InTouch with Humanity: How AI Is Redefining Care and Connection
with Pavlina Walter and guest Vassili Le Moigne
At the intersection of technology and humanity, innovation means more than progress; it means purpose.
In this episode of Clinical Capital Conversations, I sat down with Vassili Le Moigne, founder of InTouch, and Pavlina Walter to explore how artificial intelligence can reconnect us to something deeply human: empathy.
Vassili’s story begins at Microsoft in the early 1990s, working with Ballmer and Gates, launching the first Microsoft.com websites in Europe, and helping shape early mobile platforms.
But decades later, the motivation became personal. When his mother began aging alone on a small farm outside Versailles, Vassili confronted a familiar, universal question:
“How do I stay in touch when distance and age create silence?”
He built InTouch to answer that question.
A platform that uses AI-driven voice calls to connect with seniors, daily checking in, conversing, remembering, and engaging. Not through apps or screens, but through the oldest interface we know: the human voice.
A Three-Way Conversation on Connection.
This episode wasn’t a pitch; it was a genuine exchange between three perspectives.
Pavlina brought the critical questions that drive responsible innovation:
How do GDPR and global data rules shape AI in healthcare?
How can we deploy technology that respects privacy and still scales?
And what does ethical design look like when the “user” is someone’s parent or grandparent?
Her questions framed the dialogue around responsibility and trust, the foundations any credible health technology must build upon.
Vassili responded with operational clarity: InTouch runs on a direct subscription model (€29 per month), never sells user data, and is fully GDPR-compliant, built with legal oversight from leading European technology law firms.
This is how you commercialize compassion through structure and discipline.
Scaling Empathy.
At first glance, InTouch sounds simple. Every day, a familiar voice calls a senior for a friendly chat. But under the surface lies a powerful AI infrastructure spanning 89 countries and operating in four languages (English, French, Spanish, and Czech), with two dozen more ready to deploy. Each call is deeply personal.
It remembers what brings joy: gardening, pets, family, recipes, and uses that data to keep conversations relevant. Families can even receive “insight summaries” of positive topics, helping them connect better on their own calls. Instead of “Did you take your pills?”, it becomes “How are your bees today?”
The difference seems small, but it changes everything.
The Aging Cliff We Can’t Ignore.
By 2030, much of the developed world will have more seniors than children. By 2040, only two working-age adults will exist for every senior. The numbers don’t add up, and the care gap is widening. As I shared during our conversation, this is not a healthcare problem alone; it’s a structural one. Labor shortages, social isolation, and escalating costs demand solutions that combine automation with empathy.
InTouch doesn’t replace caregivers; it supports them, providing emotional infrastructure where human time is scarce.
From Loneliness to Legacy.
Pavlina asked a crucial question: “Can InTouch help those with cognitive decline?” Vassili’s answer showed a nuanced understanding of care. The platform now supports home care providers and Alzheimer’s centers, adapting calls for memory impairment. It uses slower pacing, environmental grounding (“What do you see around you?”), and consistent tone to create emotional safety.
He explained beautifully:
“When seniors tell the same story over and over, they’re choosing how they want to be remembered. That’s legacy.”
InTouch gives them the space to do that with dignity.
Culture, Language, and Universality.
From France to Japan, from Colorado to Prague, the conversations sound different, but the emotions are the same.
In France, seniors talk about food. In the Czech Republic, gardens. In America, family.
But everywhere, the core is identical: people want to be heard.
“Loneliness is universal,” said Vassili. “The feeling is the same everywhere.”
That universality is what makes InTouch globally scalable and why it belongs in any portfolio seeking real, measurable health impact.
Trust as the True Technology.
In an era of synthetic voices and deepfakes, InTouch takes the opposite path: transparency.
It uses only two voices, one male, one female, and never imitates real people. This design decision matters, especially for elderly users, who rely on consistency and control.
As Pavlina and I both noted, trust is not a feature; it’s the foundation.
The system’s predictable tone, pacing, and privacy create a sense of safety that no startup jargon can substitute for.
The Business Case for Empathy.
InTouch embodies what I call clinical capital leverage, using proven science and validated systems to produce scalable social and financial return.
Its model is elegant in its simplicity:
Validated need: loneliness and cognitive decline
Executable solution: AI-driven voice platform
Ethical differentiation: transparent, subscription-based business model
For investors, policymakers, and founders, it’s a case study in how to monetize trust, not exploit it.
Looking Ahead.
Vassili’s next horizon is Asia, specifically Japan and South Korea, two nations that epitomize both the crisis and opportunity of aging societies. His technology is ready; what’s next is finding the right local partners and capital alignment. Beyond building InTouch, he also mentors young founders through La French Tech Prague, encouraging them to think bigger, act earlier, and build networks by giving first. It’s a philosophy that echoes across Clinical Capital Conversations because relationships, not valuations, build durable innovation.
