EM: At Boddle, we understand that every child learns differently and at their own pace, so we use machine learning to tailor content to children’s level and identify learning gaps through fun and interactive gameplay. We also give teachers the tools to support their students by giving them access to assessments and videos in maths and English for children from kindergarten to sixth grade, as well as a range of assessment and reporting tools.

JX: We noticed that other fitness experiences often rewarded the faster or fitter participants for how fit they were, leaving others intimidated. Run Legends uses data from Core Location, Core Motion, and the Apple platform’s accelerometer to detect how fast someone is running and adapt gameplay accordingly. So whether you want to play at a 20-minute walk pace or an eight-minute run pace, it doesn’t matter; there’s really no benefit to going faster or slower through our game. There are quite a few “walkers” who play Run Legends who say the game has made them move from walking to a faster pace, more like jogging.

Support and mentoring

YES: The Entrepreneur Camp has been amazing. I have met and made friends with so many like-minded entrepreneurs. I stay in touch with some of the group who are in similar fields. The campus is so beautifully designed and learning Apple’s design principles in this environment was like a dream come true. We had design sessions with members of the Apple team who helped us understand how to position Wysa and today we are one of the most popular apps in our space.

JX: When we participated in Entrepreneur Camp, Run Legends was still in a very early stage. We didn’t even know exactly what the game would look like. We had the opportunity to talk to the design team, who knew what worked in the App Store and took a close look at our app. One example was our onboarding experience — our contact said to us: “What happens if a player isn’t ready to run or go outside? You would lose so many people if you didn’t offer an alternative experience that can be played indoors.” Based on this feedback, we changed our entire onboarding process and after launch, we found that almost half of all players used the alternative experience.

Creating more immersive experiences

EM: Boddle is more than just a game for math or English. We are creating a learning metaverse with different gaming experiences. If kids love basketball, they can jump into a basketball game. If they are interested in pets, they can try our pet battle game. The great thing is that kids can choose what they want to play and take what they learn with them wherever they go in Boddle’s world. They are in charge of their own learning adventure, choosing what they want to do and learning along the way.

JX: In Run Legends, we use 3D audio to make it sound like the battle is actually happening around you when you move your head. For example, if you turn left, you might hear the monster growling at you. But if you turn right, you hear your teammates cheering you on. You feel the haptics when you charge your attack and when you sprint, and you feel like the battle is happening right here. That feeling makes people train longer and harder. Players often tell us that the game has helped them do the fastest walks or runs of their lives. And that’s because of that interactive audio experience.

YES: What’s really unique about Wysa is the way we’ve evolved the product incrementally. We didn’t start with a clinical workbook and turn it into a chatbot. We used evidence-based techniques that worked and then listened to user feedback on what they needed and where some weren’t working for them. Then we worked with clinicians to develop models to support users in their self-help attempts. This created a balance of power between users and clinicians, supported by AI and analytics, that wasn’t possible before.

Innovative solutions for real problems

YES: We wanted to create a seamless mental health resource — a resource you can access on your phone at 3 a.m. and use as often as you need. Research shows that people are three times more likely to open up to an artificial intelligence than a human therapist. This offers the opportunity to create psychological safety, but it also needs to be accompanied by privacy-focused design and proven, measurable outcomes. We’ve seen the impact in both adolescents and older adults with chronic pain, and in workers and technicians alike.