NewDays Secures $7M to Expand AI-Powered Cognitive Health Program to Texas

What You Should Know: 

– NewDays, a company offering a science-backed cognitive health treatment program, has announced an oversubscribed $7M seed funding round from General Catalyst and Madrona. 

– The company is also expanding its services to Texas, following a successful pilot phase in California, Washington, and Florida. The expansion aims to address the significant challenge of cognitive impairment in the U.S., where 1 in 3 people over the age of 65 have a serious cognitive issue.

A Science-Backed, AI-Powered Approach

For too long, people experiencing cognitive challenges have been told to “wait and see,” but the latest research shows that non-pharmacological interventions can meaningfully help. According to Babak Parviz, NewDays co-founder and CEO, advancements in AI now make it possible to provide these game-changing findings widely in a way that wasn’t previously possible.

The NewDays program combines regular telehealth appointments with expert clinicians and AI-powered cognitive exercises delivered by its AI companion, Sunny. Between appointments, patients engage with Sunny in clinician-assigned conversational exercises that are designed to bolster verbal fluency, improve memory, prevent social isolation, and build strategies for overcoming daily functional challenges. The AI platform allows clinicians to optimize each patient’s program based on their interactions.

NewDays’ approach is based on evidence from over 300 clinical trials and more than 50 meta-analyses. It is also fueled by exclusive access to methods from the Internet-Based Conversational Engagement Clinical Trial (I-CONECT), which found that structured, frequent conversations with a trained clinician resulted in measurable delays in cognitive decline and reduced loneliness.

Dr. Hiroko Dodge, a professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School and principal investigator of the I-CONECT study, noted that while these approaches were known to work, scaling them had been “virtually impossible” due to the limited availability and cost of trained professionals. NewDays represents a breakthrough in bringing this scientifically validated cognitive rehabilitation to those who need it most.

Proven Outcomes and Future Vision

The NewDays pilot program has shown promising results. With over 1,000 users who have signed up to try the AI, the company has a 4.5 out of 5 customer satisfaction score. Most significantly, 100% of survey respondents reported feeling “better” or “a lot better” after engaging with the full treatment program of virtual visits and frequent conversations with the AI companion.

Frank Poulsen, a 72-year-old participant in the early access program, noted that conversations with Sunny help him work his mind without feeling “nervous or judged”.