AARP (previously the American Affiliation of Retired Individuals) has began its AgeTech Investor Community, geared toward serving to startups get off the bottom within the AgeTech market — which targets older populations.
AARP’s AgeTech Investor Community is a collaboration with AgeTech Capital, increasing onAARP’s mission to assist and elevate AgeTech startups by widening the chance for funding. Highlighted on the upcoming CES 2025, AgeTech was born from the truth that most expertise merchandise have been focused at younger adults. However as boomers and others become old, the necessity to tackle tech merchandise throughout the spectrum of demographics makes extra advertising sense and it’s additionally pressing.
“The purpose is to assist these nice startups scale their services, and in flip, it’ll assist the create social affect to assist the hundreds of thousands of oldsters on this nation who want entry to those new providers,” stated Andy Miller, senior vice chairman of innovation and product improvement at AARP Innovation Labs, in an interview with GamesBeat.stated. “On this new collaborative, we began focusing on traders. So we’ve got over 95 enterprise capitalists which have joined the collaborative.”
I noticed the necessity for this tech myself as I attempted to search out tech merchandise to assist me maintain my growing old mom. I used to be a sole caregiver in that case — as occurs with so many households in the present day — whereas nonetheless needing to be current for different household as properly. However I discovered my mom didn’t take to trendy expertise — she couldn’t work out methods to use an iPhone — and plenty of merchandise simply didn’t serve her wants.
There are a variety of issues that tech nonetheless can’t do. My mom handed away from dementia in 2024, however I nonetheless see the broader want. Previously decade, I’ve seen a variety of startups take a stab at this and I’ve written about them alongside the best way. Nevertheless it nonetheless seems like an underserved market.
Most of the applied sciences geared toward seniors use the TV or the phone as a communications software. Issues like telehealth can work utilizing these instruments, however establishing the providers in an aged individual’s house is commonly a problem. Some assisted dwelling services do a greater job with this, however that’s not all the time the case. Some applied sciences all the time goal caregivers, who are sometimes “sandwiched” between older dad and mom and their kids when it comes to caregiving duties.
AgeTech Investor Community
The brand new AARP community and its group of trade specialists and innovators are dedicated to driving change within the AgeTech sector by connecting groundbreaking startups with visionary traders seeking to assist and form the rising AgeTech area, Miller stated.
For traders, the members of AgeTech Investor Community get unique entry to a curated collection of high-potential AgeTech startups, complete due diligence assist, a vibrant neighborhood of like-minded traders, and alternatives to drive significant affect.
And for entrepreneurs, startups get entry to an unlimited community of traders, mentorship alternatives, and beneficial sources to scale their companies by way of incremental funding alternatives and assist.
Andy Miller, senior vice chairman of improvements and product improvement, stated in an interview that AARP began working with startups seven years in the past. About 5 years in the past, it began making investments in these startups after they went by way of its program, which is a custom-made accelerator. About three years in the past, in 2021, it began the AgeTech Collaborative.
Miller observed that Collection A traders had been writing larger checks. Whereas many startups can increase $2 million or $3 million, they’re typically not prepared for $10 million or $12 million and the financial circumstances haven’t been nice for that type of fundraising. However the startups want some type of seed spherical extension from smaller funds, Miller stated.
“Over the previous few years, we’re beginning to see that change. And we’re seeing some new funds having the ability to increase cash now and we checked out how we will help the startups in this sort of tweener stage,” he stated. “And the idea of AgeTech is basically beginning to take maintain when it comes to its financial affect. Individuals the age of fifty are spending cash and utilizing expertise. It’s within the highlight.”
AARP’s AgeTech Collaborative‘s function is to enhance folks’s lives as they age. The initiative brings collectively a one-of-a-kind ecosystem of main startups, forward-thinking traders, enlightened enterprises, and inventive testbeds – all working to deliver groundbreaking AgeTech improvements to market.
“Now it has turn out to be the biggest ecosystem on the earth for AgeTech-oriented corporations at nearly 600 corporations,” Miller stated. “It consists of a few of the largest organizations, just like the Fortune 10, all the best way right down to assisted dwelling services. And it has the about 200 startups which have joined the collaborative and gone by way of our program.”
AARP has invested in about 57% of these over the past 3.5 years, or greater than 100 investments now.
AARP’s basis
AARP is the biggest non-profit, non-partisan advocacy affiliation within the U.S. Advocating for folks over age 50 within the U.S., AARP has over 38 million members within the U.S.
AARP sees AgeTech as something that can assist folks age properly, and the corporate acknowledges an enormous want for folks to make use of expertise for care. Their mission is to empower folks to decide on how they dwell as they age by discovering innovation, tech, and product options and providers that assist us all age properly primarily based on our personal preferences.
AARP’s AgeTech Collaborative began in 2021 and is now the biggest AgeTech ecosystem on the earth, approaching 600 corporations together with a few of the largest corporations globally and over 90 enterprise capitalists. AARP has additionally had an enormous presence at CES every year for its AgeTech options and collaborations.
