AARP (previously the American Affiliation of Retired Individuals) has began its AgeTech Investor Community, aimed 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 become old, the necessity to handle tech merchandise throughout the spectrum of demographics makes extra advertising sense and it’s additionally pressing.
“The goal is to help these great startups scale their products and services, and in turn, it’ll help the create social impact to help the millions of folks in this country who need access to these new services,” mentioned Andy Miller, senior vice chairman of innovation and product growth at AARP Innovation Labs, in an interview with GamesBeat.mentioned. “In this new collaborative, we started targeting investors. So we have over 95 venture capitalists that have joined the collaborative.”
I noticed the necessity for this tech myself as I attempted to search out tech merchandise to assist me handle my growing older 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 effectively. However I discovered my mom didn’t take to trendy know-how — she couldn’t determine how you can use an iPhone — and plenty of merchandise simply didn’t serve her wants.
There are a number 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 number of startups take a stab at this and I’ve written about them alongside the best way. Nevertheless it nonetheless looks like an underserved market.
Most of the applied sciences aimed toward seniors use the TV or the phone as a communications instrument. Issues like telehealth can work utilizing these instruments, however establishing the companies in an aged particular person’s house is usually a problem. Some assisted dwelling amenities 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 buyers seeking to help and form the rising AgeTech area, Miller mentioned.
For buyers, the members of AgeTech Investor Community get unique entry to a curated collection of high-potential AgeTech startups, complete due diligence help, a vibrant group of like-minded buyers, and alternatives to drive significant influence.
And for entrepreneurs, startups get entry to an unlimited community of buyers, mentorship alternatives, and worthwhile assets to scale their companies via 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 via its program, which is a personalized accelerator. About three years in the past, in 2021, it began the AgeTech Collaborative.
Miller observed that Sequence A buyers have been writing greater checks. Whereas many startups can elevate $2 million or $3 million, they’re usually not prepared for $10 million or $12 million and the financial circumstances haven’t been nice for that sort of fundraising. However the startups want some sort of seed spherical extension from smaller funds, Miller mentioned.
“Over the last few years, we’re starting to see that change. And we are seeing some new funds being able to raise money now and we looked at how we can help the startups in this kind of tweener stage,” he mentioned. “And the concept of AgeTech is really starting to take hold in terms of its economic impact. People the age of 50 are spending money and using technology. It’s in the spotlight.”
AARP’s AgeTech Collaborative‘s purpose is to improve people’s lives as they age. The initiative brings collectively a one-of-a-kind ecosystem of main startups, forward-thinking buyers, enlightened enterprises, and artistic testbeds – all working to deliver groundbreaking AgeTech improvements to market.
“Now it has become the largest ecosystem in the world for AgeTech-oriented companies at almost 600 companies,” Miller mentioned. “It includes some of the largest organizations, like the Fortune 10, all the way down to assisted living facilities. And it has the about 200 startups that have joined the collaborative and gone through 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 most important 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 effectively, 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 companies that assist us all age effectively based mostly on our personal preferences.
AARP’s AgeTech Collaborative began in 2021 and is now the most important 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 annually 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 mentioned). These sensible properties want a number of sensors, like detecting whether or not somebody has fallen in a house or is wandering off the property. This may also be focused at sensible house assisted dwelling.
- Mobility + staying lively. Offering exoskeletons to present folks extra power in transferring round has made strides lately, however the tech nonetheless is widespread to see getting used.
- Mind well being. The primary concern folks have as they age isn’t that they lose their automotive keys and their independence. With such prevalence of dementia, now the concern is they are going to lose their minds, Miller mentioned.
- Social engagement + leisure. Social isolation is a number one reason behind loneliness amongst growing older folks, and there’s methods tech can be utilized to handle this, resembling utilizing “music as medicine,” Miller mentioned. Digital actuality journey and different purposes maintain promise on this space, he mentioned.
The numbers across the growing older inhabitants
Miller mentioned that 12,000 individuals are turning age 65 day by day within the U.S. And folks ages 50+ contribute $8.3 trillion in financial influence within the U.S.
“When you live in India and China, Japan, the numbers even more staggering. And then when you think about the caregiving part of that, there’s just not enough of us to care for the people that are aging,” Miller mentioned. “So technology is something we’re looking to to help fill that void. The AgeTech Investor Network is going to give angel investors access to a very unique deal flow pipeline.”
Folks 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 keeping 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 could 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.
“This is why we’ve had so many organizations join us in the collaborative,” Miller mentioned. “If companies are not already selling to the 50-plus population, they have to do it because that’s where the money is gone. The big myth is that old people don’t use tech. The single largest cohort when it comes to consumer spend on technology is the 50 year olds to 60 year olds, which makes them the largest group of early adopters of tech.”
How this system works
One the dear issues that this community will create is curated deal stream pipeline.
“The interesting thing about the pipeline is that to work with AARP as a startup, you have to go to one of our events and make it to the stage. You don’t have to win, but you have to make it that far. And then we can pick and choose the ones that we want to invite into our accelerator program,” Miller mentioned.
The accelerator program lasts eight weeks and that’s when AARP makes its determination about investing or not.
“We’re spending more time with a startup than probably any investor would ever spend before making a decision,” Miller mentioned. “By the time that you make run the gauntlet, if you will, can you make it to the point where we would put you in front of an angel. We can’t ever completely de-risk any investment, but investors can have a really good feeling about how highly curated these companies are when they see them.”
In some circumstances, the startups can have pilot applications and business transactions that AARP helps facilitate.
“We’re building a double sided marketplace, and now we’re actively engaged with the angel community,” 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 via probate court docket by specializing in digital property planning that’s complete but doesn’t require an lawyer.
Belief & Will has been concerned with AARP via 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+ group, collaborating with startups, buyers, and trade leaders.
As AARP’s unique companion, Belief & WIll provides AARP members a 20% low cost on property planning companies, 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 Units, 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. ft of exhibit area on the Venetian, as a part of the digital well being, sensible house and life-style know-how areas. AARP is that includes 30 corporations 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 can have a live-pitch occasion on the present for startups, with a money prize.
