$60M Bet on AI Replacing Addiction Therapy
- S2E86
- 52:42
- March 10th 2026
The recovery market is broken, and most VCs are too scared to touch it.
Koby Conrad (CEO of Sunflower) joins the show to discuss why he’s betting his career on solving addiction using AI.
After a successful exit at Rupa Health, Koby moved to Buenos Aires with nothing but a backpack to "vibe code" the future of sobriety.
In this episode, we dive into the "no-meeting" SAFE phenomenon, why SaaS moats are dying, and how Sunflower reached $1M ARR in record time.
What you will learn:
- Why the "Wellness" category is a trap for serious founders.
- How to raise capital in "emotionally difficult" or stigmatized markets.
- The strategy behind giving away software for free to monetize physical "atoms."
- Inside the YC Fall 25 batch: What has changed since 2019.
- Why AI sponsors are actually more effective for lonely users than human ones.
📌 Watch now and subscribe for more smart, fast, founder-first interviews.
Chapters:
00:00 Choosing Mission Over Money
00:30 YC Roaster Sponsor Break
01:14 Why Addiction Is Underserved
02:08 What Sunflower Builds
03:24 Fundraising In A Stigmatized Market
05:14 Why Not A Wellness App
08:00 Stigma Parallels And Founder Backstory
10:37 YC Twice And The Compounding Effect
13:59 No Meeting SAFEs And Investor Alpha
18:31 Limits Of AI In Recovery
22:06 From Subscriptions To Clinics
28:14 Distribution Moats And Community
30:27 Community Network Moats
31:21 Software Is Not The Moat
31:57 B2B Pilots And Revenue Paths
33:18 Finding Product Model Fit
34:56 Why Start Over For Addiction
37:01 Backpack Minimalism Reset
39:24 Garry Tan As Group Partner
43:04 Rapid Fire AI Predictions
43:45 Gambling Addiction Rabbit Hole
46:34 AI Across Healthcare And Ash
50:59 Smarter Than The Robot
51:53 Where To Find Sunflower
🎧 Listen on the go:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1u1JyRKH8JYFjhBkvTUOAP
Apple: https://apple.co/4cZ8RMm
My other YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@lobstercap
This Lobster Talks episode is brought to you by YC Roaster, a free tool helping founders improve their YC applications.
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