The stake in Woebot marks Leaps by Bayer’s firs investment in the mental health space and brings to $123.5 million the total raised by Woebot since it was established in 2017. The San Francisco-headquartered company closed a $90 million investment led by azz Venture Partners and Temasek less than a year ago. Founded in 2017 by University College Dublin graduate Dr Alison Darcy, Woebot has developed what it calls a “relational agent”. Unlike most chatbots that are functional in nature however, Woebot is capable of forming a strong, deep relationship with users and delivering human-like therapeutic responses to those experiencing mental health difficulties.