Inside AgeTech Capital’s $100M Visionary Fund | The AgeTech Podcast S4E28 with Lyne Landry
We talk a lot about the challenges of building and distributing products in AgeTech, but fundraising is still one of the biggest challenges AgeTech startups face. In this episode, I sat down with Lyne Landry, a partner at AgeTech Capital, to talk about what it actually takes to get funded in this space. From their partnership with AARP to their $100M fund, Lyne breaks down how they’re backing startups that are solving big problems for our longer lives – and what opportunities are still wide open for new founders to jump in.
Catch the full conversation on Youtube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or scroll down for the transcript (auto-generated, so pardon any oddities – the bots are still learning!)
Keren Etkin: Lyne welcome to the show.
Lyne Landry: Thank you so much, Karen, for having me, and
I’m a big fan, so thank you for the work you’re doing. it’s really, really useful and insightful, so thank you.
Keren Etkin: Thank you. Thank you so much. so first of all, why don’t we get started by just you telling us more about the fund. Like what are the basics, age tech founders who are listening or watching us need to know?
Lyne Landry: so AgeTech Capital were three. partners. So myself, I have an m and a private equity and impact investing background. Macintosh that has a vc, pure VC background, health-tech and AI focus for the past 10 years. Bruce Simpson. Which is, which was the head of McKinsey Canada, McKinsey Healthcare, and was also the one that started the venture studio for McKinsey. and he’s, focusing on the value creation and supporting our portfolio companies. We, are based in Canada, invest in North America, but we also have an allocation for international, Companies and startups, focusing on series A and B. So that is the fund, that we’re still fundraising for today. made six investments so far, but, still continuing to fundraise. So that’s, the fund part of AgeTech capital. We have also a very exciting. Platform, in partnership with A A RP in the us. where we, saw there was a huge gap at the seed level in terms of funding, and so we created a platform.
If people know what AngelList is, were recreating AngelList, but for age tech capital, which is basically a marketplace between angel investors. family offices, and small venture, corporate ventures, wanting to invest in the AgeTech sector. And there’s a. Two objectives. So it’s bringing more capital at the seed stage, but it’s also to, sort of have an information, angle to it to say, okay, here’s the exciting world of AgeTech capital.
You can make market return and have impact at the same time. and so there’s a bit of a information to the wider, investor ecosystem.
Keren Etkin: That’s awesome. So. Currently you’re able to invest from the seed through a rounds.
Lyne Landry: Yes. So A and B is through the fund, and then seed is on the platform. So we don’t, we could invest via the platform, but mostly, it would be SPVs, created by Angel Investors, family offices, and small corporate ventures.
Keren Etkin: And what types of startups within the age tech realm are you looking for?
Lyne Landry: We are a software, ai, native ai, or a large part of the strategy revolves around ai, in the four following verticals. so we have what we call connected living. So we know a lot of people will have to stay at home. we’ll have all of this more at home, but also community connecting. so that’s in the connected living, vertical. Then we have caregiving, so for professional and personal. So optimizing for caregivers, tools, to make their work more efficient. And then we have what we call empowered health. And so how can we give back, the power to, the, aging population througAgeTechnology and, and be empowered in taking, ownership of their health. And then we have, financial wellbeing. it’s the base of the pyramid. We’re an impact fund, And so for us. we know that the base, if you’re not financially secure, very hard to think about your health. And so we know 50% of the population is financially insecure. Um, and so how do we help you, better plan for your retirement or increase your income, post-retirement or decumulate better, post-retirement.
Keren Etkin: So that’s the last important. Awesome. So what do startups need to have in terms of milestones in order to qualify for the investor network and for the fund, and how do they apply for each? Is it the same funnel? if they apply to the investor network and they’re too late, will you fund them, funnel them through to the fund or vice versa?
Lyne Landry: Exactly, so seed level and pre-seed. you may apply if pre-seed, but I would say the sweet spot on the AgeTech investor network. Which is a marketplace that we, are managing with a RP is, What we look for is that if they’ve been incubated. in a known accelerator.
so that’s one. Filtering criteria. The other filtering criteria that if you’re having traction or, a very significant partnership with a distribution partner. and if you have clinical, proof that your solution is actually working. And so these are the three sort of, and founders experience.
We have a selection committee. For the H Check investor network. And so when you, once you apply, you go through a selection committee and then those who make it through the selection committee will be, admitted on the platform. every month, we showcase, companies to, a pitch event for, for the members of the platform. that’s the seed. if you’re a seed, I mean, we’ll get to know you through, and that’s the magic about our partnership, for, for AgeTech Capital is that we’ll get to see, the pipeline coming in through the platform. And then at Series A, hopefully we’ve known you for a year or two. and then, and abstract your progress, so we can invest in series A and series B.
