AgeTech, or technology built for the aging population, is not just a feel-good niche. It’s an urgent, global opportunity. One that requires bold solutions, new thinking, and thoughtful design. We had the pleasure of chatting with a few investors and leaders in the industry, and here is their take on why the space is primed for innovation and what startups and founders should keep in mind.
At thoughtbot, we believe the best solutions start with a deep understanding of real user needs. That’s how we design digital products that truly support individuals and caregivers, meeting them where they are, and how they need it most.
The caregiving shortage is already here
As shared by Primetime Partners, there’s a massive shortage in caregiving professionals. University of St. Augustine reports there are ~237k new nurses coming available each year, but we are still short 50-70k annually, resulting in a cumulative shortage of 500k today and as high as 1.2M by 2030. In the field, attrition is high, especially in rural and politically red states.
Meanwhile, as Leanna Clark-Shirley from the American Society on Aging notes, 11,000 Americans are turning 65 every day. That’s not a future trend. That’s happening right now. And by 2050, as Amelia Hay of AARP Innovation Labs highlights, one-third of the global population will be 50 or older.
You can feel the momentum that AgeTech and its audiences will grow to a place that is no longer a niche. The future we’re building is a world where AgeTech will become all tech. - Amelia Hay, AARP Innovation Labs
This shift highlights more than just a growing audience. It’s about what these changes do to our systems, expectations, and technologies that aren’t ready to keep up which presents opportunities for software.
Traditional systems (like hospitals, in-home care, and insurance) and tools are not prepared. We saw a spike in telemedicine during COVID, and continue to see tools that provide care-at-home and support more home-based care models continue to gain traction, which shows market momentum is there. Because of this, there’s a clear and immediate need for solutions that make caregiving more affordable, scalable, accessible, and flexible.
Scaling services and caregiving with smarter tools
As James Hueston of Primetime Partners points out, we need to think about how technology can help scale services: upskilling people faster, automating administrative work, and making high-quality care more accessible across geographies and income levels.
From spatial computing and AR tools by Apple and Meta to real-time translation capabilities from Google, the tech is there. The challenge is turning that tech into intuitive, affordable solutions that reduce friction for patients and caregivers alike.
Amelia highlighted there is still a substantial gap between traditional, outdated medical assessments and the care individuals expect today. For example, specific problem solutions like cognitive decline monitoring and delirium assessments are ripe for disruption.
Designing for prevention, independence, and aging in place
As Kate Brigham, an AgeTech investor and expert emphasizes, the future of AgeTech isn’t just about managing decline, it should also work to help people live better, longer, at home.
We’re not designing for fragility. We’re designing for strength, memory, movement, and independence—just reimagined for a different stage of life. - Kate Brigham
Whether it’s home monitoring, remote healthcare, or hospital-at-home models, we need tools that make aging in place feel less like a compromise and more like an empowered choice. And we need to build for preventative care, not just crisis response. Devices like WHOOP and Oura Ring offer inspiring models: they translate real-time health data into actionable insights that drive behavior change.
Leanne also challenges us to move away from narratives of dependency.
Too much of age tech focuses on what people lose as they grow older. What if we focused instead on what people want to gain — independence, connection, identity? That’s where real innovation lives. - Leanne Clark-Shirley, PhD
This mindset shift opens the door for founders to reimagine what aging tech can be. From our experience at thoughtbot, it also means investing early in user research and approaching these tools with empathy and understanding to combat ageism. Skipping user testing, and operating with assumptions around the user experience, accessibility features, and potential trust concerns are 3 of the 5 top mistakes we see in the space.
Not sure how to get started with user research? Checkout this blog post on conducting interviews in health tech.
What investors are actually looking for
If you’re building in the AgeTech space and thinking about fundraising, it helps to know what early-stage investors want to see.
For James, it’s about teams that blend disciplines and generations because aging is multifaceted, and great solutions need diverse perspectives.
Amelia looks for balanced teams with strong founder-market fit, differentiated technology, a clear path to scale, and a sustainable cost structure.
What kinds of products will break through
So, which products actually stand a chance in this space?
According to Leanne, the most successful solutions will be the ones that recognize older adults are not one-size-fits-all. They vary in health, background, interests, and tech comfort and innovation needs to reflect that. Overgeneralizing leads to clunky, ineffective tools. Instead, we need more personalized, adaptable, and respectful experiences.
Amelia echoes the importance of simplified, well-tested UX, especially in high-stakes moments. In AgeTech, a confusing interface isn’t just frustrating, it can be dangerous.
And James points out that teams who listen well, iterate quickly, and keep users involved throughout the process are the ones who will build real traction.
The most important thing is user feedback and user engagement. You can’t build meaningful technology without knowing the people it’s for—what they want, what they need, even what they don’t know they need yet. - James Hueston
thoughtbot often helps founders find product-market fit, and upskills initial product teams on the repeatable steps they should be utilizing to keep user feedback as a part of their ongoing product strategy. Our Customer Discovery Playbook is a great resource that outlines activities we suggest for finding where you can make the most impact. For AgeTech in particular, once you have some ideas worth testing, rapid prototyping could be a great tool for experimentation.
Final thoughts: why now, and why you?
Building in AgeTech means building something that will matter to every generation, whether for aging parents, for ourselves, or for a world where living longer should mean living better.
Our team loves working with founders who are bold enough to rethink care, aging, and connection through technology. If you’re in this space (or thinking about entering it), let’s talk. We bring decades of design and development experience, a deep focus on user needs, and a passion for building things that make life better for everyone.
A big thank you to our contributing experts. Contact information and additional resources below:
- Kate Brigham is an admin of a wonderful AgeTech LinkedIn group and plans great AgeTech events.
- James Hueston, and his team at Primetime Partners also host ongoing AgeTech events in NYC
- Leanna Clark-Shirley, with American Society On Aging have a number of on demand courses.
- Amelia Hay, with the AARP AgeTech Collaborative are continuously hosting pitch events around the country looking for groups to nurture and potentially invest in.