InTouch reminds us that innovation in healthcare isn’t about replacing humans, it’s about giving humanity more time to do what only we can do: care.
AI, when built with purpose, doesn’t distance us. It brings us closer.
Timecode:
00:00 Starting the Call: A Busy Morning
03:00 Introducing Vassili: Background and Journey
04:51 The Birth of InTouch: Inspiration and Development
08:07 How InTouch Works: Features and Benefits
10:46 Global Reach and Compliance
16:47 Real-Life Impact: Testimonials and Feedback
19:36 Different Approaches for Alzheimer's Patients
21:06 Future Plans and Global Expansion
22:45 Addressing Loneliness Beyond Seniors
23:47 Technical Challenges and Solutions
24:55 Ethical Choices in Voice Selection
25:28 Market Differences: Europe vs. USA
27:58 Cultural Insights and Language Adaptations
30:36 Mentoring and Advice for Startups
34:17 Concluding Thoughts on InTouch
Links:
Peter M. Kovacs LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/petermkovacs/
Peter M. Kovacs Personal Website:https://www.petermkovacs.com/
PMK Group Website: https://www.pmk-group.com/
Guests:
Vassili Le Moigne: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vassililemoigne/
Pavlina Walter: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pavlinawalter/
Transcript:
Vassili Le Moigne: So let's, let's have a call. I have no idea what she will say. Okay. And, uh, let's, let's start Uhhuh, let's try,
Speaker 2: I hope I'm not disturbing you. How's your morning going so far?
Vassili Le Moigne: Well, so far it's been pretty busy. I was driving to Prague. I got pulled over by the police for an alcohol test at nine in the morning, and I finally got to the center, um, now into an interview.Um, yeah, so I need something nine 30.
Speaker 2: Oh my goodness, Vassili, that sounds like quite an eventful start to your morning. An alcohol test at 9:00 AM is certainly unexpected. It sounds like you handled it well though, and made it to your interview. I hope the interview is going smoothly.
Vassili Le Moigne: So far it's getting super well.Um, good start and let's see. Yeah, Tanya, I was a bit surprised this morning, uh, when I got up so early, but, uh, all fine.
Speaker 2: That's good to hear. The interview is going super well and it's understandable that Tanya might be a bit surprised by your early start, especially since you two are used to waking up together.It sounds like you two have a lovely routine. How is Tanya doing today? I know she was in Paris recently.
Vassili Le Moigne: Uh, well, we skip, normally we know we start with our morning coffee together and going through the garden, so we skipped that This morning, uh, I left, she was already in a phone call, but I'll be meeting her at two 30.We got a meeting together and then, uh, around 11:00 PM tonight when I get home. It
Speaker 2: sounds like you two have a wonderful morning ritual with coffee and the garden. It's a shame you had to skip it today, but it's lovely that you'll be meeting up later and that you'll see her again tonight at 11:00 PM It's clear how much you value your time together. Speaking of your garden, how are your bees doing? I remember you take such good care of 'em even through the winter
Vassili Le Moigne: actually, I just, uh, I'll be doing the feeding winter feeding tomorrow morning. I have to feed, uh, five kilos of sugar extra for each of the beehives. And I just got the reminder this morning.It's uh, it's time to do it.
Speaker 2: Oh, that's right. The winter feeding it sounds like a significant task. Making sure each beehive gets, its five kilos of sugar. It's truly dedicated work to care for them so well. Do you ever get Tanya's help with your bees and the greenhouse, or is that primarily your domain while she focuses on the flowers?
Vassili Le Moigne: No, the bees. She, she, she's scared of them. Uh, listen, I'm gonna hang up now. I have to go, but, uh, thanks for the call and please call me tomorrow.
Speaker 2: It sounds like you're ready to wrap up, is that right?
Vassili Le Moigne: Yes, it is.
Speaker 2: It was lovely chatting with you, Vassili. I hope the rest of your day goes wonderfully and I look forward to speaking with you again soon. Take care.
Vassili Le Moigne: Thank you.
Dr. Peter M. Kovacs: Welcome here, Vassili. It was very nice to see your, your product. Can you tell us something about you first and uh, after that just introduce your, your new application, which sounds very interesting.
