AnswersNow, a startup providing autism therapy for families, announced Wednesday that it secured $40 million in Series B funding.
The Richmond, Virginia-based company works with commercial insurers and Medicaid and connects families with board certified behavioral analysts for one-on-one virtual therapy sessions.
It uses Applied Behavioral Analysis, which is a common therapy for autism that involves systematically teaching skills and reducing challenging behaviors by observing behavior, understanding how environmental factors influence it and using positive reinforcement to encourage meaningful changes. Its AI-powered platform creates personalized learning modules specific to each child’s needs. In addition, AnswersNow offers training for caregivers.
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“We believe that parents and/or caregivers have an important role to play in therapy,” said Jeff Beck, CEO of the company. “Our training sessions empower caregivers to become effective agents of therapy in everyday moments outside of formal therapy, multiplying the impact of each clinical hour.”
AnswersNow’s Series B round was led by HealthQuest Capital, with participation from Left Lane Capital and Owl Ventures. In total, the company has raised $66 million.
“The autism support system in America is broken, leaving families to wait months or longer for services at untenable costs for insurers,” said Sam Brasch, capital partner of HealthQuest, in a statement. “AnswersNow’s virtual therapy model aims to deliver results in less time and with lower costs than traditional therapy. We’re excited to join them in helping families and creating a more sustainable model for our healthcare system.”
With the funding, AnswersNow will scale its platform by doubling its clinical staff, expanding its leadership team and introducing new service offerings. In addition, it will invest in advancing its AI platform.
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About one in every 31 kids will receive a diagnosis of autism. Ultimately, AnswersNow aims to solve for two things: a lack of access to quality autism therapy and the high cost of care, according to Beck.
“Early in my career as a licensed social worker, I was in the field working with kids with autism every day — often in the poorest neighborhoods,” he said. “Day after day, I saw incredible families who just weren’t equipped to deal with this on their own, but who couldn’t get the care they needed. Since then, the problem has only gotten worse. Autism is the fastest-growing developmental disorder in America today. … Traditional support services simply cannot keep pace.”
He added that most autism therapy in the U.S. is delivered in person by lower-trained staff, requiring families to commit to 30-40 hours per week, endure long wait times and travel far. Private equity consolidation and insurer reimbursement rates are further making care inaccessible.
“The result is an autism crisis in which high-quality care has become unattainable and financially unsustainable,” Beck said. “AnswersNow is on a mission to reverse that care dynamic so that the world becomes as big as possible for kids with autism.”
Other startups that offer services for autism include Cognoa, Positive Development and Frontera Health.
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