AI-backed autism services startup Frontera Health has raised $32 million in a seed funding round.
The Denver-based company uses what it calls “digital phenotyping” to track metrics and analyze therapeutic sessions. The company said its technology is designed to help BCBAs with administrative burdens and reduce paperwork. Frontera plans to commercialize its diagnostic and assessment tools.
The newly launched company is part technology company and part provider.
Frontera announced it will open its first Innovation Center in Denver, an ABA clinic with diagnostic and therapeutic services. The company said its private pay services will include virtual autism diagnosis and assessments, as well as in-home and center-based ABA therapy.
Lux Capital and Lightspeed Venture Partners led the latest funding round with participation from Bison Ventures, Menlo Ventures and Inspired Capital.
“AI has the power to fundamentally change how we diagnose and deliver care, but it needs to work hand-in-hand with clinicians,” Galym Imanbayev, an investor at Lightspeed Venture Partners, said in a statement. “Frontera’s technology is built to do precisely that: by supporting and augmenting the expertise of clinicians. Frontera is a powerful example of the impact AI can make in healthcare.”
The company is led by Kleiner Perkins vet Amol Deshpande, founder of venture fund Divergent Investments, which is focused on investing in companies focused on neurodiverse communities.
Dealmaking in the autism service space is beginning to pick up. In terms of new venture deals, autism therapy startup Anna Health Inc. raised $9.26 million in November, and in January, Prosper Health raised $16.2 million for its virtual mental health platform focused on caring for neurodivergent populations.
But it’s not just the venture firms eyeing more autism investments. Private equity activity is also heating up this year. At the beginning of the year, Ascend Capital Partners announced that it acquired the majority stake in Unison Therapy Services; additionally, PE firm Nautic Partners purchased Proud Moments ABA.
