Ascension is an early-stage VC built by exited entrepreneurs to back the next generation of tech and impact founders. Run by an experienced and diverse team of successful entrepreneurs, we have been relentlessly dedicated to finding the UK’s best Seed-stage startups since 2014. Ascension benefits from the active industry connections essential for the sourcing and development of deal-flow and due diligence. The team has co-invested with the UK’s leading angels and VCs, key to securing follow-on funding as the portfolio businesses move to their next stage of growth. We believe in building an inclusive, community driven brand that can benefit the wider UK tech ecosystem and strive to work with conviction, integrity, humour, and humility.

Ascension

Techstart Ventures is a first-cheque investor for extraordinary founders pursuing uncapped global opportunities.

Techstart Ventures

Clarendon Fund Managers is a venture capital fund manager based in Belfast, focused on co-investments with business angel and private investor lead deals. It manages £42.5m of regional VC Funds in Northern Ireland including the £30m Co-Investment Fund and has invested in over 60 companies since it began investing in 2001.

Clarendon Fund Managers

Founded as an investment firm focusing on the most promising startups, we have evolved into a unique set of private market funds investing globally in equity and debt across complementary sectors and stages. We fuse traditional values with a contemporary approach and balance exacting processes with the agility to capture commercial opportunity and compelling investment returns. Our continuous search for new opportunities has led us to create a balanced collection of complementary funds and relationships.

Salica

Public is a venture capital firm that supports technology startups aiming to work more deeply with the UK’s public services.

Public

Kraydel

Kraydel addresses social isolation and also supports independence for our Users. Kraydel is the only platform to combine social connectivity, through easy TV-video calling, with scalable remote monitoring, through the broadest IoT platform for health and environmental sensors and devices. This combination supports User independence and wellbeing, delivering peace of mind to families and carers. Kraydel is headquartered in Belfast, with offices in London.

Kraydel offers an internet-enabled device called Konnect to help seniors combat social isolation and loneliness. The Konnect device is a purpose-built communication device for seniors. The Konnect hub sits above a television and is equipped with a camera and microphone for video calls. The system is controlled by a remote with just four buttons.

A concentration of wealth and a willingness to adopt age-in-place technologies present new opportunities.

Age Tech

Kraydel offers an internet-enabled device called Konnect to help seniors combat social isolation and loneliness. The Konnect device is a purpose-built communication device for seniors. The Konnect hub sits above a television and is equipped with a camera and microphone for video calls. The system is controlled by a remote with just four buttons.The company was co-founded by Rupinder Singh, who has over 15 years of experience in the UK's National Health Service (NHS) system and Dr Amer Fasihi, who has over 18 combined years of experience at GlaxoSmithKline and IBM.Using the Konnect device, seniors can make and receive video and audio calls, text messages, videos, and photos from family members.The device can be connected to medical devices such as blood pressure monitors and thermometers for remote health checkups. Key customers and partnershipsAs of October 2020, Kraydel had around 400 Konnect devices installed and about 25 customers including care homes and NHS trusts. The device is sold for GBP 30 (USD 40) per month. The company also reported that it had scheduled 32 pilots of the Konnect device with NHS, care homes, and charities, with a further 45 in the pipeline. Furthermore, as reported in October 2020, the company has a direct-to-consumer product in its pipeline in addition to its product geared toward healthcare enterprises.

Honor provides a platform for elderly persons and their families to find home care providers, and is claimed to be one of the largest on-demand home care networks in the US. The company’s key offerings include Home Care, Family Caregiver Resources, and the Honor Family App and Honor Family Care Network for remote monitoring.In August 2021, Honor announced the acquisition of home care provider Home Instead at an undisclosed value. The merged entity was expected to combine for over USD 2.1 billion home care services revenue.&nbsp; Key customers and partnershipsAs of August 2021, Home Instead had around 90,000 caregivers serving at 1,200 locations across the US and global markets. Home Instead acquired UK-based online platform SuperCarers in June 2020. It connects professional caregivers to elderly people seeking at-home care. Prior to the acquisition, SuperCarers had raised a total of GBP 4.9 million (USD 6.6 million).It also partners with the Organisation for the Review of Care and Health Applications (ORCHA) to provide quality assured apps for psychological wellbeing, physical activity, and mental stimulation.

Honor

Eargo specializes in developing hearing aid and related services. Eargo has four products in its lineup: Link by Eargo, Eargo SE, Eargo Neo HiFi, Eargo 6, and Eargo 7. The company’s products are unique due to its design meant to keep the device invisible when plugged in.The products are priced between USD 749 (Link by Eargo) and USD 2,490 (Eargo 7). The Eargo Neo HiFi comes alongside an app and offers connected smart features such as audio personalization and control. The app allows the user to control the audio to suit their surroundings, customize settings, and contact Eargo's licensed hearing professionals for consultation and support.In October 2020, Eargo was listed as a public company and then acquired by Patient Square Capital In October 2023. Via the acquisition, Patient Square Capital acquired all outstanding shares of Eargo—that were not owned by Patient Square—at USD 2.55 per share. Key customers and partnershipsThe company utilizes a business-to-consumer (B2C) online retail strategy compared to traditional business-to-business (B2B) model deployed by other manufacturers who sell their products through clinics. The strategy has proven beneficial through the Covid-19 pandemic as consumer footfall for brick-and-mortar clinics have declined.

