Aging2.0 is starting a new chapter.
The organization — which focuses on accelerating technological innovation in the senior housing and care sector — has been acquired by the Louisville Healthcare CEO Council (LHCC).
Financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed, but LHCC announced that it will raise a $50 million fund, with the goal of investing in and attracting entrepreneurs to Louisville. The city is a hub for older adult housing and health care. Atria Senior Living, Trilogy Health Services, Humana (NYSE: HUM), Kindred Healthcare and Signature HealthCARE are among the companies based in the Derby City.
The CEOs of several of these companies formed the LHCC in 2017 to further build up Louisville as a health innovation hub.
Aging2.0 and LHCC first announced a partnership in May 2020, with Aging2.0 relocating its headquarters from San Francisco to LHCC’s Corporate Innovation Center in Louisville.
Also in May, Aging2.0 and LHCC launched the Global Innovation Search — an initiative to identify and elevate “innovations that help keep older adults connected to their communities, families, healthcare providers and vital information.”
LHCC’s acquisition of Aging2.0 was announced Tuesday at a virtual event called “Bridging the Gap,” featuring health care executives, entrepreneurs, investors and other innovators.
“This is a logical step for the Aging2.0 network in progression of our mission of accelerating innovation and creating opportunistic pathways for innovators,” said Katy Fike, co-founder of Aging2.0, in a press release about the acquisition.
LHCC is not changing Aging2.0 but will seek to “invigorate the brand and harness the group’s collective power,” said Tammy York Day, president and CEO of LHCC.
While “multiple interested parties” were pursuing an investment in Aging2.0, LHCC was selected for several reasons, according to the press release and comments made during the Bridging the Gap event.
One key factor is the ability for Aging2.0 and LHCC to connect entrepreneurs with the many provider and payer organizations in Louisville, to test and refine innovations.
It’s a point emphasized by Arnold Whitman, founder and chairman of senior living and care investment firm Formation Capital, and a long-time Aging2.0 champion and partner.
“There’s a bit of a contrast between what the providers are faced with and the challenges they have, which make it very hard for them to respond to innovation — and yet they need the innovation more than ever,” Whitman observed at Tuesday’s event.
By merging, LHCC and Aging2.0 should be able to address this issue by identifying the most promising innovations, and helping entrepreneurs and providers interact more productively to create scalable solutions.
“This is not an easy thing to solve,” Whitman said. “This is a challenging dynamic and [these are] challenging times, but with challenging times comes great opportunity.”
Companies featured in this article:
Aging2.0, Atria Senior Living, Formation Capital, Humana, Louisville Healthcare CEO Council, Signature HealthCARE, Trilogy Health Services