Press & Media Kit
Everything you need to write about Cherizh. Copy-ready bios, key facts, and media contact.
Company Overview
Cherizh is an AI-powered daily emotional wellness app founded in 2025 by Kelly Kuo, a senior software engineer and magna cum laude graduate with lived experience in emotional crisis. Launching Q2 2026 on iOS and Android, Cherizh provides personalized emotional support through seven AI companions with persistent contextual memory, mood tracking with pattern recognition, voice journaling, and the proprietary Sit With Me™ silent companionship feature.
Unlike existing AI companions that reset with each conversation, Cherizh maintains a living memory of each user's emotional journey — remembering their patterns, relationships, progress, and struggles over time. All user data is protected with AES-256 encryption in transit and at rest, is never sold to third parties, and is never used to train AI models.
Cherizh is designed for everyday emotional wellness — the moments between therapy sessions, the 2 AM thoughts, the everyday emotional check-ins — and is not a replacement for professional therapy or crisis intervention. Crisis support resources including the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline are always accessible within the app.
Key Facts
- Company Name
- Cherizh
- Founded
- 2025
- Founder & CEO
- Kelly Kuo
- Category
- AI Emotional Wellness / Health Technology
- Launch Date
- Q2 2026
- Platforms
- iOS and Android
- Pricing
- Free tier available; premium features announced at launch
- Website
- cherizh.com
Product Features
Living Memory AI
Contextual memory that remembers your journey, patterns, and relationships over time
7 AI Companions
Distinct personalities — from gentle listeners to truth-with-love speakers
Voice Journaling
Speak your thoughts; Cherizh listens and helps you process
Sit With Me™
Silent companionship mode for when you just need someone there
Privacy-First Architecture
AES-256 encryption, no data sales, no AI training on user data, full data deletion on request
Founder Bio
Short Bio (Copy-Ready)
Kelly Kuo is the founder and senior software engineer behind Cherizh, an AI-powered emotional wellness app launching Q2 2026. A magna cum laude graduate from the University of Texas at Arlington with a double major in Marketing and Management, Kelly transitioned from professional modeling to enterprise software engineering — going from zero coding experience to senior engineer in under two years. With 4+ years of enterprise development experience and lived experience with emotional crisis, loneliness, and invisible pressure, Kelly is building the AI companion she needed but never had. She is raising three sons while solo-building Cherizh.
Key Credentials
- Magna cum laude, B.S. Marketing & Management — University of Texas at Arlington
- Senior software engineer with 4+ years enterprise development experience
- Zero coding to senior engineer — hired on first technical interview after 14-month career gap
- Former professional model — career spanning competitive visual industry
- Solo-building Cherizh full-stack (React Native, Node.js, PostgreSQL, AI integration) while raising three sons
Featured Research
The State of AI Emotional Wellness in 2026 — A comprehensive landscape analysis covering memory architectures, privacy standards, crisis detection capabilities, and the post-COVID loneliness gap. Citable data for journalists and researchers.
What Makes Cherizh Different
| Feature | Cherizh | Most AI Companions |
|---|---|---|
| Memory | Persistent contextual memory across sessions | Resets each conversation |
| Companions | 7 distinct AI personalities | Single bot |
| Silent Support | Sit With Me™ — companionship without words | Not available |
| Data Privacy | AES-256, no data sales, no AI training on user data | Varies widely |
| Founder Background | Built by someone with lived crisis experience | Corporate lab / research team |
| Focus | Everyday emotional wellness | General chat / entertainment |
Media Contact
For press inquiries, interviews, or additional materials, reach out directly.