Inc. Names Kintsugi Founder and CEO Grace Chang to Its 2025 Female Founders 500 List

Berkeley, California, March 11, 2025 – Inc., the leading media brand and playbook for the entrepreneurs and business leaders shaping our future, today announced its eighth annual Female Founders list, honoring a bold group of 500 women whose innovations and ideas are leading their industries forward. These resilient entrepreneurs expressed grit and drive to collectively attract approximately $9 billion in 2024 revenue and $10.6 billion in funding.

Each year, Inc. editors review thousands of applications highlighting female founders who are challenging the status quo and tackling some of the world’s biggest problems, and cull applicants through three rounds of judging, looking specifically at an entrepreneur’s bona fides in the past year. Criteria include quantifiable metrics such as revenue, sales, revenue growth, funding, and audience size. Inc. also looks for qualitative metrics including social media momentum and stories of impact.

Honoree selection is also honed through the evaluation of the program’s advisory board: Cate Luzio, founder and CEO of Luminary; Dany Garcia, founder, CEO, and chairperson of the Garcia Companies; Pinky Cole Hayes, founder and CEO of Slutty Vegan; Anu Duggal, founding partner at Female Founders Fund; Katherine Power, serial entrepreneur and partner at Greycroft; Tiffany Dufu, president of the Tory Burch Foundation and founder of the Cru; and Kay Koplovitz, co-founder and chair at Springboard Enterprises, founder of USA Network.

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“I’m truly humbled to be recognized as one of Inc.’s top female founders for 2025. At Kintsugi, we’re determined to break down barriers to mental health care access, and this recognition empowers us on this mission. It’s an honor to stand alongside so many incredible women who are driving meaningful change across diverse fields.”

Grace Chang, Founder and CEO of Kintsugi

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The founders cross all industries and bring with them unique stories of success from each stage of the entrepreneurial journey — from startup to going public, being acquired by big buyers, or spending decades at the helm of an organization.

Kintsugi is transforming mental health care with its pioneering voice biomarker AI that detects clinical depression and anxiety from just 20 seconds of speech. Kintsugi’s AI-powered platform integrates seamlessly into clinical workflows, bridging gaps in mental health access by enabling timely identification and support of at-risk individuals. Kintsugi serves payers, pharma, digital health, health systems, and employers, driving innovation in mental wellness screening, therapy and med adherence monitoring, and clinical trial recruitment.

Over the past year, Kintsugi has scaled globally, achieving 5000% patient screening growth and partnering with Microsoft, NTT, top payers, and more, delivering a 19x ROI for clinical partners.

Under Grace Chang’s leadership, Kintsugi has surpassed expectations, including launching as Japan’s default mental health screener and clinically proving that AI can detect depression from voice – a challenge long thought to be impossible. With zero churn across 7 new logos and a perfect NPS of 10/10, Grace has proven the power of resilience and innovation. As an Asian female founder in a space dominated by biases and barriers, she’s shown that authentic leadership—staying deeply involved in the hardest problems—can redefine what’s possible.

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"Female founders know what struggle is, but they’re also experts of improvisation, adaptability, and creativity. The women featured on this year’s list exemplify these qualities. Through times of uncertainty, their unwavering dedication and steadfast leadership are not only inspiring but vital to driving progress."

Diana Ransom, Executive Editor at Inc.

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Several honorees will be featured in Inc. magazine’s Female Founders issue, on newsstands March 18, 2025. To see the complete list of honorees, please visit: https://www.inc.com/female-founders

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About Inc

Inc. is the leading media brand and playbook for the entrepreneurs and business leaders shaping our future. Through its journalism, Inc. aims to inform, educate, and elevate the profile of its community: the risk-takers, the innovators, and the ultra-driven go-getters who are creating the future of business. Inc. is published by Mansueto Ventures LLC, along with fellow leading business publication Fast Company. For more information, visit www.inc.com.

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About Kintsugi

Kintsugi is the clinical leader in voice biomarker AI, enabling early detection of depression and anxiety from just 20 seconds of speech. Its API platform integrates seamlessly into call centers, telehealth visits, ambient in-office settings, and remote patient monitoring applications, empowering all practitioners to deliver timely, evidence-based mental health care while improving outcomes for patients. Headquartered in Berkeley, California, Kintsugi is dedicated to making mental health care more accessible and effective for individuals worldwide.