How a startup from Baku combined more than 30 AI tools for moms into one app

Anacan — a startup from Azerbaijan that is developing an app for expectant mothers and parents. In the seven months since its launch, it has been downloaded more than 35,000 times. The platform includes tools for tracking pregnancy and child development, as well as an AI assistant.

Turkan Sultanli, city — Baku,  co-founder and CEO of Anacan, LinkedIn

How it all started

Before launching Anacan, I spent more than 10 years working on product strategy in various companies, including Rossmann, where I managed budgets exceeding $1 million.

The idea came to me during my own pregnancy. Every week, new questions arose. What to take to the hospital? Are certain foods and cosmetics safe? How to count fetal movements and when should one worry? The pregnancy calendar was in one app, notes in another, and answers had to be found on forums that I couldn’t fully trust. Moreover, much of the information wasn’t even in my native language.

Then my husband and co-founder, Jamil, and I realized a simple thing: expectant parents shouldn’t waste time searching for information across multiple apps and search engines. They need one reliable assistant who speaks their language. Thus, Anacan was born. In Azerbaijani, “anacan” means “dear mom.”

After the birth of our son Atlas, the app grew alongside our family. Today, it helps families at all stages: from tracking menstrual cycles and pregnancy to a child’s first steps.

Launching the startup

We released the first version of the app on March 1, 2026. At the start, the team consisted of only two founders. I am responsible for product and strategy, while Jamil Sultanli leads technology and marketing as the CTO and CMO.

We started in Azerbaijan because, at that time, there was no comprehensive pregnancy and childcare app in the Azerbaijani language. From the very beginning, we worked quickly: releasing updates almost every week and reading every message we received from moms.

Soon, Anacan expanded beyond its initial market. Moms from Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan began using the app at an early stage, and today thousands of families in these countries turn to Anacan every month.

Gradually, we created a platform with more than 30 AI-based tools available in 21 languages. Among them:
— tracking menstrual cycles, pregnancy, and child development
— Anacan AI — an AI assistant that helps moms get reliable answers to questions and prepare questions for their doctor
— an AI baby cry translator, story and photo generator
— a mental health assistant, a catalog of doctors and clinics, healthy eating recipes, and other tools.

We are advised by two experienced experts: Seymour Manafzadeh, co-founder of Payonix and former Morgan Stanley employee, and Fuad Bagirov, CEO of Payonix and former SOCAR employee.

The medical aspect is overseen by an expert council, which includes an obstetrician-gynecologist with more than 15 years of experience and a pediatrician with over 10 years of experience. They review every app feature related to health.

Target audience

Anacan is designed for women planning pregnancy, expectant mothers, as well as parents of infants and children up to three years old. Thanks to the partner mode, fathers and other family members can also use the app in their own language.

Anacan helps families save time, reduce anxiety, and receive reliable personalized recommendations in one place. Artificial intelligence helps clarify questions but does not make diagnoses. Users’ health data is not shared with advertisers or partners.

We closely collaborate with doctors and develop partnerships with clinics and family-oriented brands.

Incubation programs

Anacan received an official startup certificate in Azerbaijan, which grants tax benefits and residency. We participate in the Microsoft for Startups and Google for Startups programs.

Our infrastructure partners, including NVIDIA, AWS, and Google Cloud, have provided us with credits totaling $705,000.

We are grateful to the Innovation and Digital Development Agency of Azerbaijan for its constant support of the local startup ecosystem. We also presented Anacan on Product Hunt to introduce the product to an international audience.

So far, we have developed the project with minimal costs, directing all available resources toward improving the product. Growth was driven primarily by user recommendations. Now we are preparing for our first seed investment round, which will accelerate development.

Challenges

The most difficult challenge was not technology, but trust. In matters of motherhood, every word matters: an incorrect recommendation can scare a mom or put a child at risk. Therefore, every health-related feature is reviewed by the medical council, and our AI helps moms prepare for conversations with their doctor but does not replace it.

The second challenge was localization. Expanding into international markets is not just about translating the app. Every culture has its own traditions, family roles, and concerns. A mom in Almaty, Tashkent, or Baku should feel that the app was created specifically for her. We designed Anacan so that, with the help of AI, support for a new language can be added in just a few days, while local doctors and native speakers help ensure that the content meets the audience’s needs.

The third difficulty was growth without a large marketing budget. We grew organically, with minimal spending: moms recommended Anacan to other moms. This experience showed that the best advertising is a product that users want to talk about themselves.

My advice to aspiring founders: build a product around a problem you have personally encountered. Launch earlier than you feel comfortable with, and let users influence product development. Don’t try to make everything perfect from day one. Aim to make the product useful.

Achievements

Among Anacan’s achievements:

— official startup certificate in Azerbaijan, providing tax benefits and residency
— more than 35,000 downloads in the seven months since launch and nearly 30,000 active users per month
— users from more than 54 countries, including thousands from Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan
— a 4.84 rating in the App Store based on more than 500 reviews
— paying subscribers in seven countries
— a community of more than 10,000 active users per month
— support for 21 languages and more than 30 AI-based tools
— participation in Microsoft for Startups and Google for Startups programs, as well as $705,000 in infrastructure credits.

Plans

By the end of the year, we aim to increase the number of premium subscribers and strengthen our position in our initial target markets: Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Georgia.

In the future, we plan to:

— launch partnerships with clinics and family brands
— expand AI personalization capabilities in local languages
— close the seed investment round.

Our long-term goal is to become the leading platform for family support, helping moms get the information and assistance they need in their native language, both in our region and beyond.

The app on the App Store here.
The app on Google Play here.