Clinical support tool for pediatric autism earns $27M from private equity
The developer of clinical software for providers developing treatment plans for children with autism has received $27 million in funding from a technology investment firm.
Motivity, the creator of the platform, said the money will be used to improve its offering and hire staff to advance its system to market. The technology is designed for clinicians and behavioral health professionals who specialize in applied behavior analysis (ABA).
Motivity consolidates data collection on autistic patients and automates analysis and reporting to support ABA—a therapeutic method that uses tailored interventions and reinforcement to improve skills and reduce undesirable behaviors. However, ABA requires tailored interventions based on the patient's unique behavioral patterns. For juvenile autism, that can mean trial and error using behavioral science principles.
That’s where data-driven clinical support comes in, and Motivity’s approach has earned it federal grants, including from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) seed funding.
Now, a private equity group, Five Elms Capital, is providing the latest injection of cash.
“Motivity’s partnership with Five Elms Capital is really about scaling our ability to provide highly personalized autism therapy and stronger support for families and caregivers,” Rex Jakobovits, PhD, Founder of Motivity, told HealthExec, adding that clinical support through data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) is the company’s “key innovation.”
“This will be like a virtual assistant for clinicians—it analyzes thousands of data points collected during therapy and instantly alerts clinicians if a child is falling behind or if there's an opportunity to adjust treatment to better fit the child's needs,” Jakobovits added. “This proactive, real-time support means each child receives personalized interventions precisely when they’re needed most."
Jakobovits, a computer scientist, is also a researcher partner at the University of Washington Autism Center, which has adopted the Motivity platform. To date, the technology is used by 550 provider organizations across seven countries. Relative to the market potential, there’s room for expansion, and the company said it intends to hire staff to support a growth initiative.
The next target is at-home support for young people with autism and their parents, since most social development will happen outside of a professional therapy setting.
“[We’ll] be rolling out [a] system designed specifically for parents. It’s built to make it incredibly easy for parents to participate in their child's therapy from home—using simple, intuitive prompts right on their phones to reinforce what kids are learning in therapy sessions,” Jakobovits said.
“We know parents are busy, so this new functionality will intelligently send reminders at just the right moment to make therapy part of daily routines,” he added.
Five Elms has a long-term portfolio of partnerships with software companies in various industries, from sports to cybersecurity. The specific terms of its $27 million investment in Motivity were not revealed. However, Smith Anderson, previously an operator with Five Elms Capital, will be taking over as Motivity’s new CEO, the companies confirmed in an announcement.
Jakobovits will shift to a new executive role as chief of strategy and innovation.
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