Amongst AARP’s priorities for AgeTech options are the next:
- Sensible house tech (77% of individuals need to age of their house an don’t need to go to assisted dwelling, Miller stated). These sensible properties want a variety of sensors, like detecting whether or not somebody has fallen in a house or is wandering off the property. This can be focused at sensible house assisted dwelling.
- Mobility + staying lively. Offering exoskeletons to provide folks extra power in shifting round has made strides in recent times, however the tech nonetheless is frequent to see getting used.
- Mind well being. The principle worry folks have as they age isn’t that they lose their automobile keys and their independence. With such prevalence of dementia, now the worry is they are going to lose their minds, Miller stated.
- Social engagement + leisure. Social isolation is a number one reason for loneliness amongst growing old folks, and there’s methods tech can be utilized to deal with this, corresponding to utilizing “music as medication,” Miller stated. Digital actuality journey and different functions maintain promise on this space, he stated.
The numbers across the growing old inhabitants
Miller stated that 12,000 persons are turning age 65 each day within the U.S. And other people ages 50+ contribute $8.3 trillion in financial affect within the U.S.
“If you dwell in India and China, Japan, the numbers much more staggering. After which when you concentrate on the caregiving a part of that, there’s simply not sufficient of us to look after the folks which are growing old,” Miller stated. “So expertise is one thing we’re seeking to to assist fill that void. The AgeTech Investor Community goes to provide angel traders entry to a really distinctive deal stream pipeline.”
Individuals 50 and older within the U.S. spent $77 billion on expertise in 2022 — that quantity is projected to develop to roughly $120 billion in 2030, in accordance with the AARP.
By 2030, the primary millennials will flip age 50, elevating the age 50+ contribution to $12 trillion in financial affect within the U.S. (this might be third largest GDP in world) and $35 trillion globally. By 2050, the age 50+ contribution is projected to be nearly $100 trillion in financial affect globally.
“This is the reason we’ve had so many organizations be part of us within the collaborative,” Miller stated. “If corporations should not already promoting to the 50-plus inhabitants, they must do it as a result of that’s the place the cash is gone. The massive fantasy is that outdated folks don’t use tech. The only largest cohort relating to shopper spend on expertise is the 50 12 months olds to 60 12 months olds, which makes them the biggest group of early adopters of tech.”
How this system works
One the precious issues that this community will create is curated deal stream pipeline.
“The fascinating factor in regards to the pipeline is that to work with AARP as a startup, it’s a must to go to one among our occasions and make it to the stage. You don’t must win, however it’s a must to make it that far. After which we are able to choose and select those that we need to invite into our accelerator program,” Miller stated.
The accelerator program lasts eight weeks and that’s when AARP makes its resolution about investing or not.
“We’re spending extra time with a startup than most likely any investor would ever spend earlier than making a choice,” Miller stated. “By the point that you simply make run the gauntlet, if you’ll, are you able to make it to the purpose the place we might put you in entrance of an angel. We are able to’t ever fully de-risk any funding, however traders can have a very good feeling about how extremely curated these corporations are once they see them.”
In some circumstances, the startups can have pilot packages and industrial transactions that AARP helps facilitate.
“We’re constructing a double sided market, and now we’re actively engaged with the angel neighborhood,” Miller stated.
A partnership instance
Belief & Will is the main on-line property planning firm within the U.S. It’s on a mission to make sure that each American leaves an enduring legacy. The agency is eliminating the painful means of going by way of probate court docket by specializing in digital property planning that’s complete but doesn’t require an legal professional.
Belief & Will has been concerned with AARP by way of a partnership with the AgeTech Collaborative. In 2021, Belief & Will joined forces with AARP’s AgeTech Collaborative community in to assist innovate for the 50+ neighborhood, collaborating with startups, traders, and trade leaders.
As AARP’s unique associate, Belief & WIll presents AARP members a 20% low cost on property planning providers, making it simpler for them to create wills and trusts. AARP additionally has a strategic funding in Belief & Will.
The AgeTech startups supported by AARP embrace VoiceIt, Lance, Kinoo, Joylux, Springrose, 1 True Well being, 6Degrees, Dentity, DeepLook Medica, De Oro Gadgets, Abby by Gogotech, Addition, Advosense, Chas, Elektra Well being, Ageless Innovation, Echas, Effectivte, Gameboard, Givers, GoodTrust, Grapefruit Well being and SingFit.
At CES, AARP can have about 13,000 sq. toes of exhibit area on the Venetian, as a part of the digital well being, sensible house and life-style expertise areas. AARP is that includes 30 corporations within the sales space that span a wide range of classes. AARP is doing the AgeTech Summit with the CTA, with Maria Shriver as a speaker. And on January 10, AARP can have a live-pitch occasion on the present for startups, with a money prize.
