[Life Act 3 Companies] 'Mr. Mind' Targeting Elderly Care Market with AI Dolls

Mr. Mind CEO Kim Dongwon

"How old are you?" (Person)

"Oh my, that's a secret. Age is just a number." (Doll)

On the 6th, at the office of 'Mr. Mind,' an artificial intelligence (AI) natural language processing specialist company located in Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, CEO Kim Dong-won (50) demonstrated a conversation with an AI care doll they developed. Pressing the 'Conversation' button on the doll's left hand enables everyday conversations, while pressing the 'Play' button on the right hand allows simple games like true or false quizzes.

Mr. Mind mainly supplies these dolls to local governments. Currently, they have delivered 8,200 dolls to 54 local governments, and these dolls are given to elderly people aged 65 or older who live alone. The dolls, designed in the shape of each local government's character, are equipped with AI speakers inside, allowing seniors to talk with the dolls. CEO Kim said, "I want to build a company that goes beyond products to provide services for the happy lives of seniors."

Mr. Mind CEO Kim Dong-won posed with AI elderly companion dolls delivered to local governments nationwide. Photo by Heo Young-han younghan@

- Please introduce Mr. Mind.

▲ We are an AI natural language processing specialist company. We created care dolls with AI speakers (capsules) inside that can converse with people. They are specialized for elderly care.

- You founded the company in 2017. What did you do before that?

▲ I majored in computer engineering and started a business in the IT field. I ran a web agency developing websites and online shopping malls. After operating the agency in a provincial area, I thought growth was slowing down, so I sold the company and moved to the metropolitan area. I also tried developing my own services and made small investments in other companies. Then, after seeing a research company analyze the prospects of the robotics and AI industry, I started this business. I initially planned to create an AI chatbot company, but after hearing that Kakao and Naver were distributing chatbots for free, I pivoted my business model.

- What inspired you to create AI dolls for elderly care?

▲ Initially, I made AI toys for children. When I showed the toy to my parents, they started talking to the doll things they wouldn't say to me. That gave me a hint and helped me gauge the business potential. Since seniors talk to the doll things they don't say to others, I thought analyzing recorded conversations could detect abnormal symptoms in the elderly.

- There is a growing trend of AI companions for seniors in the market. What is Mr. Mind's differentiation strategy?

▲ The key differentiator is 'active speech.' If you just turn on the doll, it nags continuously throughout the day. For example, if it snows, it says, "Please look outside, it's snowing." It also features 'emotional conversations' that share empathy. When you insert a dedicated card into the doll's pocket, it plays stories or songs, and if pre-set, it can remind seniors when to take their medicine.

- There are ways to operate solely by voice. Why do you use buttons or cards?

▲ It's to enhance cognitive function in seniors. They need to keep moving even if it's bothersome. Also, the cards are designed to resemble Hwatu, a card game seniors enjoy. You can see it as a purpose-driven design.

- You collaborate a lot with local governments. It must have been difficult to persuade them about this business model at first.

▲ The first local government to adopt it was Mapo-gu Office. Although the elderly ratio wasn't high, the responsible officer was passionate about welfare. Compared to five years ago, the mindset of public officials has changed a lot. Five years ago, they treated us like peddlers when we visited, but now they say, "Please have a seat first." The key point that persuaded local governments was that this doll could detect diseases that others might miss. We distribute dolls to people aged 65 or older living alone, and when the seniors talk to the doll, the data is sent to the local welfare department and us for analysis to detect abnormal symptoms.

- Can you give an example?

▲ The first thing that happens when seniors live alone is insomnia. If someone repeatedly uses the doll at dawn, we can suspect insomnia. Also, if many negative expressions are found in what seniors say to the doll, it usually indicates depression. Moreover, seniors with dementia often speak incoherently with subject-verb mismatches, which can also be detected through recorded conversations. Similarly, we can identify high-risk groups for suicide.

- When local governments detect such abnormal symptoms, do they immediately connect it to diagnosis?

▲ It's not that easy. We mainly contract with welfare teams, and when abnormal symptoms requiring action are found, welfare connects to the health department. Then medical personnel visit. However, in many cases, diagnosis is not possible because the senior does not consent. This is a challenging issue in the field. Persuading seniors to consent depends on the capability and effort of the public official involved.

- How is the sales performance? Also, what about investment status and plans?

▲ As of last year, fixed monthly sales through local governments are about 120 million KRW. By March, it is expected to increase to about 200 million KRW per month. So far, we received seed investment from Infobank and pre-Series A investment from Hana Ventures. We are preparing for Series A investment this year.

- What are your future goals?

▲ Ultimately, I want to build a convergent senior hospital that combines emotional information with bio data such as body temperature and blood pressure.