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 help and elevate AgeTech startups by widening the chance for funding. Highlighted on the upcoming CES 2025, AgeTech was born from the truth that most know-how merchandise have been focused at younger adults. However as boomers and others grow old, the necessity to deal with 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 influence to assist the thousands and thousands of oldsters on this nation who want entry to those new providers,” mentioned Andy Miller, senior vice chairman of innovation and product growth at AARP Innovation Labs, in an interview with GamesBeat.mentioned. “On this new collaborative, we began concentrating on traders. So we now have 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 care for my getting old mom. I used to be a sole caregiver in that case — as occurs with so many households right this moment — whereas nonetheless needing to be current for different household as properly. However I discovered my mom didn’t take to trendy know-how — she couldn’t determine methods to use an iPhone — and lots 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 way in which. Nevertheless it nonetheless looks like an underserved market.
Lots 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 organising the providers in an aged particular person’s dwelling is usually 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 mother and father and their youngsters by way of caregiving duties.
AgeTech Investor Community
The brand new AARP community and its staff of trade consultants and innovators are dedicated to driving change within the AgeTech sector by connecting groundbreaking startups with visionary traders trying to help and form the rising AgeTech area, Miller mentioned.
For traders, the members of AgeTech Investor Community get unique entry to a curated number of high-potential AgeTech startups, complete due diligence help, a vibrant neighborhood of like-minded traders, and alternatives to drive significant influence.
And for entrepreneurs, startups get entry to an unlimited community of traders, mentorship alternatives, and precious sources to scale their companies by means of incremental funding alternatives and help.
Andy Miller, senior vice chairman of improvements and product growth, mentioned 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 means of its program, which is a personalized accelerator. About three years in the past, in 2021, it began the AgeTech Collaborative.
Miller seen that Sequence A traders had been writing greater 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 situations haven’t been nice for that form of fundraising. However the startups want some form of seed spherical extension from smaller funds, Miller mentioned.
“Over the previous couple of 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 can assist the startups in this sort of tweener stage,” he mentioned. “And the idea of AgeTech is admittedly beginning to take maintain by way of its financial influence. Individuals the age of fifty are spending cash and utilizing know-how. 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 artistic testbeds – all working to deliver groundbreaking AgeTech improvements to market.
“Now it has change into the biggest ecosystem on the planet for AgeTech-oriented firms at nearly 600 firms,” Miller mentioned. “It consists of among the largest organizations, just like the Fortune 10, all the way in which right down to assisted dwelling services. And it has the about 200 startups which have joined the collaborative and gone by means of our program.”
AARP has invested in about 57% of these during the last 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 know-how for care. Their mission is to empower folks to decide on how they reside 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 planet, approaching 600 firms together with among the largest firms 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 dwelling tech (77% of individuals wish to age of their dwelling an don’t wish to go to assisted dwelling, Miller mentioned). These good houses 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 good dwelling assisted dwelling.
- Mobility + staying lively. Offering exoskeletons to present folks extra power in transferring round has made strides lately, however the tech nonetheless is frequent to see getting used.
- Mind well being. The primary worry folks have as they age isn’t that they lose their automotive keys and their independence. With such prevalence of dementia, now the worry is they’ll lose their minds, Miller mentioned.
- Social engagement + leisure. Social isolation is a number one explanation for loneliness amongst getting old folks, and there’s methods tech can be utilized to deal with this, similar to utilizing “music as medication,” Miller mentioned. Digital actuality journey and different purposes maintain promise on this space, he mentioned.
The numbers across the getting old inhabitants
Miller mentioned that 12,000 individuals are turning age 65 every single day within the U.S. And other people ages 50+ contribute $8.3 trillion in financial influence within the U.S.
“If you reside in India and China, Japan, the numbers much more staggering. After which when you consider the caregiving a part of that, there’s simply not sufficient of us to take care of the folks which are getting old,” Miller mentioned. “So know-how is one thing we’re trying to to assist fill that void. The AgeTech Investor Community goes to present angel traders entry to a really distinctive deal stream pipeline.”
Individuals 50 and older within the U.S. spent $77 billion on know-how in 2022 — that quantity is projected to develop to roughly $120 billion in 2030, in line with the AARP.
By 2030, the primary millennials will flip age 50, elevating the age 50+ contribution to $12 trillion in financial influence 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 influence globally.
“For this reason we’ve had so many organizations be a part of us within the collaborative,” Miller mentioned. “If firms will not be already promoting to the 50-plus inhabitants, they should do it as a result of that’s the place the cash is gone. The massive delusion is that previous folks don’t use tech. The one largest cohort relating to shopper spend on know-how 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 attention-grabbing factor concerning the pipeline is that to work with AARP as a startup, it’s important to go to certainly one of our occasions and make it to the stage. You don’t should win, however it’s important to make it that far. After which we are able to choose and select those that we wish to invite into our accelerator program,” Miller mentioned.
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 in all probability any investor would ever spend earlier than making a call,” Miller mentioned. “By the point that you just make run the gauntlet, if you’ll, are you able to make it to the purpose the place we’d put you in entrance of an angel. We will’t ever fully de-risk any funding, however traders can have a very good feeling about how extremely curated these firms are after they see them.”
In some instances, the startups could have pilot applications and business transactions that AARP helps facilitate.
“We’re constructing a double sided market, and now we’re actively engaged with the angel neighborhood,” Miller mentioned.
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 a long-lasting legacy. The agency is eliminating the painful technique of going by means 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 means 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 affords 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 embody 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 could have about 13,000 sq. toes of exhibit area on the Venetian, as a part of the digital well being, good dwelling and way of life know-how areas. AARP is that includes 30 firms within the sales space that span quite a lot of classes. AARP is doing the AgeTech Summit with the CTA, with Maria Shriver as a speaker. And on January 10, AARP could have a live-pitch occasion on the present for startups, with a money prize.
