The Future of Aging and Longevity - Flipbook - Page 29
“We are in the early stages of
agetech and longevity biotech,
an advantage for companies
entering the sector.”
Karni AI’s wristband assesses stroke risk before an
event, and AI-powered electrocardiogram patches
con琀椀nuously monitor blood pressure. We can now
昀椀x our gut health with Juno, Viome, and similar
companies that pair microbiome sequencing
with personalized nutri琀椀on recommenda琀椀ons.
There are companies that monitor changes in eye
movement, walking gait, and even our urine, all in
an e昀昀ort to detect and alert.
Add to this list the holy grail of diagnos琀椀cs:
epigene琀椀c or biological clocks, which have moved
from marke琀椀ng gimmicks to clinical trac琀椀on
with real medical teams like at TruDiagnos琀椀c and
Elysium.
Lastly, we are awai琀椀ng the commercializa琀椀on
of whole-body digital twins that simulate risks
and tailor treatments before medical problems are
manifested.
Ability augmenta琀椀on is within reach.
Smart glasses, such as those developed
by Meta and Ray-Ban, incorporate augmented
reality with live cap琀椀oning and facial recogni琀椀on,
o昀昀ering meaningful support for older adults
managing memory or cogni琀椀ve challenges, along
with low-vision enhancements. Hearing aids
are embedding fall preven琀椀on mechanisms.
Brain-computer interfaces represent another
area of major progress. Neuralink’s Blindsight
program, part of the FDA’s Breakthrough
Device designa琀椀on, translates brain ac琀椀vity
into commands for external devices such as
computers or robo琀椀c limbs, warran琀椀ng a $650
million fundraise in 2025. We are very close to
commercially available, wearable exoskeletons
that can restore walking or standing power.20 The
gap between “monitors and chats” and “physically
assists” is where innovators will build.
Brain health is 昀椀nally ac琀椀onable.
In a drama琀椀c wake-up call, a landmark 2025
Nature Medicine study es琀椀mated that 42 percent
of individuals over the age of 55 will develop
demen琀椀a.21 It’s no surprise then that there are
158 demen琀椀a and Alzheimer’s candidate drugs
currently in clinical trials, a leading indicator of the
market opportunity.22
This category is coming into focus with
device-led passive cogni琀椀ve monitoring (Samsung
and Muse); early detec琀椀on through cogni琀椀ve
assessments (BrainCheck and Neurotrack);
lifestyle modi昀椀ca琀椀on programs, some reimbursed
(Be琀琀erBrain); brain s琀椀mula琀椀on (Cognito and
Sinap琀椀ca Therapeu琀椀cs); and dozens of other
interven琀椀ons in pre-seed and seed stage of
development.
Tech-昀椀rst home care.
With 90 percent of older adults desiring to
age in their own homes and a supply constraint
on the caregiver labor pool, there is moun琀椀ng
pressure for tech-enabled home-care solu琀椀ons
that are more a昀昀ordable and can be par琀椀ally
supported by Medicare. The 昀椀rst wave included
dozens of AI start-ups o昀昀ering machine learning
and AI agents to improve the e昀케ciency and
capacity of aging care enterprises like home care,
senior living, and hospice. Robots are the next
wave of innova琀椀on, promising to meaningfully
bend the cost curve of expensive care for an aging
popula琀椀on. Early entrants are companionship
robots, such as ElliQ, now used in state-funded
pilot programs for isolated seniors. The next
genera琀椀on will be humanoid robots that assist
with ac琀椀vi琀椀es of daily living, as was the rage at
the 2026 Consumer Electronics Show.
We are in the early stages of agetech and
longevity biotech, an advantage for companies
entering the sector. Given the growth trajectory
of the over-65 popula琀椀on, there is no shortage of
investment opportuni琀椀es.
A D ECA D E O F P RO GRE S S , A D ECA D E TO ACT 25
