NewDays, an AI company delivering cognitive health treatment, has raised $7 million in seed funding from General Catalyst and Madrona, the startup announced on Wednesday.
It’s estimated that about one in three people over 65 has a serious cognitive issue. Seattle, Washington-based NewDays supports this population, caring for patients with dementia or mild cognitive impairment. It offers telehealth appointments with a cognitive clinician, as well as personalized brain exercise homework guided by an AI companion named Sunny. The company accepts insurance for its virtual therapy appointments, while its AI-guided homework costs $99 a month.
Holly Maloney, managing director of General Catalyst, noted that the firm is focused on supporting healthcare solutions that make care more affordable, accessible and proactive, which is why it invested in NewDays.
“NewDays exemplifies this approach, addressing a critical gap in cognitive health with a science-backed solution that puts patients first,” Maloney said in a statement. “Their combination of AI innovation with human clinical oversight represents the future of digital health.”
Madrona echoed these comments about NewDays in a recent blog post.
“It’s therapy that feels like companionship. Care that happens between appointments. And more than anything, it’s a way to deliver proven cognitive therapies at scale,” wrote Tim Porter, managing director of Madrona, and Rolanda Fu, investor. “What matters is that it happens without losing the human and clinical touch. For years, these interventions have been limited by one thing: they’re time-intensive and rely on a small number of highly trained professionals. NewDays solves that bottleneck.”
The financing will be used to grow its team and expand to additional states, including Texas. It already has a presence in California, Washington and Florida. The funding will also support investment in its technology and AI platform.
NewDays’ AI is trained on clinical research, including the Internet-Based Conversational Engagement Clinical Trial led by Harvard University. This study found that regular, structured conversations with a trained clinician significantly delayed cognitive decline and reduced feelings of loneliness and isolation in adults aged 75 and older.
“For too long, people experiencing cognitive changes have been told there’s nothing they can do beyond maintaining a healthy lifestyle and preparing for decline,” said Babak Parviz, NewDays cofounder and CEO, in a statement. “But the latest research shows there are non-pharmacological interventions that can meaningfully help, and advancements in AI let us take those game-changing findings and provide them widely in a way that wasn’t technologically possible even a couple of years ago.”
Other companies providing care for people battling dementia include Isaac Health and Synapticure.
Photo: wildpixel, Getty Images