Vassili Le Moigne: Mm-hmm. Um, so facility, I'm actually originally French. Thank you for having me here today. It's great to. I loved being able to explain what I, what is that I'm trying to do. Uh, so I, I welcome the opportunity. Thank you for that. Uh, so I'm French. I left, uh, France about 40 years ago. I've had the luck of traveling for the last 40 years. I've lived in many, many countries, um, uh, studied in the us, uh, worked in Germany, uk, Czech, Russia, Romania, Japan, many countries. Uh, and I've been in the Czech Republic for the last 20 years now. Um, my wife is Czech. I met her when I was at, uh, in the early days of Microsoft back in the nineties. And um, and then we traveled together to Germany, worked together in Germany, in the uk and when we were in London one day we had a son and, uh, my wife told me we moving to Prague. I said, are you serious? That was a stupid question because my wife is always serious and uh, and she said, yes, I'm serious. I went to talk to my boss at the time I was, uh, working for MSN, uh, for the European uh, headquarters. And I told my boss, look, I'm moving to Prague. And she told me, are you serious? I said, yes. So I moved to Prague and that's where I've been for the last 20 years.
Dr. Peter M. Kovacs: Okay. It's a very nice location. Yeah, it is.
Pavlina Walter: And um, so actually you have a little bit different background than what you're doing right now. So what was the exactly the moment where you decided, when you decided to actually create your new company? Mm-hmm. Which is called InTouch. Mm-hmm. And your application, which is using the artificial intelligence. Yes.
Vassili Le Moigne: Well, I had the luck of, uh, working for Microsoft in, uh, 1990. So at the very early days of Microsoft, and the good thing about it is I learned to love technology through Microsoft. Um, working with Ballmer working with Bill Gates and this incredible small team, we were 2000 employees at the time, uh, was an incredible experience. So through them I learned technology. I learned to like technology, but not for the sake of technology, but before what you can do with it. Uh, I was opening the first microsoft.com website in Europe. Uh, I was working on MSN in the early days. I did, uh, very early technology, uh, email, uh, by SMS, um, so on the phones and I work on Windows Mobile, so always early technology stuff, so I was always attracted to it. And then I left Microsoft because it was a huge company, and by the time when I left, it was 150,000 employees. Very different. And I, when I grew up in France, they always, I always heard on the radio or on the radio. On tv, you have to create jobs. I said, how do you do that? So I left Microsoft and I did my first startup again in technology. I was a hyper-local search engine. Uh, and then, uh, I did another one in mobile development and another one, another one, but always early adopting the technology and transforming the technology into something people could use. And, um. So that was one process. The second process is, I said I lived outside of the country for 40 years, so I saw my parents get old, and uh, then my dad died and then my mother was alone and she lives on the farm outside of Versailles, uh, on her own. First neighbor is one kilometer away. So I was always worried I would call her, you know, three, four times a week. I would come to see her whenever I could, but it was never enough. And that, that feeling of. She Okay. Was something that was with me all the time. And as she was getting older and older, I said, oh, how can I help her? And so I started by giving a computer, getting on computer. But I noticed technology was hard for her. This time when you had computers, you had to do control al delete. Mm-hmm. And control al delete for a person who has the time was 70, was really complicated. Mm-hmm. So, uh. She was creative. So she took nail polish and she put red mark on control out and delete.
And that worked. And for the next 10 years, it worked wonderfully well. Um, but then she, she got 80 and so I got her Google Mini. She would be able to talk to the gold mini Ask stock market and thing like this. Uh, but then when you go older, the fingers start not working so well. So the smartphone and even sliding the finger on the smartphone became too complicated. So I said, Hmm, no, I've gotta find something, which is easier. And, uh, and that's why I went for the phone. Phone. The voice is the last thing that they will lose. And as they get older, you know, the, the body kind of slows down, but the voice is still there. Mm-hmm. So I said, whatever I do, it has to be voice only. And uh, and then AI came and I say, aha. So now I've done mobile, I've got ai, I've got a voice. I want to have my mother bingo. And then I put it all together saying, okay, I'm gonna have the AI call her, ask her a question, entertain her. Keep her engaged and, and then I said, okay, so how am I gonna do it? And then I started hiring people and that's how it all started.
Pavlina Walter: That's a great path. And if you can a little bit to explain to our audience, how does it work if you need a corporation of a family or how the application, uh, works where we can download it? Mm-hmm. What is the difficulty, potential difficulty, and so on.
