booking is also coordinated through the tech.
Mindframe’s goal is to make these disparate processes to find support more simple, per Gorgulu.
“It’s not numbers that we’re dealing with, it’s not blood test results,” she said, noting a difference with mental health care. “It’s … subjective information. So how do you make that personalized? That’s the real challenge that we’re really trying to solve.”
Gorgulu is planning to move to the region in mid-January, paired with opening a funding round. The startup will still have a presence in the UK for research and development work, but Mindframe’s commercial operations and main headquarters will be in the DMV, Gorgulu said.
Living in this regon will give her flexibility to take trips to major East Coast cities like New York, and she’s excited to be able to visit to meet with investors without having the hefty price tag of living there.
Proximity to major health companies and related government groups are also a plus. That includes Kaiser Permanente’s local arm Permanente Medicine Mid-Atlantic States, which supported this new Techstars program. Gorgulu has been closely working with clinicians there to get insights about the platform, she said.
“Being actually close to these kinds of organizations and policy makers and decision makers,” Gorgulu said, “is something that’s really beneficial to us as a company.”
