The World Needs Flourishing, Baryons Is Offering It for Free

What if the science of living well were available to everyone — for free?

That’s the question driving Baryons, a company that believes flourishing shouldn’t be a privilege reserved for the few. Backed by a $2.2 million seed round led by Blue Ash Ventures, Baryons has announced the launch of the world’s first Flourishing Partner, a platform designed to make flourishing accessible to all.

Flourishing: The Next Step Beyond Healing

“Flourishing is humankind’s oldest quest. It simply means living well,” said Michael Hruska, CEO and Cofounder of Baryons. “Baryons the Flourishing Partner helps the user design what’s next. Baryons listens, advises, and nudges you toward your future best self. We’re pairing timeless human practices with adaptive technology so people and organizations can collectively flourish.”

While traditional psychology has focused on diagnosing and treating what’s wrong, flourishing explores what helps people thrive — studying meaning, engagement, relationships, and growth. It’s this framework that Baryons has brought to life through a conversational, voice-first platform that users can engage with daily.

Each day, users can call in and have a brief conversation with their Flourishing Partner. The system gets to know them, offers reflection and actions grounded in flourishing principles, and helps them turn well-being into a daily practice of meaning, confidence, and connection.

Making Flourishing Free for Everyone

“Flourishing shouldn’t be a privilege. We’re democratizing flourishing so anyone, anywhere, can live well and lead better,” said Aaron Bare, Cofounder and Chief Strategy Officer. “Our vision is to unlock Mental Wealth for humanity. With this investment, we are expanding access to our world-first Flourishing Partner and committing to keep a free version available to everyone, forever.”

The timing couldn’t be more relevant. According to Harvard research, employees who report higher levels of flourishing are far more likely to stay with their employer and dramatically less likely to burn out. Yet fewer than one in four workers say they are truly flourishing at work.

That gap between surviving and thriving carries enormous economic costs. The World Health Organization estimates that depression and anxiety cost the global economy $1 trillion each year in lost productivity, with more than 12 billion workdays lost annually.

From Mental Health to Mental Wealth

Baryons is part of a new movement shifting the conversation from mental health to “Mental Wealth.” Where the former often addresses symptoms and survival, Mental Wealth focuses on proactively strengthening human potential — the capacity for clarity, confidence, curiosity, and connection.

“The current mental health market is crowded with reactive solutions that focus on symptoms. Mental Wealth is different. Mental Wealth is proactive and strengthens core human potential through positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning, and achievement so that individuals and organizations can thrive in an era of rapid change,” Bare said.

The company’s seed investor, Blue Ash Ventures, is known for its focus on the emerging Brain Capital Economy, which connects neuroscience and human flourishing to measurable gains in performance, creativity, and well-being. Their upcoming Brain Health Matrix, piloted with global institutions and set to debut at the World Economic Forum in Davos in 2026, aligns directly with Baryons’ mission.

Investing in the Future of Flourishing

“Baryons is marrying neuroscience, technology, and human potential into a movement for flourishing,” said Steve Carnevale, Managing Partner at Blue Ash Ventures. “By helping individuals flourish, Baryons drives collective flourishing, unlocking measurable gains in engagement, trust, and innovation across entire organizations.”

The company describes its approach as turning “what psychology discovered into something anyone can practice.” Rather than treating well-being as an abstract idea, Baryons transforms it into a measurable, visible process that builds on each user’s progress over time.

With a growing user base, enterprise pilots, and a permanently free version, Baryons hopes to make flourishing as habitual as checking email but infinitely more meaningful.

“The goal is to help people go beyond living — and start thriving,” said Bare.

Baryons’ freemium model is available now on its website, where anyone can sign up and begin what the founders call “a daily practice of flourishing.”