Keren Etkin: Perfect. it sounds like, incredibly beneficial for startups, to. get their seed round secured, and then know that they have a good chance of getting funding for their later growth stages if they are successful in, in meeting their milestones.
Lyne Landry: exactly.
Keren Etkin: What is the end goal? How big will the fund be eventually?
Lyne Landry: So we’re raising a hundred million dollar fund. Of which 50, million is the core fund and then 50 is SPVs. our investors, our LPs that have committed, wanted to have the opportunity to double down on specific investments. that’s the market trend, I would say. And at the moment in the VC world, the direct investment in very niche, area, and so we’ve. Split their a hundred million dollar fund into a 50 core and a 50 SPV opportunities for our, investors.
Keren Etkin: And during this fundraising journey, how many of the LPs already knew what you were talking about and knew about the opportunity? And how many did you have to educate?
Lyne Landry: I think it’s a hundred percent educate. It’s still an educational process. That’s why the partnership with a RP, we really wanted to, have this educational piece added to the platform. so we raised the tide for all AgeTech investors. Common challenge is like, why do you need a dedicated fund for age tech? that we get from our LPs. why not just a health-tech or a FinTech? having the lens of older adult and the challenges of that, the segments post 50 years old, we think, you know, there’s a distribution access, a communication piece, user experience piece that once you have that lens, makes it,
value creation, more important as a vc. And then the sixth deal that we’ve done, Karen, like we saw health-tech or FinTech coming to us and saying, can you keys, you know, come on into the deal, with us, because we see value and having someone that knows about those challenges and how to bring, you know, that perspective.
There’s also different KPIs, I think for AgeTech.startups usually higher cost of acquisition, but longer, lifetime value. And so having that perspective brings, something, and that’s why when we created AgeTech Capital, we wanted to be three partners. We think the value creation bit, is really important.
Just deploying capital is one part of it, which is important. We think the value creation part and the role we play with other VCs in raising, the game for the AgeTech sector was really important for us.
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Keren Etkin: Absolutely. So I wonder you, you mentioned that the cost of acquisition for AgeTech startup is higher than it might be in other industries, but you also said that the lifetime value is higher, which I think is sort of counterintuitive when you’re dealing with startups who sell to older adults and those who serve them.
Yeah, I mean, the retention rate is super high. it’s a very loyal, customer. once they’re in, they’re in for the long run. They’re a bit higher touch in terms of customer service. So you do need to have, but this is why we think and AI agents will help bring down the costs of servicing this population. that’s What we are seeing in the market and in, the portfolio companies that we have, um, is that the churn is lower and the retention is higher. And out of the six portfolio companies that you currently have, is that like the overarching trend in such a short time you see that churn is lower than the benchmark in other industries?
Lyne Landry: Yeah. Well some of the companies have been, I mean, ’cause we invested series A and series B, so some of them have been at this for at least, four. five. it takes a bit longer I find to get to series A and series B in the AgeTech sector. we have enough data to sort of look at, the pattern if you want, but it is a trend.
Yes.
Keren Etkin: It’s great to hear. I always like to hear about the counterintuitive learnings, that people have in our ecosystem. So I wonder. What are some of the opportunities in AgeTech that you as a fund really want to invest in, but you haven’t seen startups, going after these opportunities at all.
Lyne Landry: I think everyone will tell you that the integration of all of the point solution is what we’re looking for. Distributing this one solution into a senior living or at home, is difficult because there’s, you know, you have several solutions that wants to integrate into one point. and so having that these platform that integrates all of these solution a very difficult. thing to accomplish depending on the end, um, the B2B, so the client, so if it’s a senior living, they get to decide how they integrate all of these solution. And so we need to know very well, the strategic plan of these distributors of solution. Um, so we haven’t seen that. so that’s something we’re, we’re always in the lookout.
So that’s one. it is inevitable when you look at the caregiver market, that robotic will play a big role. We haven’t seen the takeoff we wish robotic would have. in the senior, AgeTech sector. That’s another one, we keep a close eye on.
the market adoption is, might not be there yet, but it is inevitable like it will happen. So that’s one. Our view is that there are amazing entrepreneurs, second time founder, third time founders. We see a lot of very interesting The adoption rate and the, the distribution channels, it’s a bit of a trickle. And so we’re really, I think it’s not so much in the innovation part and the startup part that we see a shortage of, but more in the adoption.
