MATTER selects six caregiving startups for second Accelerating Innovation in Aging cohort

Innovators with solutions for navigating the caregiving experience or improving caregiver well-being enter twelve-week accelerator

August 3, 2023, CHICAGO — MATTER, the premier healthcare incubator and innovation hub, has announced the second cohort of entrepreneurs to participate in the Accelerating Innovation in Aging program, supported by RRF Foundation for Aging. The selected solutions help people navigate caregiving and improve caregiver well-being.

The second annual Accelerating Innovation in Aging cohort will receive mentorship, exclusive resources and an interactive curriculum from subject matter experts to build their solutions and refine their value propositions. They will also have the opportunity to pitch their solutions to investors, industry leaders and others at two demo days, where one winning solution will win a $10,000 cash award. Each participant will graduate from the program with actionable next steps to further advance their solutions over the subsequent six months with a free MATTER membership.

Meet the caregiving startups

CareYaya — Durham, North Carolina
CareYaya is a tech startup and applied research lab focused on enhancing care delivery. Their flagship product is a technology platform that lets people quickly book experienced caregivers that are uniquely all students in the healthcare field, helping expand the care workforce amidst a critical caregiver shortage. In addition, CareYaya is launching new applications of artificial intelligence to help people better manage caregiving, aging and serious illness.

Family Proud — San Diego, California
Family Proud is a community support platform focused on easing the burdens on caregivers and their families. They help employers understand the impact of caregiving on their workforce and bottom line, enabling them to provide crucial support to caregiving employees and foster a caring work environment. Their mission is to empower caregivers and their families, making a meaningful, positive social impact.

Onward — San Leandro, California
Onward’s mission is to eradicate transportation as a social driver of health and alleviate the burden of caregiving. The Onward platform provides door-through-door companion rideshare services and transportation management solutions designed for healthcare. Today Onward supports thousands of rides each month for partners including the VA Health System, UCSF Health and Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE).

SandwYch — Austin, Texas
SandwYch is an online platform that positively impacts the journeys of patients living with dementia and their caregivers by providing critical collaboration from hospital to home. Using a self-assessment in the SandwYch app, family caregivers unlock resources that are tailored to their own needs, support for their loved ones and real-time communication. Your care. Your way.

TCARE — St. Louis, Missouri
TCARE is an evidence-based, comprehensive program designed to mitigate caregiver burnout. Using intelligent technology and data-backed insights, TCARE identifies leading risk factors and provides tailored well-being management delivered through digital tools and human touch advocacy. Taking a holistic approach, TCARE empowers caregivers as they navigate through their caregiver journey so they can continue to provide a high level of care while remaining productive and engaged in their everyday life. Care receivers benefit from having a familiar, consistent caregiver to encourage healthy living and proper nutrition, support recovery, improve medication and rehab compliance and drive better outcomes.

Zinnia Technologies — Winnetka, Illinois
Zinnia helps caregivers for people living with dementia navigate daily caregiving responsibilities and look after their own well-being through a library of over 200 research-driven video interventions designed to be used with the person receiving care. Zinnia is a non-pharmacological solution to reduce unwanted behaviors, accomplish essential activities of daily living and provide engagement, connection and joy. Zinnia also creates opportunities for caregiver respite and features content that encourages education and self-care.

About MATTER

At MATTER, we believe collaboration is the best way to improve healthcare. The MATTER collaborative includes more than 800 current and alumni startups from around the world, working together with dozens of hospitals and health systems, universities and industry-leading companies to build the future of healthcare. Together we are accelerating innovation, advancing care and improving lives. For more information, visit matter.health and follow @MATTERhealth.

About RRF Foundation for Aging

For more than 40 years, RRF Foundation for Aging, formerly The Retirement Research Foundation, has been funding programs that support older adults. The Foundation has awarded more than 5,000 grants worth more than $250 million — all dedicated to improving the quality of life for all of us as we age. RRF’s grantmaking focuses on four priority areas — caregiving, economic security in later life, housing, and social and intergenerational connectedness. These issues are fundamental to allowing all of us to age where we want to and how we want to. RRF was one of the first private foundations in the U.S. dedicated to aging issues and continues to support a range of related advocacy, direct service, research, training, and organizational capacity-building efforts, both in Illinois and nationally. Learn more at www.rrf.org.