Abstract As entrepreneurs develop applications and technologies for mental health therapy, traditional marketing and product launch strategies centered on customer surveys for product feedback often prove to be insufficient. The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into mental health systems, amplified by advances in 5G communication networks, introduces both transformative potential and complex ethical, social, and clinical challenges. AI-driven tools can expand access to care, optimize decision-making, and support remote therapy; yet, without inclusive and transparent development processes, they risk perpetuating inequities, eroding trust, and undermining patient safety. Algorithmic misinterpretations of cultural or emotional expressions, over-reliance on simulated empathy, and unequal data representation underscore the urgency for more comprehensive engagement. This inquiry argues that successful mental health technology ventures that use AI must move beyond a customer-centric approach to embrace multi-stakeholder collaboration that integrates clinicians, policymakers, ethicists, and medical providers from marginalized communities into each phase of innovation. Such engagement is essential not only to ensure ethical design and governance, but also to enhance the entrepreneurial capacity to identify genuine needs, design scalable solutions, and foster responsible market entry. Reframing new venture product research as stakeholder engagement enables entrepreneurs to align technological innovation with therapeutic integrity, social trust, and equitable mental health outcomes.
Darrell Norman Burrell (Thu,) studied this question.