One in 36 children in the US has autism, According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Research shows that the earlier a child is diagnosed, the better their developmental outcomes will be. EarliTec Diagnostics just raised fresh capital to expand its system that helps doctors diagnose children as young as 16 months old.
The Atlanta-based startup's FDA-cleared approach involves a child watching short videos and social interactions on a screen for 12 minutes while the device, using artificial intelligence, tracks the child's eye movements. According to EarliTec, children with autism will not focus on the video in the same way as children without autism.
The startup raised a $21.5 million Series B round co-led by Nexus NeuroTech Ventures, a venture firm focused on backing companies creating solutions for brain disorders, and Venture Investors, a Midwest venture fund that invests in companies of medical care. The startup's technology is currently used by eight doctors in six US states.
EarliTec Diagnostics CEO Tom Ressemann told TechCrunch that traditional autism diagnoses involve three- or four-hour evaluations that can have long wait lists. EarliTec's 12-minute test is designed to help doctors reach a diagnosis faster, helping them work with more children.
“You have to be able to work in your current workflow,” Ressemann said. “So with a test like ours that is flexible in where you access it, it could be in the child's home, in a clinic or in a school, it's a tablet, we can work in most workflows . A quicker diagnosis is better for the child and the parents.”
The company plans to use the money to continue expanding its marketing, Ressemann said. EarliTec currently works with children ages 16 to 30 months and plans to funnel some of its new capital into research that could help the company expand the age group the system can diagnose. He also hopes the capital can help improve assessment and treatment options.
Ressemann, who was CEO of several other medical device startups before EarliTec, including Amphora Medical and Entellus Medical, said this fundraise was the most challenging and yet the most rewarding. He said that despite the prevalence of autism in the United States, it remains a difficult area to raise funds because only certain investors are interested in the space. But that is starting to change.
The reason this deal intrigued me so much was that there seems to be growing momentum and interest in the autism-focused healthcare space from venture capitalists; Before 2021, this was rarer.
The Autism Impact Fund closed a $60 million fund this week, 20% more than its $50 million goal. The Autism Impact Fund isn't the only company investing in this space, either. Divergent companies raised a $10 million fund in 2021 that focuses on early-stage companies across the neurodiversity space. EarliTec backer Nexus NeuroTech Ventures recently launched in 2023.
Several startups in the space have also raised notable rounds. Cortica, which makes diagnostics and treatment plans, has raised more than $175 million in venture funding from companies including CVS Health Ventures and .406 Ventures. Forta, a family-focused autism therapy, has raised more than $55 million from backers including Insight Partners and the Alumni Fund. Opya, a digital therapy platform for autism, has raised more than $19 million from backers, including SoftBank's Open Opportunity Fund.
Ressemann said the variety of diagnostic, evaluation, and treatment tools and treatments has changed rapidly since he and his wife went through the diagnosis and treatment process years ago with their now 27-year-old son.
While it's been great to see startups and companies backing treatments and tools to help children with autism, one always wonders why investors have been interested in backing solutions now, or why they weren't before. I asked Ressemann what she thought and she said that knowing the prevalence of the condition has made a big difference.
“Just a few years ago it was considered one in 1,000 children, now it is one in 36,” Ressemann said. “That's awareness.”
This makes perfect sense. I had always considered that the goal of awareness campaigns was for more people without this condition to understand its prevalence, but I had not considered that more information available would also help lead to more diagnoses, giving a more accurate picture of how many people this affects. It really affects. Having those numbers on hand helps investors see the total addressable market and opportunities.
“There is an attraction because of the size and magnitude of the problem,” Ressemann said of the recent interest from venture capitalists. “When there is a large unmet need, there is often interest in addressing it.”
Hopefully investors will still be interested because more money going into startups like this, which can help children with developmental delays and disorders, and which can make money for venture capitalists, seems like a great strategy for turning a profit. and at the same time directly improve people's lives.
