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 deal with 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,” stated Andy Miller, senior vp of innovation and product growth at AARP Innovation Labs, in an interview with GamesBeat.stated. “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 maintain my growing older mom. I used to be a sole caregiver in that case — as occurs with so many households at present — whereas nonetheless needing to be current for different household as nicely. However I discovered my mom didn’t take to fashionable expertise — she couldn’t work out the best way to use an iPhone — and plenty of merchandise simply didn’t serve her wants.
There are loads of issues that tech nonetheless can’t do. My mom handed away from dementia in 2024, however I nonetheless see the broader want. Prior to now decade, I’ve seen loads of startups take a stab at this and I’ve written about them alongside the best way. However it nonetheless looks like an underserved market.
Lots of the applied sciences geared toward seniors use the TV or the phone as a communications device. Issues like telehealth can work utilizing these instruments, however organising the companies in an aged particular person’s house is commonly a problem. Some assisted residing 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 by way of caregiving duties.
AgeTech Investor Community
The brand new AARP community and its crew of business specialists and innovators are dedicated to driving change within the AgeTech sector by connecting groundbreaking startups with visionary buyers trying to assist and form the rising AgeTech area, Miller stated.
For buyers, the members of AgeTech Investor Community get unique entry to a curated choice of high-potential AgeTech startups, complete due diligence assist, a vibrant group of like-minded buyers, and alternatives to drive significant impression.
And for entrepreneurs, startups get entry to an enormous community of buyers, mentorship alternatives, and helpful sources to scale their companies by means of incremental funding alternatives and assist.
Andy Miller, senior vp of improvements and product growth, 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 means of its program, which is a custom-made accelerator. About three years in the past, in 2021, it began the AgeTech Collaborative.
Miller seen that Collection 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 situations haven’t been nice for that form of fundraising. However the startups want some form of seed spherical extension from smaller funds, Miller stated.
“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 stated. “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 convey groundbreaking AgeTech improvements to market.
“Now it has become the largest ecosystem in the world for AgeTech-oriented companies at almost 600 companies,” Miller stated. “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 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 nicely, 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 stay as they age by discovering innovation, tech, and product options and companies that assist us all age nicely based mostly 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 number 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 wish to age of their house an don’t wish to go to assisted residing, Miller stated). These good houses want loads of sensors, like detecting whether or not somebody has fallen in a house or is wandering off the property. This will also be focused at good house assisted residing.
- Mobility + staying energetic. Offering exoskeletons to present folks extra power in shifting round has made strides lately, however the tech nonetheless is frequent to see getting used.
- Mind well being. The principle 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 may lose their minds, Miller stated.
- Social engagement + leisure. Social isolation is a number one reason for loneliness amongst growing older folks, and there’s methods tech can be utilized to deal with this, resembling utilizing “music as medicine,” Miller stated. Digital actuality journey and different functions maintain promise on this space, he stated.
The numbers across the growing older inhabitants
Miller stated that 12,000 persons are turning age 65 every single day within the U.S. And folks ages 50+ contribute $8.3 trillion in financial impression 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 stated. “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 expertise in 2022 — that quantity is projected to develop to roughly $120 billion in 2030, in response to the AARP.
By 2030, the primary millennials will flip age 50, elevating the age 50+ contribution to $12 trillion in financial impression 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 virtually $100 trillion in financial impression globally.
“This is why we’ve had so many organizations join us in the collaborative,” Miller stated. “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 stated.
The accelerator program lasts eight weeks and that’s when AARP makes its choice about investing or not.
“We’re spending more time with a startup than probably any investor would ever spend before making a decision,” Miller stated. “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 may have pilot packages and industrial transactions that AARP helps facilitate.
“We’re building a double sided marketplace, and now we’re actively engaged with the angel community,” 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 a long-lasting legacy. The agency is eliminating the painful strategy of going by means of 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 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+ group, collaborating with startups, buyers, and business leaders.
As AARP’s unique accomplice, 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 may have about 13,000 sq. toes of exhibit area on the Venetian, as a part of the digital well being, good house and way of life 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 may have a live-pitch occasion on the present for startups, with a money prize.
