Cem Cardakkaya: Building Emotionally Intelligent AI with ROHUM

Founder of
ROHUM
Ali Cem Cardakkaya is on a mission to humanize artificial intelligence. As the founder of ROHUM (Real-time Optimized Human Understanding Model), he’s pioneering emotionally intelligent avatars that go beyond automation—creating AI that listens, feels, and supports. In this interview, Cem shares how ROHUM was born from a desire to reduce stress in digital interactions, how it bridges emotional gaps across industries, and why the future of AI lies in empathy—not just efficiency.
Interview
Apr 28, 2025
Let’s start with the basics — what is ROHUM, and how did the idea come to life?

ROHUM was born from a simple but powerful insight: AI is everywhere, but it still fails to truly understand humans. Most virtual assistants and chatbots feel robotic and disconnected. They follow commands, but they don’t respond to how people feel. That’s frustrating — and a missed opportunity.

I wanted to change that. The idea behind ROHUM is to create avatars that don’t just talk but emotionally engage. We use facial recognition, voice modulation, and sentiment analysis to detect stress, frustration, or even joy in real time. The result is a system that can guide, support, and respond to humans more like a real companion, not just a machine.

What problem are you solving right now?

The biggest challenge is the emotional disconnect in digital environments. People are tired of robotic systems. In healthcare, customer support, or education, they want to feel heard and understood — not just processed.

We’re tackling this by building avatars that detect emotional signals in real time. We’re also making crypto education more accessible by simplifying concepts through emotionally intelligent engagement. And in advertising and e-learning, we’re boosting engagement with avatars that personalize delivery and connect emotionally with users.

What makes ROHUM different from other AI solutions in the market?

What sets us apart is our emotional intelligence. Most AI solutions focus on task efficiency — getting things done faster. We focus on user well-being. Our avatars adapt to the user’s pace, suggest breaks, reduce cognitive load, and act as supportive companions rather than emotionless tools.

Whether in EdTech, customer service, or even crypto education, our approach is to simplify complex interactions through empathy. For example, in crypto, we use avatars to guide new users with interactive, easy-to-digest content. In EdTech, we personalize the learning experience with avatars that feel more like a coach than a screen.

Who are your primary users today and who do you want them to be tomorrow? 

Today, we are working with educational institutions, startup accelerators, and crypto platforms. Tomorrow, we aim to serve large enterprises, public institutions, and individual users through scalable, intelligent avatar solutions.

How are you currently monetizing ROHUM and what is your long-term revenue strategy?

Currently, ROHUM generates revenue through industry-specific integrations and licensing agreements in areas such as education, enterprise automation, and crypto education. Our long-term strategy includes subscription-based AI avatars, SaaS models for enterprise clients, and NFT-based avatar customization modules. We're also exploring strategic partnerships for global expansion.

What role do human psychologists or affective science researchers play in your development?

We collaborate with emotional intelligence and psychology experts to enhance ROHUM's ability to interpret human behavior, improve emotional engagement, and design adaptive learning experiences.

Team meeting, ROHUM
Have you measured how much ROHUM reduces user stress or improves retention?

Yes, in early beta testing, we observed that users experienced up to 40% lower stress levels and 30% higher content retention. We're expanding this research with support from academic experts and psychologists.

How do you ensure privacy and data security, especially with facial expression tracking? 

Privacy and ethical AI are foundational to ROHUM. Facial expression and emotional data are anonymized or processed on-device. We adhere strictly to GDPR and other data protection regulations, and no user data is stored without explicit consent.

Which trends do you see shaping your industry?

The entire AI industry is shifting toward emotional intelligence and personalization. Users now expect AI to understand their mood, tone, and context. This is huge for us.

There’s also growing demand for AI to complement — not replace — human effort. ROHUM is built around that idea. In areas like mental health, learning, and training, our avatars enhance human experience rather than automate it away. Plus, with the rise of hybrid platforms and immersive experiences (including wearables and the metaverse), the future is all about intelligent, emotionally aware digital presence — and we’re building exactly that.

If you were to start from scratch, what would you do differently?

We’d probably enter international markets earlier. Our tech has broad potential across industries, and we’re now seeing just how hungry global users are for more human AI experiences.

Has ROHUM participated in any startup accelerators?

Yes, we’ve joined a couple of global accelerators. They’ve been crucial for refining our product and exploring international markets. We’re still growing and looking for strategic partnerships and investors to help scale our technology worldwide.

Have you raised capital for ROHUM or any past projects? Are you planning to fundraise for ROHUM, and if so, what are your goals and what type of investors are you seeking?

Yes, we’ve previously participated in fundraising rounds for other ventures. For ROHUM, we are actively seeking to raise between $500K and $1M to accelerate development, expand internationally, and support go-to-market strategies. We are looking for investors with experience in AI, EdTech, or digital transformation who can offer not just capital, but also strategic insight and support.

What’s your vision for the future of ROHUM?

We envision ROHUM as the emotional backbone of digital interactions across industries. From avatar-led learning to stress-aware customer support, we want to create tools that make people feel more connected — even when interacting with machines.

Soon, we’re launching avatar-based training modules for exercise, dance, and even kung fu. We’re also integrating our technology into wearable platforms to provide real-time emotional feedback and improve mental well-being.

Ultimately, we’re not just building avatars — we’re building a new way for people to feel understood in a digital world.

ROHUM

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