Cura
University of Texas at Austin, McCombs School of Business
Industry: Healthtech, AI
Founding Student Name(s): Aakriti Kamal
Brief Description of Solution: Cura is an AI-powered app designed to support informal and family caregivers of mentally-ill patients. Family caregivers experience immense burden of caregiving, which has been proven to take a severe toll on their health. We make it easier for caregivers to manage their daily tasks, improve their loved one’s recovery, and access useful resources. Cura also generates detailed reports on patient progress, ensuring smooth handoffs to doctors. This leads to better patient outcomes and increases efficiency in care delivery for hospitals.
Funding Dollars: $15,600
What led you to launch this venture? At the age of 9, I sensed that I was losing my grandmother to something. After years of doctor visits, she was diagnosed with Schizophrenia. Simultaneously, I watched my mother become the primary caregiver for my grandmother without any knowledge on how to care for a mentally-ill patient. Eventually, my mom has had to take on the role of primary caregiver for both my grandmas with schizophrenia and OCD for the last 10 years. It’s a role that’s consumed her life, affecting her health both physically and mentally, and showing the intense, and overwhelming amounts of stress and anxiety caregivers face on a daily basis.
Having grown up in India, I have witnessed the extreme lack of resources and awareness surrounding mental health. This is true for not only my family but also for millions of people across rural India. As such, I entered college with a passion to combine psychology and business to create scalable mental health solutions and interventions.
What has been your biggest accomplishment so far with venture? When I started out, all I knew was the problem I wanted to solve: the burden of caregiving. It felt impossible at first—how do you support caregivers without adding more stress through education, training, or costs? Our initial approach didn’t work, and we had to pivot early on. But finding a solution that truly adds value for caregivers and seeing it resonate with them has been my proudest achievement. Now, as we near the finish line, I’m excited to scale this impact and help even more caregivers thrive.
How has your business-related major helped you further this startup venture? Being a double major in Business Analytics and Psychology, I have been able to gain a deep understanding of mental illnesses and the technical skills needed to build a scalable solution. My Business Analytics degree includes taking classes in finance, accounting, supply chain, and business law, which has given me a holistic understanding of how successful businesses run.
Which business class has been most valuable in building your startup and what was the biggest lesson you gained from it? The class that has been most valuable to my startup-building journey is the Forty Acres Founders Practicum, which is a pre-accelerator program focused on market validation, improving product, and refining the business model to position the venture for success. The structure of the class included learning through valuable case-studies, weekly in-person seminars taught by successful entrepreneurs, and access to industry mentors.
What business professor made a significant contribution to your plans and why? Dr. Luis Martins, professor for Forty Acres Founders Practicum – His commitment to helping student startups succeed has been invaluable. He has ensured we have access to top-quality resources like funding, mentorships, and more so that we can focus on what’s important, that is, building. He is also one of the best professors I have had at UT, and his passion for teaching and commitment to fostering student growth truly shine through in every interaction.
What founder or entrepreneur inspired you to start your own entrepreneurial journey? How did he or she prove motivational to you? I deeply admire Nike’s founder, Phil Knight, whose journey is both inspiring and a testament to perseverance. Starting out in 1964 selling shoes while juggling a full-time job, Knight spent years working hard before Nike saw success. What I respect most is how he carved out a space in an industry dominated by long-established competitors, while staying true to his vision even after 60 years. He ensured Nike wasn’t just about selling products—it was about making movement and sport accessible and enjoyable for everyone, and his relentless commitment to creating that impact is something I truly admire.
What is your long-term goal with your startup? Currently, Cura serves family caregivers of patients with severe mental illnesses like dementia and schizophrenia. Yet, millions of caregivers worldwide face the same challenges while supporting those with cancer, stroke, developmental disabilities, ALS, and other life-altering conditions that demand around-the-clock care. These caregivers make profound personal sacrifices out of pure love and my vision for Cura is to extend its support to all of these selfless individuals. Caregiving should be a journey centered on love and compassion, not a burden filled with stress and frustration.
How has your local startup ecosystem contributed to your venture’s development and success? Austin, and particularly UT Austin, is one of the best environments for early-stage entrepreneurs. The combination of supportive faculty, passionate students, and a thriving community of founders in Austin has fostered an incredibly open and collaborative ecosystem. Over the past three years, I’ve witnessed remarkable growth in the wealth of resources, mentors, and opportunities available to aspiring entrepreneurs. The UT Austin ecosystem, in particular, is designed to empower innovation, ensuring that roadblocks are minimized and new ideas are nurtured through the support of dedicated faculty and entrepreneurial programs.
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