Upward Labs AgeTech Fund And Hartford HealthCare Announce Partnership

Connecticut health-care system to pilot global innovations in home-care technology

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Jan 13, 2020, 18:19 ET

HARTFORD, Conn., Jan. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Hartford HealthCare, Connecticut's most comprehensive health system, has announced a partnership with Upward Labs AgeTech Fund for 2020. The partnership establishes Hartford HealthCare as Upward Labs' exclusive home-care partner with which AgeTech companies will pilot their senior living technologies during the fund's 6-month program. The announcement was made by David Whitehead, Hartford HealthCare's Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer, in collaboration with Shana Schlossberg, CEO, Upward, and Phil Siuta, COO, Connecticut Innovations.

Hartford HealthCare joins Upward Labs' list of influential partners that facilitate 6-month pilot testing of the program's AgeTech and PropTech products as customized solutions for various lines of business. Through this partnership, Hartford HealthCare will leverage its differentiated Innovation ecosystem to accelerate a co-created pilot with each of the semi-annual program cohort's AgeTech companies. "My colleagues and I at Hartford HealthCare are delighted to work with Upward Labs on this unique opportunity," Whitehead said. "We are Connecticut's largest provider of care for seniors, and this opportunity allows us to extend that expertise and access in new and exciting ways — in our state and beyond."

Upward Labs, Connecticut's first venture fund for AgeTech and PropTech startups, offers global companies the opportunity to live and work in downtown Hartford while refining their cutting-edge technologies under the purview of nearly 30 local partners in healthcare and real estate industries. Hartford HealthCare joins the program as one of four organizations that collaborate with the startups to design custom pilots to address business and customer needs, alongside Upward Labs' assisted living pilot partner for AgeTech startups, Priority Life Care, and PropTech partners Shelbourne Global and Lexington Partners. "Partnering with Hartford HealthCare is a game changer for our startups innovating within the senior care vertical," said Shana Schlossberg, CEO of Upward. "The opportunity to collaborate with the staff of a world-class healthcare organization such as Hartford HealthCare is invaluable for the high caliber startup companies this program is attracting."

Funded in part by Connecticut Innovations, Upward Labs successfully closed their first cohort in October 2019, with half of the companies announcing continued residency in Hartford due to positive pilot results and ongoing relationships with local partners. As the second cohort of startups reaches the mid-point of their piloting period this January, scouting has begun for the third cohort, who is slated to arrive in Hartford in April 2020.

"Upward Labs continues to forge ahead at a pace exceeding our expectations," said Phil Siuta, COO of Connecticut Innovations. "Shana and her team are creating strong partnerships with corporates and providing early-stage founders access to Fortune 1000 executives working in Connecticut. We're confident that this new partnership with Hartford HealthCare will work to reinforce Hartford's position as a global hub for AgeTech innovation."

About Hartford HealthCare

Hartford HealthCare is Connecticut's most comprehensive health system. With 30,000 colleagues and total operating revenue of $4.3 billion, Hartford HealthCare has cultivated a strong, unified culture of accountability and innovation. Its care-delivery system, with more than 360 locations serving 185 towns and cities, includes two tertiary-level teaching hospitals, an acute-care community teaching hospital, an acute-care hospital and trauma center, three community hospitals, the state's most extensive behavioral health network, a large multispecialty physician group, a clinical care organization, a regional home care system, an array of senior care services, and a large physical therapy and rehabilitation network. Hartford HealthCare's unique, system-wide Institute Model offers a single, high standard of care in crucial specialties at hospital and ambulatory sites across Connecticut. The institutes include: Cancer, Heart and Vascular, Ayer Neuroscience, Orthopedics and Tallwood Urology. Learn more at www.hartfordhealthcare.org.

About Upward

Upward is global incubator with a vision to reinvigorate second-tier cities through a generation of innovators with ideas that are fostered through connection, learning and experience. In the last year, Upward's flagship city, Hartford CT, has started to transform into a thriving ecosystem, and Upward has facilitated pilots and deals between startups from all over the world and major Fortune 500 companies headquartered in the city. With the introduction of Labs, Upward is inviting global startups to be a part of this movement and maximize their potential to effect real change. Learn more via www.moveupward.city.

About Connecticut Innovations Inc.

Connecticut Innovations is Connecticut's strategic venture capital arm, providing funding and strategic support to early-stage technology companies. In addition to equity investments, CI provides grants that support innovation and collaboration through CTNext, and connections to its well-established network of partners and professionals. To learn more, visit www.ctinnovations.com.

SOURCE Hartford HealthCare