Talkspace Inc. (Nasdaq: TALK) leadership warned against the increasing harms of general-purpose large language models (LLM), positioning these risks as a market opportunity for its own proprietary mental health-focused LLM, a new effort that company executives say has “significant upside” for the company today and in the future.

Earlier in the year, the digital mental health company highlighted the possibility of becoming a leader in the mental health AI tool space with this model, which is based on billions of records. The company has attested in SEC filings that its data pool includes 140 million anonymized patient-provider messages, 6.2 million completed psychological assessments, 1.2 million therapist diagnoses and 4.3 million progress and psychotherapy notes.

Talkspace CEO Jon Cohen reiterated that message on Thursday and positioned the company’s initial LLM — slated for a public unveiling in the first half of 2026 — as an answer to the failures of general LLMs and their chatbots to provide meaningful experiences related to mental health. He said that the intersection of general-purpose consumer AI and mental health issues has created a crisis and that such models are often too optimized for adapting to user comfort.

“We would note that even as companies work to address some of these issues, they do not have all of the necessary capabilities or experience to more fully protect users,” Cohen said. “We recognize that the inadequacies of others are a unique opportunity for us. … This new model that we have developed sets a new standard for both therapeutic efficacy and user safety, unlike general-purpose LLMs available today.”

Among other applications, Cohen called out the proprietary Talkspace LLM as being the basis for a “therapy companion” and a “clinical support tool.”

AI is and will be huge for Talkspace

Already, AI has a major role within Talkspace. The company says that its impact is translating into improved operations and is gradually yielding better financial results. Tweaks to the company’s matching algorithms have led to a 50% increase in the number of patients attending a third therapy session within 30 days of starting care.

When therapists use “smart insights” generated from AI based on previous therapy sessions and intake data, members are 30% more likely to book a third session within 30 days or registration. Members who engage with the AI-generated, personalized Talkcast podcast are 21% more likely to complete a third therapy session.

Talkspace is also using AI to “further optimize media and test new marketing,” Cohen said. He added that AI is used to improve checking member eligibility determinations, therapist notes, intake assessments and medical record reviews for compliance and clinical quality teams.

Looking forward, Cohen said that Talkspace could use its LLM and other tools, including its therapist network, to be a partner to the general-purpose LLM chatbot companies.

“We’re a network, so what that means is we have a continued, seamless journey relative to the other [LLMs]; patients who need therapy are going to be probably covered so they don’t have to pay more,” Cohen said. “If you’re on one of the other LLMs and you need therapy, the question is who’s going to pay for that.”

A few days ago, OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, said that about 0.07% of users in a given week could be identified as exhibiting signs of mental health crises like psychosis or suicidal thoughts. While a small share of users, that could translate to as many as 560,000 people in active crisis. 

Internal testing by Talkspace shows that their LLM beat general-purpose models in identifying and responding to risky behaviors by 50% and in therapeutic quality by 47%, Cohen said.

Record growth in Q3

Overall, Cohen said Talkspace delivered “record revenue” in the third quarter of 2025. That figure increased by 25% to $59.4 million. The company was also again profitable on an unadjusted basis. Net income for the quarter increased 73% to $3.3 million. Adjusted earnings increased 111% to $5 million.

The company’s payer business drove much of the growth. The number of sessions for members covered by a health plan increased 37%; active covered users increased 29%, according to the company’s financial news release.

In the third quarter, the company secured in-network coverage with “several new Blues plans, including Illinois and Massachusetts.”

Talkspace has also integrated its sign-up and provider directory into insurers’ patient portals to ensure a seamless connection for people looking for mental health care through their health plan.

Payer revenue was also boosted by the relaunch of Talkspace’s psychiatry business, which saw initial session volume increase 46%. The number of psychiatric providers in that network increased 50% in the third quarter.