Insider Brief
- Forta, an AI healthcare company, has raised $55 million in Series A financing led by Insight Partners, with participation from technology and healthcare investors, to expand its AI-enabled applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapy for autism and develop clinical algorithms.
- The company addresses healthcare shortages and long wait times for care in conditions like autism and Alzheimer’s by using AI, including large language models, to empower caregivers and improve clinical care.
- With the new funding, Forta plans to extend its model to memory care and other chronic conditions, and it has partnerships with major US health insurers and state programs.
PRESS RELEASE — SAN FRANCISCO/January 17, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Forta, an AI healthcare company improving access to dependable quality care, today announced it has raised $55 million in Series A financing led by global software investor Insight Partners. Leading technology and healthcare investors participated in the round, including Exor Ventures and Alumni Ventures, as well as founders of 23&Me, Curative, Forward, Flexport, Warby Parker, Prelude Fertility, Harry’s and Allbirds. With this new funding, Forta will expand its family-powered autism therapy practice to provide AI-enabled applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapy and develop its suite of clinical algorithms.
Wait times to receive care are increasing as more individuals are diagnosed with conditions like autism, Alzheimer’s, and chronic diseases. The US is facing a potential shortage of up to 124,000 physicians by 2034, and patients and clinicians are increasingly turning to technology to help ease these healthcare burdens. Forta is answering their call with its mission to enable access to high-quality healthcare by researching and deploying the latest advances in AI, including large language models (LLMs), to empower caregivers and improve clinical care.
Forta’s initial focus is improving access to therapy for those with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) using its algorithm paired with parent-led ABA therapy. Within months of launching the program, Forta has supported hundreds of children with ASD and their families across the country. In a recent peer-reviewed study published in the Cureus Journal, 76% of individuals in therapy saw an improvement in therapy goal achievement using Forta’s tech-enabled clinical model, compared to traditional approaches.
“Our current healthcare system is not able to provide dependable and quality care to families when they need it. When we identify areas of care shortages, we find ways to empower local and family caregivers with AI-based tools and education to deliver earlier and more effective interventions,” said Ritankar Das, Co-Founder and CEO of Forta. “We started by applying our platform to autism therapy because many families face years of waiting for care. Now, we are exploring how to expand the empowered home caregiver model to memory care and other chronic conditions.”
Forta has contracted with seven of the top 10 largest US health insurance companies and over two dozen state government programs to bring its technology to clients. The company’s researchers have published several peer-reviewed publications showing improved clinical performance when enabled by Forta’s platform.
In addition to expanding its family-powered autism therapy practice, Forta will also use the Series A funds to continue AI and LLM research to find breakthrough pathways that improve care outcomes and accessibility.
“In the USA in year 2023, children’s zip codes or parents’ income shouldn’t determine access to proven therapy. Families seeking autism treatment today face burdensome costs, offensive waiting lists, and undue hardships with few choices and little agency,” said Scott Barclay, Managing Director at Insight Partners. “At Insight, our computational care thesis aspires to serve founders creating scalable solutions — like Forta’s — born out of deeply rooted empathy. We are proud to back Forta’s researchers as they continue this important work.”
To learn more about Forta’s work and mission, visit https://www.fortahealth.com/.
About Forta: Forta AI healthcare is increasing access to dependable quality care by combining the latest advances in artificial intelligence, such as large language models (LLM), with novel, compassionate care models that are evidence-driven to create breakthrough outcomes for patients. Forta’s autism spectrum disorder (ASD) therapy platform is currently being used in Forta’s family-powered applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapy to help hundreds of children and their families across the country. For more information visit: https://www.fortahealth.com/.
About Insight Partners: Insight Partners is a global software investor partnering with high-growth technology, software, and Internet startup and ScaleUp companies that are driving transformative change in their industries. As of June 30, 2023, the firm has over $80B in regulatory assets under management. Insight Partners has invested in more than 800 companies worldwide and has seen over 55 portfolio companies achieve an IPO. Headquartered in New York City, Insight has offices in London, Tel Aviv, and the Bay Area. Insight’s mission is to find, fund, and work successfully with visionary executives, providing them with tailored, hands-on software expertise along their growth journey, from their first investment to IPO. For more information on Insight and all its investments, visit insightpartners.com or follow us on X @insightpartners.
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