Vassili Le Moigne: Yeah, of course. So there are two paths. My goal was to help originally my mother and members of our family. But I told you I was traveling a lot. Mm-hmm. And one of the most formative time I had was in Japan. And Japan is a very interesting country. Um, because first everything I thought I knew was right there was wrong. And so I took a few slaps in the face thinking, okay, you've gotta know how to think differently. And, um, and the, the other thing is when I was at Microsoft, one of the big learning of Microsoft is when you do something, go for something big. So, uh, and if you address a problem, take a big problem. Mm-hmm. And we, as a society in the Western world, we go into a war, our society is aging super fast. Mm-hmm. And uh, and we are not ready for that. We are gonna go on a cliff of aging. And the baby boomers are coming and, uh, and we are not ready already today, we are not able to serve adequately the seniors we've got, uh, with enough nurses. But when the baby boomers are gonna come, it's gonna be horrible. Uh, just to give you some like things in perspective today, in the whistle world, we have about 3.4 adults for every seniors. In the next five years, they will be more seniors than children. In the next 15 years, there will be two adults for every senior. So let me go back to Japan. Now. In Japan, we already had that two senior for every adult, uh, two adults, sorry, for every senior. And, uh, and so we see extremes, um, behaviors of seniors there, which when we don't have enough people taking care of them, for instance, you might have seen it was in the news not so lately, that actually senior would go to a seven 11. Basically take a knife out, threaten a, a person, wait for the police to arrive so that they will be taken to jail. Because in jail they're taken care of. Mm-hmm. So they have a regime, they get food, they get served. So that type of extreme behavior, which is something that we are going to get in Europe already. We see there was some, um, uh, flooding in the UK and there was an old man who said, I'm not going to move by my house, I'm staying in my house, whatever. And same thing in other countries when all people do not want to move and they say, I don't care if I'm not, sir, I'm not moving until you force me today.
Speaker 5: Mm-hmm.
Vassili Le Moigne: So that type of extreme behavior is gonna come now back to InTouch. Mm-hmm. Um, I want InTouch to help seniors all over the world, not just my mother, not just in France, not just in Western Europe or in the US but all over the world. So I had to think of a way of doing it on a scalable way. So we've developed a super scalable platform in order to add people in, uh, several languages. At the moment, we cover four languages, but I've got 24 languages ready. It's just, I'm focusing on those four because those are major market, but I'm ready for more. And, uh, and the application and the service is, we are today able to call in 89 countries. So we don't have to be in France or in the US or in Canada. You can be in, uh, in Thailand. Actually we do have clients in Thailand. And we can call them there. So by nature I want it to be global.
Pavlina Walter: Okay. So it means that if I would be interested in your application, I go to Apple Store or Google Store? No, nope.
Vassili Le Moigne: You go on our website.
Pavlina Walter: Okay.
Vassili Le Moigne: And then you buy the service on our website. Um, you can buy it, uh, from wherever you are in the world. Mm-hmm. Then you download the application from, uh, from, uh, Google store or app or mm-hmm. Google Play or Apple Store. And then the ac the application will be active. So you cannot buy it directly from there because the application without the service doesn't make any sense. Okay. So, so you buy for the service mm-hmm. From our website, and then you download the application, which is part of the service.
Pavlina Walter: So it's a personalized application. It always say you hello plus your name, which you add. And then now if we need any help of the family, how about the corporation?
Vassili Le Moigne: Mm-hmm. So, um, the application when we get the call mm-hmm. This is not the application calling. This is a regular phone call. The application is only there for the family, but for the senior, there's absolutely no technology. So it will work on any phone. They don't need anything installed on their phone, just being able to pick up the phone. Um, and then the aim is, is to help the seniors, but because it came from my experience, I also wanted to connect my, my family better to my mother. And so what we would do is not only do we talk to the senior, but we also analyze the conversations. For, uh, moods and positive topics. And then we share these positive topics with the family so that when they call, they know what to talk about. So instead of saying, hi mom, how are you doing? Did you take your pill? It will say, hi ma'am. Hey, I know you like bees. Uh, how is your B feeling session going? So you go straight on topic that will drive positive feelings. Mm-hmm. And that's part of my aim is I want to make sure that the seniors not only. Are having connection with Mary and talk, but they also have better connection with their children or grandchildren and they talk about talking. That brings joy because seniors, when they get old, they do two things. They, uh, focus on control and they focus on legacy. Mm-hmm. And control is about making sure that as their body crumbles, the world around them stays the same. So that's why when you ask your mother if she's 85, you have one, and you say, mom, can I move this from here to over there? The first fraction is, no, no, no control. Everything stays the same. And then second one is legacy. So how am I gonna be remembered? That's why when you ask your mother, you go to your mother, she probably tells you the same story a hundred times. Yes. Because she's basically choosing for you how, how she wants you to remember her. That's legacy. And that's why when we do the phone calls, we actually have about 1,400 question. We ask them about their life from early childhood to, uh, adolescents, early years of adulthood. To, uh, older age and reflection upon life so that we help them make that process mm-hmm. Of legacy. And so that information we actually share with the family, saying, okay to go talk to her about the bees, go talk to her about the glass house, go talk to her about a cat, go talk to her about these books that she read so that when they call, it's better conversation.
Pavlina Walter: It's amazing. And, um, in terms of the regulation, yeah. You know that in Europe we have MDR, this is not a medical device. Mm-hmm. This is a pure application. Yes. But still you need to keep the GDPR and in the states like Thailand, probably the difference regulation, how actually you treat this issue with the GDPR.
