NewDays closes $16M seed for AI dementia care, launches in Nevada
What's the deal? NewDays, a Seattle startup using generative AI therapy to treat people with mild dementia, has closed its seed round at $16 million. Madrona and General Catalyst led the funding.
Why now? Alongside the raise, NewDays said this week it has expanded to Nevada, adding to Washington, California, Florida, Texas, and New York. The startup offers monthly telehealth visits with human clinicians plus unlimited conversations with an AI companion named Sunny.
What's the endgame? NewDays targets a wide problem: one in three Americans over 65 experiences cognitive decline, including 11% with dementia and 22% with mild cognitive impairment. Patients use Sunny for memory exercises and reasoning games meant to strengthen cognitive function — strategies that are clinically proven but historically hard to access.
Does it work? In July, at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference, NewDays presented research showing patients performed better on cognitive tests than expected decline curves — roughly 18 months of preserved function. The study covered just 24 patients, so the company is now running a randomized controlled trial with Kaiser PermanenteDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → in California.
How it makes money: Users can try Sunny for free before a 20-minute clinical assessment. Sessions cost $150 each. NewDays accepts traditional Medicare as an out-of-network provider and is working toward in-network status with commercial insurers and Medicare Advantage plans.
"Generative AI under the guidance of an expert human clinician is what finally lets us deliver a medically proven intervention at that scale," said chief executive officer and co-founder Babak Parviz via email. "That's the whole thesis of the company."
The signal: At $16 million, the round lands in the top 3% of all US health seed rounds on record — a sign investors are betting on AI as a way to scale scarce dementia care.
Read more: geekwire.com
Image credit: NewDays