Eargo

K4Connect provides technology solutions to residents and staff members in senior living communities through its K4Community platform. The company was co-founded by Scott Moody who sold his fingerprint sensor technology company AuthenTec to Apple for USD 356 million in 2012, which then became the basis for Touch ID.The platform's offerings include digital voice and video communication, and community updates for residents. It also provides smart home automation through the provisioning of plug and play Alexa devices for residents and supports smart thermostats, smart lights, motion sensors, and sleep tracking devices. In addition, community staff members have access to tools for resident surveys, resident and family management, and communications. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the platform also established an expanded video chat service to facilitate resident-to-resident communication, staff requests, yoga classes, and dining room bookings. Further, in March 2020, it partnered with software communications firm Bandwidth to introduce a hotline for staff and residents as a means of keeping all parties up to date with community information.The platform is built on the company’s patented operating system, FusionOS. The company claims that FusionOS is an advanced multi-modal edge-cloud architecture, the first of its kind in the senior living industry. Residents and staff can access the platform using a smartphone app or pre-provisioned tables in the living communities priced on a per-resident basis.As of July 2020, the platform served over 800 independent and assisted living senior living communities across the US. The platform serves over 29,000 users at more than 125 senior living communities across 27 customers as of February 2020, more than doubling its users from 2018, which it expects to repeat in 2020. The company has established channel partnerships with Allbridge (a data, video and voice solution provider for senior living) in July 2020, and Eskaton (a senior services provider) and White Horse Village (a continuing care retirement community) in May 2019. It collaborated with GlobalLogic (a digital product engineering company) in July 2020 to expedite the development schedule of its K4Community Plus app in response to Covid-19.

K4Connect

CarePredict was founded by Former IBM consultant and tech veteran, Satish Movva, and produces Tempo smart wearables for the elderly community. Using machine learning (ML), the company claims the app can reduce the chance of a fall, and predict urinary tract infections (UTIs) and depression ahead of a clinical diagnosis. The device aims to assist caregivers in taking preventive action by detecting activities and behaviors which are precursors to health declines. The data from the device can also be shared with family members.The company generates revenue from device sales and subscriptions. Independent research conducted in September 2020 indicated that facilities using CarePredict’s wearables reported 40% fewer hospitalizations 69%, lower fall rates, 67% increased length of stay, and a 37% improved staff response rate than facilities that did not use CarePredict.The company expanded its operations in 2018 through its acquisition of WiseWare, a company selling activity-tracking jewelry for older users. In April 2020, it launched the PinPoint contact-tracing tools to mitigate the spread of Covid-19.Key customers and partnershipsIn February 2021, the company announced its partnership with Middle Alabama Area Agency on Aging (M4A). M4A is the agency behind the “Providing Alzheimer's N' Dementia Assistance” (PANDA) project. The company will be the first tech platform to be part of the project and will provide caregivers assistance in remote monitoring and preventive care using its smart wearables.

CarePredict

Eversound develops wireless headphone systems to enhance the level of engagement and social interaction for the elderly living in assisted living or memory care centres. The platform provides a library of programmed content on a variety of topics. The headphone system can be used to communicate with caregivers, during group events, family visits, and for music therapy. The headphones are equipped with a wireless transmitter and volume controls. It connects to external audio sources such as community A/V systems, televisions, and audio devices.The product was unveiled in May 2016. In a subsequent six month study conducted by LCB Senior Living community, group events leveraging the Eversound system resulted in an 18% reduction of residents falling asleep and a 28% increase in engagement during group events. In December 2016, the company expanded to 18 states across the US.In March 2020, as a part of its Covid-19 response, the company launched a live streamed, interactive content service to help seniors combat isolation. Further, as in-person visits at assisted living communities were interrupted due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the use of Eversound’s visitation package proved to be crucial for socially distanced in-person visits. Key customers and partnershipsAs of December 2020, the company’s product is being used in more than 700 senior living communities across the US. Its clients include senior living communities such as Brightview, Commonwealth, and Oakmont. In addition, Eversound has established partnerships with senior living communities (such as The Arbor Company, Bridges by EPOCH, Christian Horizons, and Kisco) to roll out its devices for family visitations, and programmable and live streamed content.

Eversound

Tech-enabled equipment or companionship services that help elderly people function independently.

Platforms that match seniors with home care providers as well as app-based products to facilitate communication between senior families and caregivers

Tech-enabled products used to diagnose, prevent, and treat conditions common among seniors.

Remote monitoring, medical diagnosis, communication, and coordination between caregivers and families of the elderly.

Platforms that help seniors interact socially and communicate with others.

Platforms that help seniors and their families plan and make arrangements to settle the senior’s estates and affairs in the event of death.

Companies that use GenAI as a core part of their product offering for Age Tech

Offers digital platforms that support the wellness of the senior population

Age Tech providers incorporate GenAI to enhance both seniors’ and caregivers’ experiences

Many devices that help seniors operate independently and receive remote treatment use IoT

Some companies use VR to help treat seniors with conditions such as isolation and dementia

Kraydel

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