Anderson or actually, Did a podcast, super interesting podcast on health, health, tech and where they think the big bang will be and it’s a B2C bang. They think they’re betting on. We’re not. I mean right now it’s mostly B2B or B two G. the B2C market is a tough nut to crack still. but we do keep an eye on that. We do think at some point, the B2C market will open up.
Keren Etkin: It is absolutely tough not to crack and only a handful of startups have been successful at it and doing just B2C in our ecosystem. but it’s obviously something that it can be done ’cause we have examples for successful startups.
Lyne Landry: Yeah.
Keren Etkin: I wonder, you mentioned that there are, there is obviously no shortage in point solutions, but we don’t really have any integrators in our ecosystem.
Lyne Landry: Mm-hmm.
Keren Etkin: Would you think that it would be valuable for, any one startup to sort of be like the middleman startup to aggregate all the solutions and to integrate them into all the various EHRs out there? So any senior living provider could basically, contract with just this startup and know that everything the AgeTech ecosystem has to offer can.
Plug seamlessly into their EHR, and all they need to do is select which solutions they want.
Lyne Landry: It will happen. I mean on the health side, point of care is an example of that. Like they were able successfully, and it, I’m a proud Canadian to say it’s a Canadian startup. and they were able to be that marketplace, for other solution to come in. More generally speaking, it’s not an AgeTech company per se, but that playbook, could be replicated for, been talking with, large senior home players that are thinking on accelerating that and creating some sort of a integrator markets.
and so. Everyone’s thinking about it. A lot of people are working on it. It’s gonna happen. and so yes, the answer is, it’s inevitable that in two, three years from now, we’re gonna have some key integrator startup, that will pop up as the leaders in the market. Yes.
Keren Etkin: Because I feel like part of the reason why so many providers, don’t adopt technology in the speed and velocity that they would’ve liked to is because they don’t have the bandwidth to deal with it. I mean, they know that they have various needs, but just bringing all of these solutions in and aggregating all of these data is just too much for them to handle,
Lyne Landry: Yeah, you’re absolutely right. I mean, when you think about it, it’s teardrops now, you know, because of different environments integrating tech, requires, change of habits, training of professionals. that sector is going through, some consolidation, as well. our forecast is in three years from now, all of that will be a little bit more stable and we’ll see some integration the teardrop will be more, I wouldn’t say floodgate, but. there will be an increase in flow for sure adoption of technology.
Keren Etkin: Absolutely. So if you look into your crystal ball and try to predict what the ecosystem could look like five, 10, or 20 years down the line, what do you imagine?
Lyne Landry: our goal and as an impact fund for us to increase the participation of older adults back into the society and to not have any roadblock to be able to do so. Meaning if they wanna continue to work, they can work. if they want to engage as a volunteer, they have. Different ways of engaging if it’s just one hour a week or if it’s just full-time volunteering, in their neighborhood.
So it’s going to be this massive, um, marketplace of solution for older adult to really be empowered to live the way they want to live. To manage their health and their wealth the way they want to manage. All facilitated witAgeTechnology that will be integrated in the current infrastructure. So right now we’re kind of running with parallel system where tech is on one side and then the current infrastructure, and there’s a little bit of an overlap.
That overlap hopefully in 20 years from now will be complete. where technology will be, an integration. part of the infrastructure older adult will be in the driving seat of,and being empowered to, manage their own life and how they want to grow older in a more, self-directed way. They have more purpose for more alive, and that 30 extra years that they got through, the science, they can enjoy it fully, financially and with better health.
Keren Etkin: Sold. I’m sold on this vision.
So that was actually my last question, and is there anything else that we didn’t talk about that you would like to say? Any call to action to our audience?
Lyne Landry: Yeah. Um, I think first and foremost, I’m really, impressed by the quality of the founders out there dedicating, their life and probably sacrificing a lot to be doing, AgeTech companies. It’s not sexy, to be aging and we don’t wanna think about it. We don’t want to age, so to have the courage of creating a startup in the age tech sector is, phenomenal. And so I wanna express my gratitude to all of these founders. So that’s the first thing. I challenge all of us. to change our culture and how we communicate of, making aging fun, participative, exciting. and not this thing where it’s like a burden and it’s, decreasing. But it’s more something I think some of Asian culture have that more, like sharing wisdom, sharing, learning. and so all of us together changing that narrative, and I think you, Karen, what you do, it plays a big, big role into this.
Keren Etkin: So I thank you Thank you. And yeah, we’re all changing a narrative. I feel like we’ll get there eventually slow process, but we’re definitely going in the Right direction. Lynn, thank you so much for joining me on the show today. It was an absolute pleasure chatting with you and, learning a little bit about AgeTech Capital and I wish you lots and lots of success.
Lyne Landry: Thank you, Keren.