We spoke with Boris Šurija, the CEO of Lexi – an innovative startup that brings together psychology, language, and artificial intelligence. Lexi is now a proud member of the Split Tech City community, and in this interview, Boris shares how it all started, what they’re building, and why he believes AI can help people communicate more humanly.

Psychologist in AI. Did you “end up here by accident” or was it the plan all along?

Honestly, I wasn’t one of those kids who knew what they wanted to be when they grew up — but I always knew I was curious about people.
How they think, what makes them laugh, why they argue, and how they even function after lunch.

I believe this Mediterranean pool of paradoxical psychology is an excellent school for what I do today.

Throughout my career, I’ve worked in psychology, communication, research, and business — all of which naturally intertwined into Lexi.
Lexi is a blend of everything I love: people, language, and technology.
(Okay, I love my wife too, but she’s not part of this project. 🙂)

At Lexi, I brought together psychologists, psychowriters, AI engineers, and developers.

(Psychowriter? Yes, a mysterious role you’ll be hearing more about soon!)

We’ve developed several tools based on our experience and powered by artificial intelligence — tools that help a tired customer support agent or an uninspired copywriter write in a way that’s empathetic, structured, and useful.

Our mission is to create the best psychological text in the world — or rather, to build an AI that helps people communicate more humanly.

(As crazy as it sounds, it’s true — AI can actually help us become more human in our communication.)

Can you list some of the projects and collaborations you’re most proud of?

We’ve worked with major regional companies — from telecoms to the financial sector.
For example, with Hrvatski Telekom, we developed communication principles and tools that improve the user experience (and with them, we won the Best CX Project in the World award in London in 2020).

In the financial sector, we worked on adapting language and tone so that even the most complex information could be understood by someone who’s unfocused, anxious, or simply tired.
We’ve done truly innovative projects with RBA, and have been collaborating with them for the past seven years.

Of course, there have also been many smaller — but equally dear — projects where we helped clients craft content that sounds like it was written by a real person, not a robot.

What technologies do you use in your work?

We work with advanced LLMs and other AI models, but what sets us apart is how we use them.

Technology is just a tool — the most important thing is how you “raise” it.

Our psychowriters and developers train AI to recognize emotions, understand context, and communicate in a warm, human way. That’s our little superpower.

Besides that, in my personal workflow, I love Moleskine notebooks and Muji pens.

I most often use the regular Notes app on Mac, and my favorite writing app to “reset my RAM” is iA Writer.

I’m not allowed to say that Lexi Docs is my favorite, because we took the best of the best and blended it — so I won’t say it. 😉

We hear that, besides the one in Zagreb, you’re opening a Split office too… Should we pick out a plant for the housewarming party already?

Yes! There are currently 15 of us on the team — psychologists, psychowriters, developers, AI engineers, and creatives.
One office is in Zagreb at Wespa Spaces, and we’re really looking forward to opening the second one in Split — the construction crew is in there as we speak.
Don’t worry, we’ll invite you to the party!

Are you planning to expand your team? How many people are there now?

Definitely!
We’re currently looking for a new AI developer for a specific product within Lexi.
We’re also hiring a full stack developer.

So if anyone loves technology, language, and wants to work on things that are changing the user experience — please reach out.
For more info, check out our Instagram and LinkedIn.

Why did you decide to join the Split Tech City community?

Because we’re from Split! 😊
And because we love the energy this city has — a mix of laid-back vibes and ambition.
It seems to me that Split Tech City brings together future and current creators who want to build, share knowledge, and develop the community — and that’s something we deeply believe in too.
Plus, it’s a great opportunity to exchange ideas, collaborate, and enjoy the occasional great coffee.

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If not, catch us on social media and reel in some great things: Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, X, and for inspiration, you can check out a lecture.

Do you have a business or company focused on development, design, marketing, or another branch that uses technology?

Feel free to reach out, become a member of the community, enjoy the benefits, and help make the most beautiful city in the world the smartest one too. 🚀