In an a16z discussion on the future of consumer health, Slingshot AI co-founder Daniel Cahn talked through Ash alongside Function Health founder Jonathan Swerdlin. Cahn framed the stakes around access, noting that 54% of people with a mental illness receive no care and that there are more than 10,000 people for every therapist, adding, "if AI has an ability to help people, we have a responsibility to do everything we can to help." He described Ash as the consumer product built on Slingshot's "foundation model for psychology," designed to challenge users rather than simply validate them, the way a good therapist would, and built for intense use when needed rather than maximum engagement. He noted that many users arrive because their own therapist recommended Ash, and that clinicians have largely been supportive of efforts to widen access to support.