CEO of Zoala, Jeff Lee (Photo: Clement Goh/SPH Media)
Jeff Lee isn’t just building another tech startup. He’s trying to build trust — between humans and the technology that surrounds them. As founder and CEO of Zoala, Lee created an AI platform designed to listen, not lecture. Its mission is simple but bold: to help teens navigate emotions, loneliness, and anxiety in a digital age that often amplifies both.
For Lee, the idea came from a pressing observation. Teens these days spend more time on their screens than socialising with people. Things got personal when his then 15-year-old goddaughter tried to take her own life. This spurred Lee to built a space where teens can explore their emotions safely.
Where Compassion Meets Code
Zoala doesn’t behave like a chatbot. It feels more like a friend who listens without judgment. Powered by emotional AI, it can detect mood through tone, phrasing, and behaviour patterns. It then tailors responses that comfort, encourage, or guide.
The goal isn’t to replace human connection. It’s to bridge the gaps where silence grows — especially in moments when young people hesitate to reach out.
Behind Zoala’s design lies an unusual mix of disciplines: psychology, linguistics, data science, and education. Each conversation trains the system to understand emotion better, one interaction at a time.
But Lee is careful about what that means. They spent months testing different conversational tones. The one that worked best felt human, yet never pretended to be.
Can Machines Care?
Photo: Zoala
That question drives Zoala’s development — and sparks debate across the tech world. Emotional AI promises empathy through algorithms, yet true compassion remains deeply human.
Zoala tries to balance both. It uses advanced sentiment analysis to detect distress, then nudges users toward reflection or professional help when needed. The system doesn’t diagnose. It listens, learns, and encourages self-awareness.
Lee calls this approach “empathetic technology” — software built not to react, but to respond with care. Each update refines that balance between digital efficiency and human warmth. “We don’t ask, ‘Are you depressed?’ We ask, ‘Have you been feeling disconnected lately?’ That small shift respects the emotional tone many youths in Asia prefer, while still creating space for honesty,” says Lee.
Zoala leans on passive engagement as part of its main strategies. “We design for the silent user: the one who downloads the app, scrolls quietly, journals privately, but doesn’t speak out immediately.”
Building a Culturally Rooted Ecosystem of Care
Photo: Zoala
Instead of mirroring Western mental health models, Zoala’s team built something rooted in local realities. They collaborated with school counsellors and educators to shape culturally adaptive frameworks—ones that understood how Asian families communicate.
At the institutional level, Zoala operates within schools as a licensed wellbeing tool. It helps counsellors track emotional trends, detect early warning signs, and step in before issues deepen—all with consent. Every piece of data is shared only with authorised personnel to support. This balance between privacy and proactive care has made Zoala a trusted presence in both classrooms and staff rooms alike.
Beyond school walls, Zoala extends its reach through partnerships with organisations such as SHINE Children and Youth Services. These collaborations allow the platform to support vulnerable youths who might otherwise fall through the cracks. Many of these programmes are funded through corporate social responsibility initiatives, ensuring that cost never stands in the way of access.
Where Innovation meets Empathy
Zoala may be powered by algorithms, but its purpose remains deeply human. Jeff Lee isn’t teaching machines to feel—he’s reminding us that empathy still matters in a digital world. In the quiet space between technology and emotion, Zoala stands as proof that care can be designed, and that understanding will always be humanity’s most powerful code.
This article is written based on the featured article on The Peak Singapore.
