Tech-enabled senior health company Assured Allies scored $18.3 million in a Series A funding round led by Core Innovation Capital and New Era Capital Partners with participation from Wilton Re, LionBird Ventures and Harel Insurance.

This builds on the company's $4.2 million seed funding round led by LionBird.

WHAT IT DOES

The Boston and Tel Aviv-based company has created a platform that helps link seniors to health services. On the tech side, the platform includes a predictive analytics tool that can help gauge a person's aging trajectory and then intervene when necessary.

According to Dr. Afik Gal, cofounder and chief product officer at Assured Allies, the company's main aim is to help curb the aging trajectory so that, instead of a sharp drop in health status, folks will be able to age in place and stay healthier for longer.

"This is a mix of technology and services," Gal said. "And that mix between them changes as people age. For people that are older than 80-years-old, it's much more of a service than technology, and for 60-year-olds, it's vice versa. By the way, there is one common principle that means that this is all science-based, evidence-based approach."

The company's main customers at the moment are long-term care insurance companies. When Assured Allies is working with an insurance carrier, it can tailor the offerings and display services offered by the payer.

"It's really about working with individuals to figure out where they are in their aging trajectory and shift it towards a healthier path with the services that we provide," he said.

According to Gal, the platform is really about putting all the puzzle pieces together for senior health.

"It's not like those services did not exist before. They did not connect with the people. So, for example, at the age of 60, 65, if somebody is beginning to lose their hearing, the right thing to do is help them get a hearing aid, do maybe an online test, refer them to Medicare that will cover for any hearing tests."

Over time the product may have a very different role in supporting the patient.

"In older ages, around 80-years-old, a lot of the focus is in injury prevention, fall prevention, social isolation."

WHAT IT IS FOR

The company is looking to scale its product in the market.

"So, for us, the challenge right now is really being able to scale this to the maximum amount of lives that will benefit from successful aging."

Gal said that the company will continue to build out its partners in the long-term care insurance space and engage more with policyholders.

The company is also looking to expand into new products. To enable that, the company will be looking to hire more staff, he said.

MARKET SNAPSHOT

Today the digital health industry is seeing a rise in senior tech products, driven by the rapidly aging populations across the globe. The U.S. Census Bureau predicts that by 2034 adults over 65 will outnumber children under the age of 18.

“It’s critical that we get it right for so many reasons,” Dr. Joe Kvedar, senior advisor of virtual care at Mass General Brigham, said during an Accelerate Health event last year. “In 2050, there will be twice as many people on the planet over 65 as there will be under five, and it just keeps getting more and more dramatic, because, luckily, we are living longer. But as we live longer, we need more healthcare services.”

But it isn't just providers interested in the space. Retail giant Best Buy purchased senior-focused emergency response system GreatCall, which it later renamed Lively, in 2018 for a whopping $800 million. It later purchased Critical Signal Technologies, a remote senior monitoring tool, in 2019.

Yesterday, July 6, Connect America announced its purchase of Royal Philips' Aging and Caregiving business, with the goal of deepening its senior-focused remote care capabilities.

ON THE RECORD

"The way we define successful aging is allowing people to age on their own terms, essentially live independently as long ... as they like, prevent decline, and get the help and the support that they need, when, of course, at some point probably everybody will need that. So, [they're] aging on their own terms, and we've built a platform for that, and we're monetizing that," Gal said.