AARP (formerly the American Association of Retired Persons) AgeTech Investor Networkwhich aims to help startups take off in the AgeTech market targeting the elderly population.
AARP’s AgeTech Investor Network is a collaboration with AgeTech Capital and extends AARP’s mission to support and advance AgeTech startups by expanding investment opportunities. AgeTech, a hot topic at the upcoming CES 2025, was born from the fact that most technology products are targeted at young people. But as boomers and others age, the need to address high-tech products across different demographics makes both marketing sense and urgency.
“The goal is to help these great startups expand their products and services, which in turn will help the millions of people in this country who need access to these new services. It will help create social impact for the community,” said senior Andy Miller. AARP Innovation Labs’ Vice President of Innovation and Product Development said in an interview with GamesBeat. “With this new collaboration, we have started targeting investors, which is why more than 95 venture capitalists are participating in this joint venture.”
I realized the need for this technology myself when I was looking for a technology product to help care for my elderly mother. In that case, I was the sole caregiver, but as happens to many families today, other family members still had to be present. However, my mother was not familiar with modern technology and did not understand how to use an iPhone, and I found that many products did not meet her needs.
There are still many things that technology can’t do. My mother passed away from dementia in 2024, but I feel there is still a wide range of needs. Over the past decade, I’ve seen many startups try this. Along the way, I wrote about them. But it still feels like an underserved market.
Much of the technology for older adults uses television and telephones as communication tools. Things like telemedicine work using these tools, but it’s often difficult to set up services in a senior’s home. Some assisted living facilities do this better, but that’s not always the case. Some technologies have always been targeted at caregivers, who are often “sandwiched” between elderly parents and their children in terms of caregiving duties.
AgeTech Investor Network
New AARP network and team of industry experts and innovators are driving change in the AgeTech space by connecting forward-thinking investors and breakthrough startups looking to support and shape the growing AgeTech space. Miller said he is committed to doing so.
For investors, members of the AgeTech Investor Network enjoy a selective selection of high-potential AgeTech startups, comprehensive due diligence support, a vibrant community of like-minded investors, and the opportunity to make a meaningful impact. Get exclusive access to.
And for entrepreneurs, startups will have access to a vast network of investors, mentorship opportunities, and valuable resources to scale their businesses through tiered funding opportunities and support.
Andy Miller, senior vice president of innovation and product development, said in an interview that AARP began working with startups seven years ago. About five years ago, we started investing in startups that went through a program that was a customized accelerator. We started AgeTech Collaborative about three years ago in 2021.
Miller noticed that Series A investors were writing larger checks. While many startups can raise $2 million or $3 million, many are not prepared to raise $10 million or $12 million, and the economic climate is not conducive to such funding. Not very good. But startups need some type of seed round extension from smaller funds, Miller said.
“In the last few years, we’ve started to notice that change, and now with some new funds available to raise money, we’re starting to see how we can help these early-stage startups. “We looked into what we could do to help,” he said. “And the concept of AgeTech is really starting to take hold in terms of economic impact. 50-year-olds are spending money and using technology. It’s gaining traction.”
AARP’s AgeTech CollaborationThe purpose of is to improve people’s lives as they age. The initiative brings together a unique ecosystem of leading startups, forward-thinking investors, smart businesses, and creative testbeds, all working to bring breakthrough AgeTech innovations to market. Masu.
“It’s now the world’s largest ecosystem for AgeTech-oriented companies, with about 600 participants,” Miller said. “It includes some of the largest organizations like the Fortune 10, everything down to assisted living facilities, and about 200 startups that have joined this collaboration and passed through our program. Companies are participating.”
AARP has invested in about 57% of them over the past three-and-a-half years and now has more than 100 investments.
AARP Foundation
AARP is the nation’s largest nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy organization. Advocating for Americans age 50 and older, AARP has more than 38 million members in the United States
AARP sees AgeTech as helping people age healthily and recognizes a significant need for people to use technology for care. Their mission is to find innovations, technologies, product solutions and services that help all of us age healthily based on our preferences, so people can choose how they live as they age. It is to do so.
AARP’s AgeTech Collaboration launched in 2021 and is now the world’s largest AgeTech ecosystem, with 600 participating companies, including the world’s largest companies and more than 90 venture capitalists. AARP has a strong presence at CES each year with AgeTech solutions and collaborations.