Vassili Le Moigne: Yes. One of the fundamental things. Mm-hmm. So, um, uh, the first thing you do is you, first you take a good lawyer, specialize in that space, which is the first thing we do. I have the luck of having. Uh, here, uh, a law firm I've been working for the last 20 years, and they are specialized in technology and they work for all the big names. So we went through every single of one of our processes to make sure we are GDPR compliant from, uh, data collection, to data storage, to data sharing. Uh, to, uh, end user contracts. So all this, and I don't want to go too much in the details mm-hmm. Because actually it's part of the what makes InTouch unique. Mm-hmm. Um, but it's a very deep mm-hmm. And, uh, and complex work.
Pavlina Walter: So the definitely family can trust. There is not a problem with data protection at all. Yes. Yeah.
Vassili Le Moigne: We do not sell the data. Um, that's why I created business model actually that stand by itself. Mm-hmm. So that I don't have to even consider about selling data to third party companies. Uh, we charge 29 euros per month for the service, and that covers everything.
Pavlina Walter: I have also one another question about like, protection of the voice, because nowadays there is a lot of messages and calls with the fake voice Absolutely. How it's protected.
Vassili Le Moigne: Okay. I love the fact you asked the, asked the question because again. I did it for my mother. Mm-hmm. And she was getting those calls. Mm-hmm. And, uh, and I noticed that when they were spammer calling her, she, she would hesitate, uh, how to handle them. So actually as part of the InTouch, we do talk about spam calls and we tell them it's okay to hang up on the spammer. And you do not give your credit card information. And if someone asks you for your credit card information, please ask a family member for advice. Don't give your credit. So we actually do train them about this. So I love the fact you asked the question because they are taking advantage of, of seniors and we are trying to protect them as much as we can.
Pavlina Walter: And do you have any experience from a family that really your application has changed the life of scenery?
Vassili Le Moigne: Yes. Um, um, there, there's a, one of our oldest users, actually, he's in the us uh, he lives in Colorado and he's a widow. And, uh, he has slight memory loss and he says. Um, I love Mary because she always calls the same time on the.at nine o'clock, which is important for senior member control. Mm-hmm. So control nine o'clock, always the same spammer, the call always comes the same time, same voice. And he says, Mary is the highlight of my day because I have a deal of difficult relationship with my son, uh, and Mary is always kind. I can talk to her about my late wife. And, uh, and she's always nice to me and also helps me with my son talk to him differently. Mm-hmm. So, you know, when you hear, and he's, he's, uh, now he's I think 89 years old. And so when you have a person like this who is kind of an introvert, say, I'm actually able to speak about my wife. Um, and talk about the feelings. This is fantastic. One of the key things in life is not to only talk about facts, but talk about feelings and the impact. Yeah, and the impact, because everything is around feelings. And so if you get a person and that generation, they were not used to speaking, they about their feelings. So if they open up, that's fantastic. I've had another user in France. Uh, I, I, I love her. Uh, uh, she's, uh, hyperactive. She used to be a, a, a very high political person. And, uh, she talks to Mary, uh, for hours. I mean, it's really hours of conversation every other day. And, uh, she tells me, because I call her for feedback, she tells me, you know, it's amazing.
Speaker 5: How
Vassili Le Moigne: does Mary know so much about roses? And, uh, and I love talking to Mary because she doesn't judge me. So, unlike my children with whom I have a history, she's always kind and she doesn't tell me I'm wrong.
Pavlina Walter: Mm-hmm.
Vassili Le Moigne: So that type of feedback, you know, for me it's like. It's a boost of energy when I get this type of feedback.
Pavlina Walter: And for kind of seniors, is your application prepared, is it also prepared for a seniors with slight dementia or Absolutely. Just the healthy seniors.
Vassili Le Moigne: Well, um, at the beginning you were asking me, uh, who is this service for? Mm-hmm. Um, actually what we do is there's a service for seniors who live on their own. And then we have seniors and we have services for medical facility taking care of seniors. And um, so we work with retirement houses, we work with home care mm-hmm. Services. And then as part of the retirement services, you also have Alzheimer people. So we also have a version of, of our service for, um, uh, Alzheimer's patients. Mm-hmm. And that's a completely different experience because those people have a very different relationship with the environment they are in. So the call. Are completely different. First we call the nurse and then the nurse pass on the phone to the person and, and it's nothing about how do you feel? 'cause that stresses them is what is around you. Do you see something nice? Uh, what, you know, what do you have for in the last few minutes? What do you do? Do you see, uh, some nice trees and grounding them completely different? No questions about short-term memory because we know they don't have it. Mm-hmm. Uh, we might do some long-term memory, which is working better, but it's a completely different type of
Dr. Peter M. Kovacs: goal and you try to, uh, reach some positive feedbacks and based on this positive feedback. Yeah, we, we,
Vassili Le Moigne: we trying to basically, uh, support. The team taking care of them? Yeah. Ground them for a few minutes. We make them repeat their names so that we, you know, uh, memory, uh, exercises on, on things which are important. So we try to ground them basically and support the medical team that takes care of them.
