Forta is expanding access to dependable, quality care starting with autism therapy
Forta, an AI healthcare company improving access to dependable quality care, 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.
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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.”
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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.
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“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.”
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