AARP’s priorities for AgeTech solutions include:
- smart home technology (Miller says 77% of people want to age at home but not in assisted living); These smart homes require many sensors, such as detecting if someone has fallen into the house or wandered off the property. This can also cover smart home assisted living.
- Mobility + Stay Active. Although advances have been made in recent years in providing exoskeletons to give people more leverage when moving around, we still often see this technology in use.
- brain health. The main fear people have as they age isn’t about losing their car keys or their independence. Dementia is so prevalent that there is now fear that they will lose their minds, Miller said.
- Social engagement + entertainment. Social isolation is a major cause of loneliness in older adults, Miller said, and there are ways technology can be used to address this, such as using “music as medicine.” Virtual reality travel and other applications are promising in this area, he said.
Figures about population aging
Miller said 12,000 people turn 65 every day in the U.S., and people 50 and older contribute $8.3 trillion to the U.S. economy.
“If you live in India, China, Japan, the numbers become even more staggering. And when you think about the long-term care part of it, we don’t have enough to take care of our aging population. We don’t have the right people,” Miller said. “So we are looking to technology to fill that void. The AgeTech Investor Network provides angel investors with access to a very unique deal flow pipeline.”
People age 50 and older in the United States spent $77 billion on technology in 2022. This number is expected to increase to approximately $120 billion by 2030. AARP.
By 2030, the first Millennials will turn 50, and the contribution of those over 50 to the economy will increase to $12 trillion in the United States (which makes it the world’s third-largest GDP) and $35 trillion worldwide. Masu. By 2050, contributions for those aged 50 and over will be Approximately 100 trillion dollars to the economic impact around the world.
“That’s why we’ve had so many organizations join us to help,” Miller said. “If companies aren’t already marketing to the over-50 population, they should because that’s where the money is going. The big myth is that older people don’t use technology. The single largest group of consumers spending on technology is those aged 50 to 60, making them the largest group of early adopters.
How the program works
One of the valuable things this network produces is a curated deal flow pipeline.
“What’s interesting about this pipeline is that to work with AARP as a startup you have to go to one of our events and get on stage. You don’t have to win, but you have to get that far. Yes. And you can choose who you want to invite into the accelerator program,” Miller said.
The accelerator program will last eight weeks, at which point AARP will decide whether to invest.
“We spend more time on startups than probably any investor would spend before making a decision,” Miller said. “If you want, by the time you run the gauntlet, can we get to the point where we put you in the presence of the angels? No investment can be completely risk-free, but investors can You get a really good feel for how highly selective they are when you look at the companies.”
In some cases, startups may engage in pilot programs or commercial transactions facilitated by AARP.
“We are building a two-way marketplace and are now actively engaging with the angel community,” Miller said.
partnership examples
Trust & Will is America’s leading online estate planning company. Our mission is to ensure that all Americans leave a lasting legacy. The company eliminates the painful process of going through probate court by focusing on comprehensive yet attorney-free digital estate planning.
Trust & Will has been involved with AARP through its partnership with AgeTech Collaborative. In 2021, Trust & Will will partner with AARP’s AgeTech Collaborative network to collaborate with startups, investors, and industry leaders to help the 50+ community innovate.
As an exclusive partner of AARP, Trust & WIll offers AARP members a 20% discount on estate planning services and makes it easy to create wills and trusts. AARP also has a strategic investment in Trust & Will.
of AARP-backed AgeTech startup VoiceIt, Lance, Kinoo, Joylux, Springrose, 1 True Health, 6Degrees, Dentity, DeepLook Medica, De Oro Devices, Abby by Gogotech, Addition, Advosense, Chas, Elektra Health, Ageless Innovation, Echas, Effectivte, Gameboard, Givers, GoodTrust, Grapefruit Health, and SingFit.
At CES, AARP will have approximately 13,000 square feet of exhibit space at the Venetian as part of its Digital Health, Smart Home and Lifestyle Technology category. AARP will feature 30 exhibitors across a variety of categories. AARP collaborates with CTA to host the AgeTech Summit, featuring Maria Shriver as speaker. And on January 10th, AARP will host a live pitch event with cash prizes at the Show for Startups.