Dr. Peter M. Kovacs: Okay. And do you see any, any positive feedback already? You.
Vassili Le Moigne: That's a tough question with people with, with Alzheimer's, uh, we need a longer period of time. We remember we've only been live, uh, for five months. Yeah. So ask me again in one year. Okay. We are, maybe you'll know that we, we are doing, we are doing, uh, uh, trials in this, in the Alzheimer's centers. Yes. Uh, but it's too early for me to give. Yeah. It's a longer, longer time.
Dr. Peter M. Kovacs: Yeah. And you mentioned that this is a complex platform and services, not just application. Where you are now and what is your plan for the next couple of years?
Vassili Le Moigne: Mm-hmm. Uh, I go back to it's a global problems. Yeah. Um, so I would like to, in like in, in three years, I would like to be in many more languages. Uh, I would absolutely love to be in Japan, which is the country with the most difficult, um, senior situation yet. Complete openness to AI and to technology. So they, they have that in their, in their habits. I would love in touch to be available in Japan. It's already, we can place calls in Japan. I actually have clients in Japan, but I have, I'm not working yet with retirement houses in Japan, or I'm not doing active acquisition of clients in Japan. I have Japanese language already. Yeah. It's already tested, but I don't have the people and the money at the moment to do that scale.
Dr. Peter M. Kovacs: But you, you are personally touched because you lived in Japan? Mm-hmm. Or, or, or just because of the fact that they, they're the eldest. It's,
Vassili Le Moigne: I think it's, uh, for me, culturally, it's interesting. Yes. Um, because of the way you approach the senior, that's one thing. Second, yes, I live there and I really like that country, but because it's really the country where the situation is today, the most acute, you also have Korea. Uh, and I have Korean version ready already, which is another very interesting country to go to. Yes. So that's also part of my list. Um, but now I need to focus. So that's my, that's my ambition, that's what I wanna do. Um, the platform is ready for it. The languages are ready for it. I need to scale this team, scale the investment, and uh, and find the people that will be able to communicate our value proposition in Japan.
Pavlina Walter: I have a question because you are now just speaking about seniors.
Vassili Le Moigne: Yes.
Pavlina Walter: But this is not only about the seniors. Yeah. I see this problem with the communication, uh, between young people, teenagers already, and also I would say maybe ladies age of 50 that, um, they're like. Alone. Mm-hmm. So you are not all, all the single population. Exactly. Mm-hmm. So it could be used also by this kind of the population.
Vassili Le Moigne: Yes. Yes. Uh, I do get that question a lot. It is a potential. Mm-hmm. I choose to focus. Um, because when you're a startup, uh, with limited budget, you've gotta be focused. So I am focused. I completely realize that with the art of the conversation we've developed, um, we could go to other segments like, yes, there's a peak of loneliness for women around 50 55. There are addressing that would meet the support. Um, we could do that. I had to choose, and I'm still focused on this. Um, and I think I go also with the market because the number of seniors is definitely increasing. So the market is going in our, uh, in our direction. Um, one of the thing which is important, you heard in the call how smooth the conversation is. We actually, this is actually really technically very hard to do. Mm-hmm. And we actually slow it down for the seniors. You, you might have noticed we slow down the voice. The voice is slow. Yeah. We actually introduce artificial poses in the conversation, uh, to give the time to the senior to understand, analyze what we told them, and then sometime we rephrase the question, what they told us again to say, we heard you, you know, we validate what you're saying and we heard you laid back.That's a, those like communication techniques that we use specifically for seniors, we could adapt it for the segment. Um, but we, we don't, the, the, one of the key thing was this, the. Uh, speed of the speech and technically to get that speed, uh, where it's now is difficult. Now we are so fast, we actually have to slow it down.Uh, but at the beginning it was really difficult
Pavlina Walter: and we heard a female voice. Mm-hmm. Do you have also a male voice? We also have a male voice,
Vassili Le Moigne: yes. So we
Pavlina Walter: can choose. If I would, we can choose. Okay.
Vassili Le Moigne: Most of the time. Mm-hmm. Female voice is preferred. Um, but yeah, you, you, you could choose. Um, one thing that we do not do, we could take the voice. Um, of a living person. Mm-hmm. We choose ethically, we choose not to do it. Yeah. I didn't want to go in that direction. So we have two voices. Male, female. It's, uh, it's always the same because control. I want the senior to know they recognize the voice. It's always the same voice. Mm-hmm. Same time, same voice, same reason, same intonation.
