Burned out, alone, and done pretending.Then she created Soula
It’s not every day you meet someone blending neuroscience, AI, and empathy into a tool designed to change women’s lives, not just their routines.
That’s the calm, unrelenting energy Natallia Miranchuk brings to Soula.
As founder and CEO, she took her own journey through infertility, postpartum depression, and single working motherhood and turned it into a mission: to build an AI-powered mental health assistant that supports women in their most vulnerable and complex moments. A tool to help women find their way back to joy, fulfilment and satisfaction.
With over 19 years of experience in women’s health, Natallia began her career in newborn care, launching educational and wellbeing initiatives that have impacted more than 300,000 women worldwide.
Since launching in 2022, Soula has attracted global attention, with investment from supermodel Natalia Vodianova, a partnership with Google, and backing from Berkeley SkyDeck, London-based VC Mountfund, and Cyprus’ Research and Innovation Foundation (RIF).
What started as a maternity-focused tool has grown far beyond pregnancy.
Soula is now building a future where women have a 24/7 emotional co-pilot, a steady, judgment-free presence for every moment of chaos, mess and and everything in between.
The story behind Soula’s soul
Even with years of experience as a doula and coach, Natallia often found herself overwhelmed and alone as a new single mother, scrolling her phone at 2am, searching for the kind of support she was trained to give to others.
The tools and knowledge she had weren’t always enough when the weight of everything hit hardest.
Those long nights quietly planted the seed for Soula.
“If this is hard for me,” she thought, “what about the women who don’t have any of this?”
She wanted to create something steady and kind, something that didn’t try to fix you but stayed with you.
The name wasn’t born out of a branding exercise.
“Soul wasn’t just a metaphor,” Natallia said.
“It was warmth, care, presence. And that soft ‘a’ at the end brought gentleness, making the soul feel feminine and kind, like the kind of support we all wish we had during our hardest, most vulnerable moments.”
A companion in your pocket
Natallia said Soula is free to download and follows a freemium model, where anyone can access its tools, but subscribers unlock deeper content and hyper-tailored daily programmes that adapt to each woman’s emotional check-ins.
She explained that Soula hasn’t been “just about maternity” for a long time.
“Yes, we started with pregnancy, but we’re growing far beyond that. Now we support the full spectrum of mental well-being: from TTC (trying to conceive), pregnancy, postpartum, to career challenges, relationship issues, sexual wellbeing and much more. Getting the cortisol level down and reducing daily stress.”
Natallia added that they want Soula to become a true mental well-being assistant across all meaningful stages a woman moves through, including her relationships with children, her partner, her work, and with herself.
“Because our mission is to support women on their way to getting more joy, satisfaction and fulfilness from life, for herself, her family, her workplaces, and community. And to become that constant, 24/7 virtual co-pilot, who gently walks beside her through every complex, beautiful, or messy chapter of life.”
She also noted that for subscribers, Soula delivers personalised 24/7 emotional support and well-being tools validated on hand, offering a truly customised experience.
The technology that cares
That commitment runs deep in Soula’s technology.
The app uses a sophisticated multi-agent architecture, with specialised AI agents trained to respond to different emotional needs, whether it’s pregnancy, postpartum, burnout or relationship challenges.
She explained that each conversation is informed by real-life interactions and curated by mental health professionals, doulas and certified coaches.
“We teach Soula more than facts, we teach her how to care,” Natallia said, describing how the AI becomes more emotionally attuned with every iteration.
One of Soula’s standout features is the NeuroBalance Wheel.
Developed in partnership with the Neurointegration Institute, this neuroscience-based tool helps women assess their emotional state, agitated, flat or integrated, through quick daily check-ins.
Based on the results, the app suggests targeted practices to gently guide women back to a calmer, more energised state.
“This isn’t about crisis intervention,” Natallia said.
“It’s about daily alignment. Over time, the wheel becomes a grounding ritual, helping women reconnect with their mental well-being.”
Although Soula doesn’t step into clinical diagnosis or treatment, it’s built with emotional safety in mind. The platform includes a red-flag system that detects signs of serious distress and gently suggests reaching out to a licensed therapist or specialist.
“We offer reflections, not prescriptions, always with care,” she added.
Building from Cyprus to the world
Natallia didn’t choose Cyprus as a strategic base; it was more of an intuitive decision.
She moved to the island before fully committing to Soula because it felt like a place where she could breathe, think clearly, and grow something meaningful.
What she found was a supportive ecosystem, a strong IT community, a budding startup scene, and institutions that provided crucial grant funding for product development.
“If you’re a startup here, I’d definitely recommend looking into the funding opportunities the RIF offers,” she said. “Visit their website, talk to their staff. They opened doors for me and helped me move forward.”
ReflectX and Berkeley SkyDeck also played a pivotal role in shaping Soula’s global vision.
“ReflectX gave me the space to talk about Soula in Cyprus, and SkyDeck stretched our vision, helping us dream bigger. It proved Soula wasn’t just solving a local problem, it had the potential to support women globally.”
Advice for the overwhelmed
For Natallia, building Soula has been a daily balancing act, part mission, part business.
“Most days, it feels like I’m doing the splits, one leg in deep mission work, the other in very real, very practical business decisions,” she admitted.
The journey hasn’t been easy, and still isn’t. There were countless tough moments, she said with a laugh. “But I rely on five things: God, breath, friends, yoga, and Soula.”
When asked what advice she’d give to women who feel overwhelmed or unsupported, whether mothers or founders, Natallia offered three simple messages.
First, know you’re not alone. There are people willing to help, but you have to start asking and speaking openly.
Second, don’t overlook rest. Burnout prevention is key.
“I asked women on LinkedIn and got jurassic results,” she said.
“Up to 50 per cent of women don’t pay attention to their mental health. That has to change before it’s too late.”
And third, remember that Soula is always there.
“She isn’t just a tool,” Natallia said. “She’s a voice, a hand, a warmth you can lean on. The judgment-free space every woman needs. The ‘Big Mama’ or a bestie every woman deserves. She will tell you that you will manage, even when you can’t anymore, but you have to push it forward.”
Whether it’s midnight or midday, Soula stands beside women, not in front, not above, simply beside them, for every messy, beautiful and complex step of the way.
Click here to change your cookie preferences