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The United States faces an urgent caregiving crisis as dementia cases rise. Older adults and their families face barriers in accessing effective caregiving guidance and necessary daily stimulation. Currently, the majority of older adults reside at home and rely on informal “family caregiving” from people close to them who often lack access to professional training and support. Family caregivers provide approximately 18 billion hours of unpaid care annually, often with limited assistance and under stressful conditions, which leads to burnout. Additionally, a scarcity of accessible geriatric and dementia specialists exacerbates the challenge of providing high-quality and informed care for older loved ones and creates pronounced gaps in health service delivery.
Beaver Health has developed an artificial intelligence (AI)–powered platform that provides highly interactive stimulating activities and support for older adults and caregivers. The platform digitizes, personalizes, and scales a suite of evidence-based health interventions, which have demonstrated in clinical trials that they improve cognition, enhance quality of life, and alleviate caregiver burden.
With demographic trends in the United States showing an aging population and projected tripling in dementia cases by 2050, the demand for accessible and effective cognitive and caregiving solutions is becoming increasingly critical. The senior care market is projected to reach $740 billion by 2026, and Beaver Health’s technology is well-positioned to capture this growth with its highly scalable support system. Featuring multilingual and culturally responsive capabilities, the company’s technology meets the diverse needs of the U.S. and global communities, ensuring inclusive accessibility. The AI intervention delivery system scales evidence-based health interventions 24/7 at significantly reduced costs and enhances accessibility across multiple barriers, including temporal, financial, cultural, geographical, health literacy, and tech literacy.
Company Milestones
Scientific and Clinical
- 2022: Conducted continuous user research with racially, ethnically, and geographically diverse older adults, caregivers, and individuals with memory or thinking concerns to inform platform development and alignment with real user needs (always ongoing)
- 2023: Designed and developed novel AI-powered intervention delivery method to enhance engagement, adherence, and accessibility for older adults and caregivers
- 2024: Conducted iterative development and evaluation of a multimodal web interface and an AI backend to enable highly stimulating intervention activities
- 2024: Conducted usability studies with older adults and caregivers to improve platform functionality and user experience
- 2025: Plans to conduct randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to rigorously assess the efficacy of platform in improving health outcomes for older adults and caregivers
Business
- 2022: Incubated at Harvard Innovation Labs
- 2023: Awarded non-dilutive NIH/NIA grant to develop AI-enabled stimulating activities for older adults; Beaver Health officially became a member of the NIA portfolio (“America’s Seed Fund”)
- 2023: Accepted into Harvard Innovation Labs’ Launch Lab X GEO program for impactful, high-growth startups, founded by Harvard alumni
- 2023: Formed partnerships and collaborations with geriatric and dementia clinical experts from leading medical institutions; garnered support from directors at key dementia nonprofits and aging and caregiving institutes
- 2023: Invited to participate in Massachusetts Institute of Technology and National Science Foundation I-Corps commercialization program
- 2024: Awarded grand prize at Harvard President’s Innovation Challenge; spotlighted in Harvard Innovation Labs’ social media campaigns, which resulted in surge in daily organic signups without paid advertising
- 2024: Invited by NIA to attend AARP AgeTech Founders Summit in Boston
- 2024: Invited by NIA to present on stage at What’s Next Longevity Venture Summit in San Francisco
- 2024: Invited to present at Harvard Demo Day, attracting
- 2024: Awarded additional non-dilutive NIH/NIA grant to develop calming, mindfulness-based training and assistance for caregivers
Financial Overview
Beaver Health has $1 million in non-dilutive NIH/NIA Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) funding and a $75,000 non-dilutive award from Harvard President’s Innovation Challenge. The company seeks an additional $5 million in SBIR funding for further product development, Phase 2 clinical trials, sales, marketing, and commercialization.
Intellectual Property (IP)
Beaver Health is actively securing IP rights—including patents, trademarks, and copyrights—for its innovative intervention delivery methods and proprietary algorithms and frameworks.
Product Development and Regulatory Strategy
Beaver Health is working with NIA’s Technical and Business Assistance Programs to refine its regulatory strategy. Digital health solutions—which focus on cognitive wellness and caregiving support without providing medical diagnoses, advice, or treatment—are not currently subject to U.S. Food and Drug Administration oversight.
Commercialization Strategy
Beaver Health supports consumers and business partners in the aging and caregiving sectors. The company maintains and builds long-term relationships with health care and caregiving institutions to ensure that its solutions integrate seamlessly into existing care ecosystems to improve health and wellness outcomes. Beaver Health provides consumers with accessible cognitive support tools and promotes organic growth through educational campaigns on caregiving, dementia, and the impact of technology on culturally competent care.
Company Details
Palo Alto, California
Industry: Digital Health and Sensing Technologies
Management Team:
- Emily Wang, Chief Executive Officer and Founder
Point of Contact:
Emily Wang