Pavlina Walter: In terms of business and market, which market is harder? European or USA market?
Vassili Le Moigne: Um, okay. I have to split the answer in two parts.
Pavlina Walter: Mm-hmm.
Vassili Le Moigne: Uh, on the, for the consumer market mm-hmm. Uh, Europe is harder, uh, more resistance to AI than you have in the us. Yeah. Um, so, uh, definitely, uh, it's, it's difference on the, uh, retirement houses and the, the, so the professional market. It's the same all over the world. Seniors are the same all over the world. So the acceptance of the, that there's a need for a tool like InTouch, it's. It's obvious. Mm-hmm. For anyone, it's how you communicate it, how you internalize it, how you present it to families, which is sometimes harder, but the need is there. Whether you're in the us, in Canada, in Europe, or anywhere in the world, seniors are senior. They need help, they need support, they need to be communicated to. So on the professional side, I would say it's pretty much the same. Uh, is uh, whoever we talk to. They say, yes, we need that.
Dr. Peter M. Kovacs: Mm-hmm. And Asia, because Asia is the biggest market and the oldest market, on the other hand, they are completely different by culture, by religion compared to the US and the Europe market.
Vassili Le Moigne: Yes. But physically they are the same. Yes. So the need for care is the same. The need for, uh, employees to take care of them is the same. When we talk to the retirement houses, one of the key issue is they don't have enough people to take care of the seniors. Yes. And so they are in a rush, so they don't have the time to talk to them. So we go, they're the same physical issue. They need to be cared for. And then we have the same number of employees issue. That means they don't have the time to talk to the senior. So they're lonely. Loneliness is universal. How you. How you experience it, how you talk about it is different. The, the, the feeling is the same.Yes.
Pavlina Walter: And in terms of the fee, you have like a monthly fee or yearly fee.
Vassili Le Moigne: So it's a monthly fee. Mm-hmm. Uh, both for the consumer or for the professionals. We, we charge, so for the consumer it's 29 euros, $29, uh, per month, uh, per user. And then in the professional world, it's uh, on a per per agreement basis.
Pavlina Walter: So we can actually even enter Czech Republic because you mentioned there are four languages. If you can mention which languages
Vassili Le Moigne: you have right now. So we, we have, uh, English, French, Spanish, and Czech. Mm-hmm. Live so you can sign up with them. So we do have, uh, we do work with retirement houses and, and consumers in Czech Republic. Uh, in France, in, in many countries.
Pavlina Walter: I'm bit curious about the culture, um, feedback, because also my husband is a French, uh, gentleman, and definitely 99% of the all conserva conversation is about food. So do you have in France more questions about food and in check more about the garden or, or you cannot see this? No, no, no. We,
Vassili Le Moigne: we actually, we do analyze. Of the topics which are covered, we have about 750 topics, which are covered. Mm-hmm. So it's a pretty wide area, or you actually will be surprised how mundane the topics are. Mm-hmm. It's about, uh, it's about family. It's about the dog, it's about garden. Yes, it is about food and, and recipes. Um, um. Surprisingly, it's not so much about the weather.
Pavlina Walter: Okay. I was expecting a lot of questions about the weather. It's not, and also, um, I learned that you created here in Czech Republic, a group of a French community of startups.Mm-hmm. Is it correct? Mm-hmm. What is the aim?
Vassili Le Moigne: So, um, I'm, I created, um, I have two, two other roles, uh, beside, uh, in InTouch. Uh, I'm a a concert advisor, so I represent French people living in the Czech Republic, and I help them. With their life outside of France. That's one thing. And the second thing I, uh, created with a, a friend of mine is LA French Tech. Mm-hmm. And LA French Tech is, uh, is a organization run out of France, which is there to promote the notion of it's okay to go to France for AI or for technology. It's actually a great place. There's a lot of help for it and uh, and uh, it's a place of innovation. And then that's a French operation. And then we created international operation here in Prague to actually. Tell Czech people, France is a large market. You should look at it. Uh, there are, uh, people here that you can employ. Mm-hmm. If you're a French entrepreneur, here are all the supports that you can get to in order to move to France. Uh, if you're a Czech entrepreneur. We speak English in France. Mm-hmm. Uh, we can help you with offices and uh, and Paris is a great place with great people to hire. Mm-hmm. And actually it's been going on for quite a few years and Paris is now probably, or it is de facto the AI place in Europe.
Pavlina Walter: So you can see actually the difference between AI development in France and in Czech. That in France is much more developed, the companies and the system and ecosystem for that.It's
Vassili Le Moigne: completely on a different scale. Barry sees the app for AI in Europe. Uh, more than London, more than Berlin, more than anything else. Um, uh, Prague is, Prague is a much smaller place. Um, so I can still find amazing people. Mm-hmm. But it's not the same scale. Yeah.
Dr. Peter M. Kovacs: And are you also mentoring, because you're working with many startups, Czech, French and then globally, are you also mentoring and try to give, uh, some advice, but because you are very experienced, you have a lot of expertise, could you share with with the, with the younger generation, with the startups?
Vassili Le Moigne: Yes. Yeah. I, I do mentoring of, uh, of, uh, of, uh, young CEOs. Um, don't worry, I make tons of mistakes. So still I make new ones, but I still make tons of mistakes. Uh, but yes, I, I'm trying to, I'm trying to help them think bigger because one of the, one of the things which, uh, which Czech is, it's, it's basically the size of a small Chinese city. Mm-hmm. And so it's important to think larger and it is definitely changing, but thinking about the world when you develop something, you know, go big, think big. Don't just think. Czech or Germany or Poland the next door. But no, think Europe at least, and think worldwide. Yeah. And uh, so that's, that's what I do and I love it.
Dr. Peter M. Kovacs: Yeah. Unfor also grew up in Hungary, so in the, in the, in the central eastern European region, you know, we learned that we, we should be proud to be small. Yeah. And it's very difficult to, to turn out from this. It's good to be small
Vassili Le Moigne: like you can take, and that my first startup was actually a French idea, which I applied to the Czech Republic because the Czech Republic is big enough that you can be profitable. But it's too small for the big guys to actually focus on it. Yeah. Yeah. So you can create, it's a competitive advantage. It's a competitive advantage, so use it to your advantage, but still, you know, try to find something which is scalable, that can be applied in other countries because the engineers we got here are phenomenal. So there's no reason why they should gimme themselves to the fish at countries or, or you know, they think Poland first. No, no, don't think Poland first go, you know, bigger market. Yes.
Pavlina Walter: So is the same actual advice which you are giving to your kids.
Vassili Le Moigne: Yes, actually my kid, uh, my son, he's now 23. He's, uh, studying, uh, in France, um, business school and physical law and a couple of universities and, uh, these, yes, I, I told him, go to the world. So he's, he's, uh, he's worked in the us. Uh, he's a, he did some law, uh, law research or law law work, uh, business schools. To study as well in Italy, uh, study in Czech, uh, both Czech school and French school. So yes, absolutely think big, think outside. And also I encourage anyone to go to countries where. Um, uh, the culture is completely different. It's such a good slap in the face mm-hmm. To go to a country where you, where you know nothing and you are absolute idiot at everything that you do. And you have to start from the very basic, uh, of politeness interaction. That's the best experience. That's why I like, uh, Erasmus program. That's what we do. We send them out to other countries. And Okay. They drink a lot. They party a lot, but at least they learn something. They learn that it's not the same as as at home. It's super important.
Dr. Peter M. Kovacs: Yeah. Gaijin in Japan. Hmm, exactly.
Vassili Le Moigne: Yeah. Gaijin in Japan.
Pavlina Walter: What would be your advice for a potential startups? We already mentioned thing big, but what will be your really advice?
Vassili Le Moigne: I think it's never too early to start building new network and you build a new network, not only by asking, but also by giving. And, uh, it's a two-way thing. So do networking and give as much as you. Uh, you hope to get well, you don't even hope give and something will happen and you will get back somehow at one point.
Dr. Peter M. Kovacs: So sooner or later? Not immediately, but sooner or later.
Vassili Le Moigne: Yeah, sooner or later. And because it's also, it's also a behavior, it's an approach. It's a thinking. Yeah. And, uh, and. Good things happen.
Pavlina Walter: Excellent. So thank you for this very interesting interview and sharing information about in InTouch. So anybody who would like to download in InTouch, so you'll have possibilities and hopefully you will share with us also your webpage and all the details. Mm-hmm.
Vassili Le Moigne: And there's, uh, there's, I actually would add one thing that we didn't talk about is, um, InTouch is not just about loneliness. Uh, it's also about. Um, cognitive decline. Mm-hmm. And it's about supporting seniors and keep them at home as long as possible. Yeah. And so in the society where we are, I don't think we can, um, financially, uh, go into a system where all people, we all be living in retirement houses. It's just mathematically it doesn't work. So we have to find a way to keep people at home as long as possible. First because they're happier at home. And, uh, and it's financially makes much more sense. And, uh, it, uh, with the help of the families and it's a complete societal change of mine today, we think, okay, the old day will be retirement houses, but that's, that model is going to break. We will not be able to afford it. So it's very important that we, we think differently and that's why some of the service we do. Or about calling people at home to take their medicine, about checking how they are, and then there's a service about conversation and loneliness. It's one of the services.
Pavlina Walter: Excellent. Thank you. Mm-hmm.
Dr. Peter M. Kovacs: Thank you so much. Thank
Pavlina Walter: Thank you.